Sarah Morgan - Some Kind of Wonderful

Ryan shot him a black look. “She’s not marrying the guy.”

Alec stretched out his legs, a gleam of humor in his eyes. “So it’s just sex?”

Ryan cursed softly and ran his hand over the back of his neck. “Why do I feel this way? I’m not her father.”

“You care,” Alec said mildly, “and caring is the first step towards psychological trauma. Buckle up. It’s going to get worse before it gets better.”

And sometimes, Zach thought, it never got better.

Sometimes, the trauma was so great you learned how to stop caring.

Ryan drained his beer and looked at Zach. “So how did you end up with Brittany’s backpack?”

“She left it in my plane. Your blonde friend gave Brittany a lift home but they managed to leave the backpack.” And he’d stared at it for the best part of thirty minutes, weighing up his options, annoyed that he’d been so distracted by seeing her again he hadn’t noticed it. “She’s back.”

“Brittany? Yeah, I know. As you say, I’m having sex with the friend who gave her a lift whose name, by the way, is Emily. For the sake of accuracy I should tell you that her hair is more caramel than blond and we’ve never actually had sex in Castaway Cottage. Her choice, not mine.” Ryan jerked his head towards the beer. “Drink. Given that you just flew your ex-wife in, I’m guessing you’re going to need several of these. Or maybe something stronger.”

Something stronger sounded tempting, but Zach didn’t want to fight the crowd at the bar. “How do you know I flew her in?”

“Same reason you knew I was having sex with the woman living in her cottage. Nothing travels faster than gossip, especially when it’s juicy. And because I’m a man and have no tact or sensitivity, I’m going to ask the question everyone wants to ask. How hard did she punch you?”

Zach reached for the beer. “There was no physical contact.” He didn’t mention the solid thump in his gut that had come from seeing her again. “It was a civilized encounter.”

“Civilized?” Ryan’s brows rose. “That doesn’t sound like Brittany, especially since the last time she saw you was when you walked out days after your wedding.”

“Thanks for the reminder.”

Knowing how protective the islanders were of Brittany and how suspicious they were of him, Zach hadn’t expected a warm welcome on his return to the island, but Ryan had immediately invited him for a drink at the Ocean Club, sending a clear message to the locals that whatever had happened in the past had no bearing on the present. “For that she didn’t black your eye? Are you sure you picked up the right passenger? Fierce brunette who once shot me in the butt with an arrow? I’ve got money on her taking a swing at you within five minutes of laying eyes on you.”

Zach gave a grim smile. “Pay up. Seems like she didn’t care enough to take a swing at me.”

But it was true he’d expected a greater response from her.

Guilt, an unfamiliar emotion, nagged at him like an old wound.

He’d broken hearts before, right along with rules and property, and it had never bothered him until Brittany.

Unlike everyone else he’d ever met in his life, she’d believed in him.

Turned out living up to someone’s expectations had been more of a pressure than living down to them. He knew he’d done her a favor by disappointing her sooner rather than later, but he should have found a less brutal way of doing it.

“Ten years is a long time,” Alec said easily. “You were both young. It’s history, long forgotten.”

Ryan finished his drink. “That’s a strange statement from someone who makes a living ensuring history isn’t forgotten.”

Alec Hunter, a naval historian, had carved out a successful career as a TV presenter and explorer. “That’s different. I’m talking about relationship history.”

“So am I.” Ryan shrugged. “In my experience women don’t forget. They nurture the mad and then produce it when you least expect it. Either way, you’re doomed, Zach.”

“She wasn’t mad,” Zach said flatly. “She was indifferent.”

She’d sat with casual poise, those endless legs bronzed from the Greek sun, her response to seeing him again approaching boredom.

Why should that bother him?

Alec finished his beer. “Last time I checked, archaeologists didn’t earn enough to fly private. How could she afford your services?”

Zach thought about the phone call from the Greek offices of ZervaCo. “Seems she’s keeping rich company these days.”

Ryan gestured across the bar for Tom to bring them more drinks. “You’re not exactly struggling yourself.”

“My bank account is healthy enough, although I’m a long way off from owning a Gulfstream.”

“Would you want to?”

“No.” Zach took a mouthful of beer. “It has to be landed on a strip of tarmac.”

“Whereas you’d rather land where no sane man would ever venture. So if the reunion was civilized, what’s stopping you from delivering the backpack yourself?”

Evading the question, Zach looked across the crowded bar and caught the eye of a young woman who’d been watching him since he’d walked in.

She gave him a shy smile and he immediately looked away.

All his relationships were short-term but he couldn’t contemplate even short-term while his ex-wife was jammed in his head.

And shy didn’t work for him. He made it a rule not to let himself touch anything breakable or vulnerable.

“I haven’t set foot in Castaway Cottage for over a decade.” Not since that day Kathleen Forrest had gone to the mainland with her knitting friends, leaving her granddaughter alone in the secluded house on the beach.

The first thing Brittany had done was phone Zach and invite him over.

He’d figured that if the good girl wanted to try her hand at being bad it wasn’t his business to talk her out of it.

Remembering what had happened next brought sweat to his forehead. It had been the beginning of a long vacation for his judgment.

He was doing better these days, but barely a day passed without him encountering someone who wanted to punch him for past offenses.

He’d assumed today was Brittany’s turn and no one, least of all himself, would argue that he didn’t deserve a hell of a punch for what he’d done to her.

He’d weighed that fact carefully before returning to the island, then decided that since she mostly spent her time traveling and had all the support of the islanders, he was the one who would suffer. Despite his relationship with Philip and his friendship with Ryan, most of the locals still viewed him with suspicion. He figured he’d earned that and anyway, he was used to being on the receiving end of disappointment and disapproval. It didn’t bother him. He didn’t live his life to please others. He did what felt right to him. Made choices that felt right to him. As long as he could live with himself, that was all that mattered.

But in the end it hadn’t been hatred or anger he’d seen in her eyes.

It had been—nothing.

His ex-wife really didn’t give a damn that he was occupying her space.

In which case he should just return the bag and have done with it.

She needed it. He had it. It was as simple as that.

Maybe then the two of them could make a go of living side by side.

With a rough curse he snatched up the backpack, ignoring Ryan’s curious look.

“I’ll take it over there in the morning.”

“Why not now?”

“Long flight. She’ll be asleep.” And there was no way he wanted to risk seeing her in her pajamas or, worse, naked.

He’d knock on the door, hand it over and leave. No words needed to be exchanged. No emotions, although if she wanted to yell at him he would stand there and take it. He wouldn’t even defend himself because how did you defend the indefensible? But in any case, it was clear Brittany no longer had any feelings she wanted to express.