“Nothing,” she replied. “He’s just not what I pictured when Brooke told me about him.”
He was confused. “Brooke told you about Kyle?”
“Yeah.” She stepped closer to him to dodge a pothole. “They’re friends. She offered to introduce us, but I got the feeling she wanted to set us up and I’m nowhere near ready for that, so I put her off.”
Satisfaction ripped through him. She’d rejected Kyle. Even if she hadn’t known who she was turning down, the thought pleased him. And what was Brooke thinking, trying to get her together with a man? It was clear she needed time to recover from the last one. She shouldn’t be spending time with any men other than him and Sterling, because she’d be safe with them.
Doubt filtered through the haze of his possessive thoughts, dousing them.
No, she’d be safe with Sterling,nothim. If he was actually a good guy, he’d stop finding excuses to spend time with her when he wasn’t capable of protecting anyone.
“Who’s that?” she asked, bringing his attention back to the present. She pointed to where a man stood outside the school gates, a little boy by his side, smiling at them.
“That’s Shane, another of my friends. He’s a teacher at the school. Would you like to meet him?” Unlike Kyle, he had no qualms about her meeting Shane, who was a little older and rendered nonthreatening by his two sons.
Megan smiled, appearing to have pulled herself together again. “That would be nice.”
“Morena,” Tione said as they approached.
“Morena, Mr. Tee,” the little boy replied.
Tione nodded to Shane and reached down to ruffle the boy’s hair. “Hunter, this is my friend Megan. Can you saykia orato Megan?”
“Kia ora, Megan,” Hunter repeated dutifully, keeping one arm around his dad’s leg.
“It’s lovely to meet you,” Megan said, bending to his level and extending her hand. Hunter stared at it with wide eyes, then pulled his slobbery thumb out of his mouth and held it out to her. To her credit, she shook the kid’s hand without missing a beat, and straightened to smile at Shane. “Hi, there.”
“Hi.” Shane glanced from Tione to Megan with a brow raised. “Nice to meet you. Are you a guest at Sanctuary?”
“Yes, I’ve been staying there for a little over a week now, but I haven’t been very well, so today is the first time I’ve left the lodge. You have such a gorgeous town.”
Tione hid a grin. A week ago, she’d never have shared so much information with someone she’d just met. He was proud of her progress.
“It’s not so bad,” Shane agreed. “Great place to raise the boys.”
“You have another son?”
He nodded. “Dylan is older. He goes to an intermediate school out of town.” A car passed them and Trevor yanked on his leash, nearly pulling Tione off balance. He cursed, and Hunter moved behind Shane, using him as a shield. “Will you be staying in the bay for long?”
“I’m not sure yet. I’ve got a few things to figure out.”
Tione winced. That question seemed to be the first thing anyone asked her, and he guessed the answer was far more complicated than she made it out to be.
“We’d better make tracks,” he said to Shane. “Lots to do back at the lodge. It was good to see you, man.”
“You, too. A pleasure to meet you, Megan.”
Megan nodded, a little shyly, and his heart squeezed. She was the cutest damn thing. “Likewise. Bye, Shane.”
13
Megan dugher toes into the soft sand and rested her chin on her knees, gazing out over the endless expanse of the ocean. A breeze stirred her hair, tickling the back of her neck, and she rubbed it as she watched gulls swoop low over the water. There were no surfers on this stretch of the water, and her only company was an elderly lady a hundred yards away with a book, and Trevor, who was frolicking in the waves. She’d been keeping him around her as much as possible since their trip to the minimart. The quiet was exactly what she needed after an exhausting day.
She shifted, crossing her legs, and picked up the notebook and pen she’d dropped earlier. Rolling the pen between her fingers, she pondered what cupcakes to make to show how much she appreciated everyone here. She wanted to try something new. Something adventurous. Something she hadn’t had before. Trying the chili ice cream had inspired her.
Peanut butter and chocolate, she jotted down.Lemon and lime. Strawberry lemonade.Berry with a cheesecake topping. Pineapple and coconut.Mm, she liked that option. Tropical flavors weren’t ones she often used. But she could do better. She crossed outpineapple and coconutand replaced it withpina colada. She smiled. Yeah, that was more like it. Below that, she addedpassion fruit mojito.
Tropical cocktails. That was a theme she could really get behind. She tapped the pen against her lip as she thought it over. They could have a cocktail night, and pair actual cocktails with cocktail-flavored cupcakes. But would that be a little much?