out.”
Carin nodded. “Thanks to Nathan.” She didn’t hesitate to admit that.
“Oh, Nathan’s a brick,” Gabriela said dryly, then she turned to him. “I need to talk with you.”
Nathan frowned. “Now?”
“Now. Sorry.” She gave Carin a commiserating smile. “I’ll return him in a moment. We have a bit of business. Then I have to catch a plane back to Santa Fe.”
“Of course.” Carin smiled at her. “I can manage,” she assured Nathan, who looked as if he were going to argue with Gabriela.
Nathan’s jaw worked for a moment. He hesitated, then shrugged. “Okay. One minute.” He took Gabriela’s arm and they moved to a corner of the room where Carin tried not to watch them talking. But whether she wanted to or not, her gaze kept drifting their way.
Gabriela was apparently determined to make the most of her minute. She was talking nonstop, gesturing, pointing, obviously feeling very strongly about something.
Nathan was leaning against the wall, hands tucked in his pockets, looking casual. But from the way his jaw tightened as he listened to her words, he didn’t seem to be as nonchalant as his pose might suggest.
They were too far away for Carin to have any idea what they were saying. It wasn’t her business anyway, she told herself severely. And she was glad when Stacia brought over a journalist to talk with her.
Carin mustered her own charm and wits and tried to answer his questions. All the while, though, her gaze went back to Nathan and Gaby. Gaby had her hand on his sleeve now, gesturing expansively with her other hand toward his photos, then spreading her palms and giving him an irritated look which wasn’t hard to read.
And where are the rest of them? she seemed to ask.
Nathan’s shoulders hunched. His spine stiffened. He said something, then shook his head fiercely.
Whatever he said, Gaby didn’t agree with. That was obvious from her stance, from her stiff shoulders, from her waggling finger under his nose.
Nathan shoved her finger away and, clearly annoyed, pushed away from the wall and dipped his head toward where Lacey was standing with Mariah and Rhys. Then his gaze flickered briefly in Carin’s direction. Gabriela’s gaze followed his. She shook her head, then began arguing again. She looked annoyed, too, now. Whatever point she’d tried to make, Nathan had rejected.
He shook his head, then turned and walked away, leaving her alone as he headed back toward Carin.
Determinedly Gaby followed. “You’re going to regret it, Nathan. It’s a terrific opportunity.”
Nathan ignored her. A muscle was ticking in his jaw. “You okay?” he asked Carin, as if she were the one under attack at the moment.
“Fine.”
“See. She’s fine,” Gaby said. “She’d want—” Gaby began.
Nathan whirled on her. “Don’t,” he said fiercely. “Don’t involve her.”
Gaby’s mouth was open. The words—whatever they were—were on the tip of her tongue. Carin could almost hear them. But Nathan had made his own point.
Gaby pressed her lips into a firm line. Her expression grew shuttered, and she turned to look at Nathan. “You’re making it hard to be your agent.”
He scowled. “So quit.”
“I don’t want to quit,” Gaby said patiently. “I love your work. I love what you’ve done, what you could do!”
Nathan let out a harsh impatient breath. He shot back his cuff and looked at his watch. “You’ll miss your plane, Gaby.”
“Think about it.”
“I’ve told you—”
“Think about it. And call me when you get back to the Bahamas.” She smiled suddenly, then leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss. Then she turned her gaze on Carin. “It’s been a great show,” she said. “You two work well together.” Her gaze flicked back to Nathan. “But there’s only so much you can do on an island. You need to get back to work, Nathan.”
And then with a waggling wave of her fingers, she was gone.
“Where does she want you to go?” Carin asked.
“Doesn’t matter. I’m not going.” He didn’t even look at her. He was scanning the crowd. “There’s Finn MacCauley and his wife. Finn’s a terrific photographer—and a good friend of Rhys’s. Come on. I’ll introduce you.”
And that was the end of whatever Gaby had in mind.
Finn MacCauley and his wife Izzy had a pair of twins who were just a bit younger than Lacey. Izzy promptly invited Lacey over to meet them the following afternoon.
“We’re only here one more day,” Carin said. “I thought we’d go somewhere.”
“Drop her off,” Izzy said. “You and Nathan go somewhere.”
“We don’t need—”
“Of course you do. Every couple with kids needs time alone