Page 38 of Fire Island
That’s right, her and her author friend.
Pretty little thing.
With her standing in Iris’s pajamas last night, I’d have to be dead to not notice her gorgeous frame. The fine angles that make up Eve Holland. Iris gave me the rundown on her and her situation this morning, early. The girl herself slept late. I wrap a hand around the coffee mug on the table in front of me as Eve appears through the door behind the counter.
Like last night, she looks a little lost, and a whole lot of meek.
Not my fucking type.
Good thing she’s not staying.
“Morning,” she says with a tight smile before sliding onto a stool at the counter and giving me her back.
“Morning, yourself,” I mutter.
Emmett swallows a mouthful, leaning back in his chair. “You’ll be happy to get home, bud.”
“Not a moment too soon, Em.”
He huffs a laugh and drains his cup. “I’ll be back out to collect you in a week for your scan. But, so you know, Iris has someone lined up to stay out there with you. Doctor’s orders.” He glances to the counter. “Just in case.”
“I don’t need a fucking babysitter.”
He forces a smile, and when his focus stays on Eve at the counter, the penny drops.
“No, Em. No damn way.” I shake my head at him.
A grin stretches his handsome fucking face. “Thought you’d say that. Iris is pretty set on the idea. Plus, Eve needs a place to stay, and you?—”
“Why can’t she stay here? Where the hell is she supposed to sleep?” I raise an eyebrow at him.
He stares at me for a beat, confusion written all over his face. “Ah, I made up the bunk in the shack. She should be good there for a while. And Iris needs the room.” His gaze drops to his hands.
I lean back in my chair, resigned to the fact that she’s coming with me, hoping the old shack with no electricity or modern conveniences will scare her right back to the Bay with her tail between her damn legs.
“Besides”—Em imitates my position, giving me a shit-eating grin—“you could do worse, bud.”
I mean, he has a point. I could have been stuck with some old hag of a live-in nurse.
I’ll count my blessings while I have them, thank you.
Iris rounds the counter carrying a small overnight bag that I assume is Eve’s as Eve slides down from the stool. The writer slides her phone in her pocket before shouldering her handbag.
I rise from the chair. “Let’s get this over with, then.”
Iris slaps my arm, hard. “You will be on your best behavior, lest your actions catch up with you when your memory does.”She points a finger at me and walks for the door, sweeping up Eve as she goes.
Force of nature, my little sister. Always has been.
Em files in beside Iris, taking the bag from her hand. She smiles up at him.
Always looking after her. Where would we be without Emmett? He’s been my shelter in some of the worst storms of my life.
The walk to the docks is short, and Iris says her goodbyes as we board Firefly. It’s strange to be a passenger on my own boat. Em does the prestart checks, and I give the old girl a once-over. Eve settles into the bench seat behind the captain’s chair, making herself comfortable.
“You don’t get seasick, do you?” I ask, dropping down beside her as Em powers the throttle and we move from the slip.
Eve turns to me. She’s tense, like this close, she doesn’t know what to do with herself. “Um, no, I don’t.”
