Page 139 of Unexpected Entanglement

Rowan watched Greg drive away in his van and realized today wasn’t just a cleaning day for Bright Head. It was a cleansing day for the island of the hateful act of one person.

It was a good day.

Later that night, though they were all tired, Rae, Dean, and Rowan sat on the porch for a nightcap. Maya was asleep in the room with a monitor on. Oliver was at Bobbie’s, teaching her how to make mandu—Korean dumplings—because, apparently, Logan had loved the ones he’d made for them before.

“I hope big O is getting a foot in.” Rae raised her nonalcoholic cocktail to Rowan. “You think he has a chance?”

“Bobbie’s very cautious about dating.” Rowan sipped her drink. “In fact, I don’t think she’s dating at all.”

“I don’t know,” Dean chimed in. “She seems to flirt back with shy looks and smiles.”

“I didn’t say she wasn’t interested. I just don’t think she’ll act on it, especially with O leaving,” Rowan added.

“He could stay,” Rae suggested. “Do you think he’ll stay if she asks him to?”

“What would he do here?” Rowan asked.

“We need a chef to plan the inn restaurant. Neither of us knows how to do that. Perhaps we can hire Alex as a consultant for now, with O executing the plans on site with you,” Rae said.

Rowan looked at her sister skeptically, though it wasn’t a bad idea. She loved Oliver’s food and planned to persuade him and Alex to run the restaurant. But she hadn’t thought it through.

“Are you ladies making hiring decisions based on someone’s love life?” Dean questioned with a laugh. “I think we need to bring Chris back to consult.”

“That I completely agree with,” Rae was quick to say. “Have you heard from him?”

Rowan looked down at the glass she was holding. She didn’t want Rae or Dean to see how even the mention of his name affected her.

“Rowan?” Rae questioned.

Rowan looked up, surprised.

“Have you heard from Chris?” Rae repeated the question.

“I thought you were asking Dean.”

“I talked to him when he arrived in the Cape a few days ago,” Dean said.

“I haven’t heard from him. I don’t think I will, either,” Rowan said.

“Why did you tell him to leave?” Rae leaned toward Rowan.

“He had to see his dad. He’d postponed his trip for two weeks already. It wasn’t fair to keep him here,” Rowan reasoned.

“I had the impression he didn’t want to leave,” Rae said.

“He was thinking of leaving when you showed up.” Rowan took a healthy sip of her drink. “Because of your arrival, he stayed for the full two weeks. That’s all we agreed on.”

Rowan could feel Rae’s and Dean’s eyes scrutinizing her, and she tried to be as nonchalant as possible.

“A lot happened in those two weeks. I’m sure if you had asked him, he’d stay,” Rae suggested.

“For what? There’s nothing here for him. He has a life and business he has to get back to.”

“He’d stay for you,” Rae insisted.

Rowan laughed at the conviction in Rae’s voice. “Sure, maybe for a few more days. A week tops while you two are here. But then what? I can’t keep relying on him. I had to cut it off. We both agreed.”

“I’m not sure who you’re trying to convince here, us or yourself,” Rae said.

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