“She has fair skin,” Ryan said smoothly, “but I’ll make sure she buys sunscreen later.” He turned and winked at Emily who knew she was the color of a tomato.
“Sunscreen. Great idea.” She tried desperately to change the subject. “You were right about the ice cream, Hilda. It’s delicious.”
“Best ice cream in Maine. Breaks my heart to see the girl struggling, especially with those two young children. In my opinion it was unfair of May Newton to sell her the business in the first place.” Hilda’s mouth flattened into a thin line of disapproval. “She knew it was in trouble. No one can make the place pay. It’s had five owners in as many years.”
Emily frowned. “Five owners?”
“You can’t sell enough ice cream in the summer months to keep a family going over the winter.” Hilda waved at someone on the other side of the harbor. “I’ll leave you two to finish your ice cream.” She moved away, and Emily sagged against the wall of the shop.
“Do you think she knew?”
“That I was talking dirty to you five seconds before she arrived? Probably. She doesn’t miss much.”
“I’m going to have to move back to the mainland.”
“Hilda had six children of her own, so I doubt that sex is a mystery to her. You have ice cream at the corner of your mouth. Am I allowed to lick it away?”
“Only if you don’t mind being punched in public.”
“I never object to a physical relationship, and it would do you good to rediscover some of those emotions you’ve been blocking out.” His eyes were hooded, his voice low, and she felt her insides melt faster than the ice cream.
Flirting was as alien to her as all the other emotions swirling inside her. She tried desperately to change the subject. “Is it true that Summer Scoop is in trouble? That the place has had five owners in as many years?”
His smile told her he knew exactly what she was doing. “Yeah, that part is true.”
&
nbsp; “So you think Lisa made a mistake buying the business?”
He shrugged. “One person’s mistake is another person’s adventure.”
She wondered if that comment was aimed at her. “But with two children to support, the stakes are different.”
“True.” He finished his ice cream and licked his fingers. “Children have a habit of killing adventure.”
She thought of the way Lisa had talked about her kids. Even in that brief encounter, she could see they were everything to her. “I think to some people kids are the adventure.”
“They can also be too much reality.” His tone was dry. “How is your ice cream?”
“The ice cream is delicious. The place should be packed.”
“It should be, but it never is. I’m probably a tiny bit to blame for that. The Ocean Club pulls in a lot of casual lunchtime and evening business.”
“But it’s a different market.”
“Maybe, but we’re all competing for the same tourist dollars.”
Emily glanced at the pretty ice cream parlor. “There should be room for both of you. Do you stock her product?”
“Sorry?”
“Do you serve her products at the Ocean Club?”
“I have no idea. I don’t micromanage. I leave that to the chef. I think he makes his own.”
“This ice cream is good. And it’s homemade on the island from the Warrens’ organic dairy herd.”
“How do you know that?”