First Time in Forever

He took the bear and made admiring noises, his hands gentle as he handled the damaged toy. “What’s his name?”

Name?

Not in a million years would she have thought to ask if the bear had a name, but apparently it did.

“Andrew.” Lizzy’s reply was hesitant, but Ryan nodded, as if the name made perfect sense to him.

“So, how are you and Andrew liking Puffin Island?”

Emily was grateful that the bear couldn’t talk; otherwise he’d no doubt be reporting the fact that so far he’d been well and truly ignored.

If there was a Stuffed Bear Protection League, she was about to be reported for neglect.

She watched as Ryan handed the bear back carefully, envying the ease with which he talked to the child. He didn’t use baby talk, nor was he patronizing or condescending. He behaved as if Lizzy had something to say that he was interested in hearing. As if the answers she gave were important to him. Some of the tension in Lizzy’s shoulders melted away.

“I like the boats.”

Why did it have to be the boats that had caught her attention?

Emily wondered what had possessed her to think coming to the island would be a good idea. She should have picked Wyoming or another state with no coastline.

“I like boats, too.” Ryan rose to his feet. “What’s your favorite food?”

This time Lizzy didn’t hesitate. “Waffles. And chocolate milk.”

“That’s a lucky thing, because I happen to know somewhere that sells the best waffles you have ever tasted. And it has tables overlooking the sea so you can watch the boats at the same time. It will be my treat.”

“Thank you, but we’re fine.” Emily found herself staring at him. He was at least a head taller than her. The casual attire did nothing to diminish the overwhelming sense of presence.

“You don’t like waffles and chocolate milk?” There was humor in his eyes and something else. A sexy, lazy gleam that flustered her. He was the sort of man who made most women lose their heads and throw caution away with their underwear.

Emily had never lost her head or her underwear. Relationships were something to be thought through, measured and calculated, like every other important decision in life. She’d never found that difficult. But nor had she ever met anyone who made her feel the way Ryan Cooper did.

She’d spent three years with Neil and not once had he left her with this sense of breathless awareness. When he’d walked into a room, her heart rate hadn’t altered.

“I appreciate the offer, but Lizzy and I have things we need to do before we have lunch.”

Lizzy clutched the bear to her chest. “I’d like waffles.”

To please her niece, she had to sit at a table with a man who made her feel as if she was naked?

He smiled. “Seems to me that what you need to do most of all is relax. You look as if you’re about to explode.”

“I’ve been driving for two days, and—”

“So a cool drink on the deck is just what you need to help you unwind.”

“I don’t need to unwind.”

His gaze slid over her face. “There is more tension in your spine than in the mast of that yacht over there.”

“I appreciate your concern, but if I’m stressed, then it’s because I don’t appreciate being stalked, Mr. Cooper.”

“Stalked?”

“It seems as if every time I turn around, you’re standing there.”

“Welcome to island living, Emily. Chances are you’re going to be bumping into me several times a day. And then there’s the fact I promised Brittany I’d keep an eye on you.”

“I appreciate your concern, but I’m absolving you of that duty.”

“She told me you might need someone you could trust. She asked me to watch out for you. So, here I am, watching out for you.”

Emily met that lazy, interested gaze and decided no normal, sane woman would be foolish enough to put her trust in a man like him. You might as well hand over your heart and say “stomp on this.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I don’t need anyone to keep an eye on me.” In fact, people keeping an eye on them was the last thing she needed.

She was all that stood between Lizzy and a media hungry for a story at any cost.

They reminded her of vultures, swooping down to strip the last pieces of flesh from a carcass.

Lana was dead.

Surely that should be enough for them. Why did they need to unpick her life? There had been a constant parade of stories in the press. A catalog of salacious details that one day Lizzy might read.

If Emily could have found a way of destroying all of it, she would have done so.

Ryan stepped closer, his voice low. “Tell me what the trouble is, and I’ll fix it.”

She wondered how it felt to be that confident. It didn’t seem to occur to him that there might be something he couldn’t fix.

“It isn’t trouble as much as a change in circumstances. Brittany was exaggerating.”

And she was going to kill her.

“She said you’d push me away.”

She wasn’t just going to kill her; she was going to kill her slowly. “It was wrong of her to put you in this position. I’m sure you’re a busy man, so you should get on and do whatever it is you do, and I’ll—” She’d what? Carry on messing up parenthood? “I’ll be fine.”

“I made her a promise. I keep my promises.” He gave a disarming smile. “And on top of that, I’m scared of Brittany. Apart from the fact she’s an expert in Bronze Age weaponry and has an unnerving fascination for re-creating daggers and arrowheads, I remember what happened when someone stole her sea glass. I don’t want to be on the wrong side of her temper.”

She eyed those broad, powerful shoulders, noticing that his biceps filled out the arms of his shirt. She was willing to bet there wasn’t much that scared him.

“Aunt Emily?” Lizzy tugged at her hand. “I’m hungry.”

She saw Ryan lift an eyebrow and knew he’d filed the information that she was an aunt, not a mother.

“We’ll buy some food. You can choose the things you like.” Because she had no idea what the girl liked.