Page 67 of The Library on Plum Island
While Alex seemed not to have noticed, Harriet had, much to Daniella’s horror.
“Daniella, are you okay?” Harriet’s shrewd eyes assessed her.
“Yes.” Daniella nodded, trying her best to muster a confused expression. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You tell me,” Harriet knocked the question back at her, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. “Do you have feelings for Alex?”
“What?” Daniella tried to look shocked and tried a ‘cool shocked’ expression but ended up spluttering.
“Do you have a scratch?” Harriet’s mouth lifted into a lopsided grin. “Because you sounded a little like a stuck record.”
“I’m shocked that you’d ask that,” Daniella told her. “I’m not Alex Blackwell’s type.”
“And what do you think Alex’s type is?” Harriet raised an eyebrow.
“Glitzy, glamorous celebrities, models, you know… A-listers,” Daniella pointed out.
“I’ll let you in on a little secret,” Harriet told her. “Alexdatesthose types of women, but they arenotthe type he’d ever settle down with.”
Harriet’s eyes twinkled like she knew something Daniella didn’t, which Harriet probably did. The woman probably knew a lot more than Daniella did about Alex.
“What is his type?” The words were out of Daniella’s mouth before she could stop them.
“Unassuming, intelligent woman who isn’t interested in the bright lights, glitz, and glamor of a world Alex Blackwell never really wanted part of but inherited,” Harriet told her. “Someone who sees him for him and not as a social ladder into the world of high society.”
“Someone like you,” Daniella suggested, again unable to stop the words from tumbling from her lips.
“Oh, heck no!” Harriet shook her head. “Alex and I…” She pulled a pained face. “We don’t work as a couple.”
“You say that like you have been a couple,” Daniella pointed out.
“I think that’s a question for Alex,” Harriet hedged. “While it was artfully done the way you tried to veer the conversation in another direction, you still haven’t answered my question.”
“Which question?” Daniella played dumb but knew what Harriet was referring to. She looked at her wristwatch. “Don’t you think we should head to Caroline’s place to see her animals?”
“Yes. We can take Jennifer’s car,” Harriet said, walking to the key hook near the front door. “And on the way, you can answer my question.”
Daniella navigated Jennifer’s brand new Subaru Forester down the bumpy road toward the main road that would take them to Cobble Cove Lighthouse, where Caroline Danes lived. A tense silence hung over the car as Daniella held her breath, hoping that Harriet would forget to ask her to answer the question she didn’t want to answer.
“You mentioned that Finn would be back on the island later today?” As Daniella glanced at Harriet, her eye caught the gold band on her left finger.
With all the congratulations that escalated into a whirlwind of activity over the past couple of hours, Daniella had almost forgotten it was there. Now, all of a sudden, as an image of Alex pulling away from her crossed her mind, the band felt like it was weighing down her finger. Her ring finger felt as heavy as her heart.
“Finn took his kids to Boston as Jennifer’s grandmother invited them to spend the weekend with Shay, Reef, and Emily,” Harriet told her.
“It was so nice of Jennifer’s grandmother to invite Emily and her friends to stay at their house in Boston and throw an early sixteenth birthday party for Emily,” Daniella said, her heart feeling a few pounds heavier. “It’s a party I should be at.”
“Hey,” Harriet reached over and gave Daniella’s arm a compassionate squeeze. “This will hopefully be over soon, and the two of you will finally be free of the dark shadows of that creep hanging over you.”
“I know,” Daniella said, with a nod, trying to put on a happy face. “I can’t believe that a person can ingratiate their way into a person’s life and then force them to give up everything to flee in order to get them out of their lives.”
“I know,” Harriet said. “The audacity of some people is appalling. What right does someone have to do that, especially in this century?”
Daniella couldn’t help the smile that spread across her lips at the memory of hers and Alex’s conversation on the beach the previous night. “Alex and I had a similar conversation last night.” She pulled onto the much smoother tar road and headed toward the lighthouse. “I said that I felt like I was in the eighteenth century where I had to get married to get an iota of independence, feel free, and be safe.”
“It’s ludicrous,” Harriet agreed, anger heating her voice. “How dare that arrogant man think he can manipulate and try to dominate your life like this.” She looked at Daniella. “I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through this, Daniella. I’m even more sorry and so disgusted that people who had known and worked with you for years would believe his lies.”
“The man could spin a very believable tale,” Daniella pointed out. “If he lived in the eighteenth century, he could’ve been the most successful snake oil salesman ever.”
