started to get to know him. We’re having breakfast at the Shipwreck.”
“That’s a nice first date.”
Raven grunted. “It’s not a date. I didn’t come here to get lucky.”
“Why did you come to the island?”
Dammit. It figured that her lawyer sister would find some way to bend the conversation back to why she’d traveled to Heron Harbor. Well, she wasn’t ready to spill just yet. It’d been hard enough admitting that she was between jobs to Jack, a perfect stranger who had no investment in her as a person. Telling her sister was too humiliating.
“Because I got in my car and drove here, that’s why.”
“I’m calling bullshit. Something’s up with you. Lark said you kissed him. In your sleep. While you were wearing next to nothing.”
Raven groaned. “It was a sex dream thing.”
“Yeah, Lark told me that, too. And that after you woke up and sorted everything out with Lark, you spent the night in the house with this nice, super-hot guy, who’d kissed you back, and you didn’t boink him. That’s so not Raven.”
Her resolve began to crack. Wren wouldn’t stop pushing until she’d unearthed what she wanted. Revealing the truth would be painful, but at least Raven could control how she spun it. She pushed out a chestful of air. “Look. Stuff happened at work.”
“What kind of stuff?” Wren asked.
“Billy’s kids sold the company out from under him.”
“Oh, no.”
“And . . . I was dismissed.” Raven barely managed to force the words past her lips. They sounded foreign as if she’d suddenly begun speaking in tongues.
Wren gasped. “Oh, Rae.”
“So now you know why I came to the beach house. And why boinking even Superman was the last thing that crossed my mind. Please don’t tell Lark. I don’t want her sending me any crystals or essential oils.”
“What are you going to do?” Wren asked.
Raven sighed as she picked at the mortar between the bricks on the diner wall. “I don’t know. My contract included a nice severance package but also a twelve-month non-compete agreement. Maybe I’ll join Lark in her RV for a while.”
“Oh God, I’d love to see that.”
Raven laughed. “We wouldn’t last a week.”
After they considered the myriad ways Lark and Raven might Thelma and Louise their way across the country, Wren offered, “Just a thought. I know you didn’t come to the island this weekend to find a guy, but a guy found you. Why don’t you take advantage of that? Superman might be a great distraction to ease your troubles.”
In theory, that made a lot of sense. If this were a typical problem, Raven would be all over that idea (and the man in question), but this was a next-level issue.
“Considering he reminded me this morning that he rented a solitary vacation, I don’t think he’s looking for a roommate,” Raven answered.
“Oh, that’s pretty clear.”
“Plus, I don’t need the distraction. I’ve never been fired before, Wren. I need to figure out how this happened. What I missed. How I screwed up.”
“Then, in that case, I hope the Sandpiper has a room. And if not, good luck not jumping his bones. Again.”
“Ha ha. I’ll do my best.”
Jack watched as Raven made her way back to their table. Compact and confident, she strode through the room in her boots like a panther. From his vantage point at the back of the room, he saw her as if for the first time. This woman who looked so young, inexperienced, and as sweet as a strawberry, was very likely anything but. Raven Donovan had a killer instinct; he was sure of it. She was a mystery he had to unfold.
“Hey, you waited,” Raven said when she got to the table and saw the plates that had been delivered.
“Of course. I wouldn’t eat without you.”
She sat and laid her napkin on her lap. “I wouldn’t have minded if you did. Your food will be cold.”
“I’d rather eat lukewarm eggs with you than hot ones alone,” he answered without a hint of irony, then took his first bite.
Raven looked up from her poached eggs. “That’s really sweet.”
“Careful. You’ll ruin my reputation.” Jack grinned and sipped his coffee.
What magic spell had this woman wrought? Any other day of the week, Jack would have chomped down his whole meal by now and ordered seconds. But here he was, not only playing the role of a gentleman but thoroughly enjoying it and waxing so eloquently that he thought she might slide off the diner bench.
She rolled her eyes as she dunked a piece of