Page 40 of Last Summer

“This won’t work.”

She blinks. “What won’t work?”

“The interview.”

“Why not?”

“Sorry you drove all the way up here. There’s a hotel in town if you don’t want to drive back tonight.”

He puts down the mug and abruptly walks off.

What the hell?

Okay, she anticipated she’d have to do some negotiating, but the cold shoulder he gave her? She didn’t foresee that.

Her fault. She barely gave the guy a chance to say hello before she blurted everything. Nerves kept her yapping.

Nice going, Skye.Rookie move.

But reluctant subjects aren’t foreign territory. She’s handled them before and Nathan isn’t any different. Patience and some word finesse, that’s all it should take. She’s got to appeal to him on a level he’ll understand.

Ella follows Nathan toward the front of the house. She calls his name. “Wait up.”

He turns around, walking backward, hands up to ward her off. “I told you. I changed my mind. We’re not doing this.”

“Why not?” she pushes. “You called us. You asked for me. You insisted I meet you here.”

“We spent two weeks together last time. I don’t have time to start over.” He bounds down the steps. Long, determined strides take him toward the open garage. Gravel crunches under his boots.

Two weeks? She thought they’d spent ten days together. Where did those extra days come from? What did they do?

“Give me five days,” she negotiates, falling into step beside him. “That’s all I need.”

“I leave for Alaska in three.”

“I’ll go with.”

He laughs. “Nope. Not happening.”

“Why not? Tell me where you’re staying and I’ll make the arrangements. Give me two hours a day, three max. That’s all I ask. Outside of that, you won’t even notice I’m there.”

“I’d notice. And I’m heli-skiing. Your weight alone mandates that I make plan adjustments.”

“I don’t expect to go skiing with you,” she says, trying not to bristle over his weight comment. Obviously, it has something to do with the helicopter. She isn’t carrying any extra weight since she last saw Nathan. In fact, she might weigh less. Exercise shed the pregnancy weight. Stress and anxiety over the memory loss dropped a few more pounds.

“I’ll wait at the lodge until you’re done,” she proposes, far from ready to give up.

He laughs again. “You, wait? Doubtful. Look, El”—he stops and turns to her—“this interview isn’t going to happen. I told you everything already. Do you really expect me to relive it?”

Ella’s face falls. “I’m sorry. If you’d just—”

“I won’t go through this again. I shouldn’t have read that email from Rebecca’s assistant and called her.”

“Is this because of my amnesia?”

“I thought—” He cuts off, looks at the sky.

“You thought what?”

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