Secrets Whispered from the Sea - Emma St. Clair Page 0,43

that’s what we’re going with? Okay, then.

“Nathan,” my dad said, shaking Alec’s hand. “Good to meet you.”

Nadia tried to go in for a hug, but Alec managed to cut her off with a handshake too. Chuck and Alec shook hands like they were trying to break the other’s fingers.

“Great to meet you, Charles,” Alec said.

“It’s Chuck.”

“Whatever,” Alec said.

Chuck shot Alec a dark look, then glanced at me. Like I could control the man.

“Why don’t you all come inside,” I said. “I’ll fix some coffee. But I’ll warn you—I don’t have much by way of food in the house.”

“Don’t worry about breakfast. We’ve already had our green smoothies,” Nadia said, stroking my father’s arm.

Two counts of gross. One on the smoothies, and another for the touching. I wished that the AC hadn’t been fixed two days ago. Then I would have had the perfect excuse to send everyone on their way.

“I brought donuts,” Chuck said, waving a bag from what happened to be my favorite donut shop on the island.

I couldn’t believe he remembered. But we definitely had our share of serious donut discussions. Houston had donut shops on every block, but I never found a place as good as Dune Donuts.

“Thank you,” I said, feeling oddly touched that he remembered. Touched, and guilty.

My relationship with Chuck felt like it had ended years ago, not weeks. I didn’t want to get back together and hoped that wasn’t why he came. But I couldn’t think of another reason he would have flown out here without telling me first. It had grand gesture written all over it.

If I had any questions about whether or not I was over him, it had been immediately clear the moment I saw him standing in the driveway. My first feeling was dread, not excitement. That didn’t mean I had kicked all the residual feelings to the curb. We had almost two years of history between us. It would have been naive to think every single feeling would evaporate. But even while we were together, Chuck didn’t elicit the reaction I had when Alec stepped closer to me.

“And I brought your chai. You left it at the coffee shop.”

His wording made our earlier exchange sound more like a date. Nothing like the real story—that he’d caught me by surprise and I’d driven off after we exchanged biting remarks. I didn’t miss the look he gave Chuck, one that seemed way too territorial for what Alec referred to as our new friendship.

“Thanks. You really didn’t need to do that.” I took the cup from Alec and startled a little when his rough fingers brushed mine. Was I imagining it, or had he done that intentionally?

“I know I didn’t.” His stormy eyes bore into mine with a look that felt far too intimate, both for our relationship and the situation.

Had he been standing so close this whole time? Was Chuck puffing out his chest? Was my dad … laughing? Did I fall into some kind of portal into an alternate dimension?

“If you carry my coffee, I’ll get the painting,” Alec said, handing me his cup. “It wouldn’t be good for this to be out in the sun.”

Right. The painting. “Thanks,” I said, feeling unsteady. I watched Alec carefully lift it from the back of the jeep.

“That’s gorgeous,” Nadia said, sidling up to Alec.

I swear, I couldn’t tell if she meant the painting or Alec. She definitely was stroking his biceps, not the painting. Almost the same way she’d just been touching my dad. I shot Dad a glance, but he had already started up the stairs, shoulders slumped. I had never disliked Nadia more than in this moment. For his part, Alec bristled at her touch and jerked away from her.

And two points to you, Alec. I turned to the stairs to hide my smile.

“I didn’t know you were into art,” Nadia said, following closely on my heels as we climbed the stairs. “That’s an expensive hobby.” She gave a little laugh that made me cringe. “Though I guess with recent events, you don’t need to worry as much about that.”

Was she seriously hinting around about Nana’s inheritance? I was thankful that she was walking behind me. By the time we all reached the deck, I had evened out my features.

“I wouldn’t say that,” I said, purposefully being vague. I could have been speaking of collecting art or about the inheritance. “This painting just … spoke to me.”

“Did it now?” Alec asked as he joined us on the deck, shifting