fingers at his bald head. He doesn’t see me, but it feels good anyway.
As I storm out of the cabin, I could swear I hear laughter behind me. I slam the door hard and stomp down the trail toward my cabin. The hell with him. The hell with my mother, too, and the Duke and—
“Izzy?”
Bree’s voice freezes me in my tracks. I whirl to face her, fixing my face into the closest approximation of normal I can muster.
She’s got her car keys in hand and a curious look on her face. “I thought that was you,” she says. “Out for a walk?”
“I—yes, a walk.” More like a march of fury, but if she’s buying it, that’s the story I’ll go with. “I had a lot on my mind.”
“Tell me about it.” She catches up to me in a few quick strides and trains a flashlight on the path in front of us. “We’ve got a group of eighteen women at the spa for pre-wedding pampering, but the bride pulled a no-show and everyone started panicking and—” She shakes her head. “Never mind. Crisis averted, that’s the short story. What’s on your mind?”
“Oh, um. Nothing.” No way she’s buying that. “Bradley,” I blurt. “Just thinking about Bradley.” At least that’s partly true.
Her face breaks into a grin as we start walking again. “How did your farm date go?”
“Fine.” God, was that only a few hours ago? “Lovely, actually.” Heat spreads over my face and I feel the confession bubbling up.
Bree picks right up on it. “Any more kissing?”
I must look mortified because she laughs and bumps me softly with her elbow. “It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me. Just remembering what you shared earlier.”
It’s all I can do not to glance behind us at Dante’s cabin. We’re far enough away, but I wouldn’t put it past him to have listening devices planted all over the resort.
But if that’s true, he already knows about the kiss. He knew about Kevin, didn’t he?
“Bradley kissed me.” I whisper the words and edge closer to my sister on the walking path. “I kissed him the first time, but this time he kissed me.”
She flashes a broad smile and throws me a conspiratorial wink. “Ah, early love. I remember that stage fondly.”
“Oh, we’re hardly in love.” I suppose I could imagine that under normal circumstances, but these are hardly normal.
“I just meant the early stages of romance are so fun,” she says. “Every kiss feels monumental. Even more if you know you shouldn’t be doing it.”
I draw a sharp breath. Does she know about—
“Oh, you meant you and Austin?” I clear my throat. “Why weren’t you supposed to be kissing him?”
“Lots of reasons.” She directs the flashlight’s golden beam at a patch of ice on the path. “Most of them invalid in hindsight.”
“Like what?” Heavens, now I’m the one prying. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be nosy.”
“No, it’s okay.” She shrugs then burrows her chin under her scarf. “I made some mistakes when I was younger. Big, life-altering mistakes. And I convinced myself that was the reason I could never date a law enforcement officer.”
“Oh.” Clearly, she moved past that. “But things worked out in the end.”
“That they did.” She smiles and stops walking. “This is me.”
Bree aims her keys at a shape in the dark and hits a button. Her car gives a cheery chirp, but she keeps her eyes on my face.
“You know,” she says slowly. “Things have a way of working out, Iz.”
I nod, even though I don’t believe it. “Certainly.”
Her green eyes hold mine, so much like the eyes I see each morning in the mirror. How did I never know before what it feels like to have a sister?
When she touches my arm, I want to cry. “Whatever you’re working through—well, let me know if you want to talk.”
I nod again, feeling like one of those strange bobblehead dolls I’ve seen on dashboards in old movies. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
She gives me a fierce hug, and I hug back, wishing like hell I could tell her.
Wishing my problems were as simple as she presumes.
“Do you mind if I swing by my doctor’s office really quickly?” Lily glances over at me in the passenger seat. “I just need to pick up a prescription.”
I’ve spent the whole day shopping with James’s gorgeous wife, who took it upon herself to help me update my wardrobe. I’m so grateful for the kindness that I’d cheerfully follow her into the clinic and donate