“THERE WAS SOMETHING about the way he looked at me. For a minute I thought he was going to say I love you. How crazy is that?” She was with Emily and Skylar, and they’d opted for a picnic on the beautiful sandy curve of Shell Bay. A little distance away from them Lizzy was playing with Cocoa on the sand. The child threw the ball and the little dog bounded after it, skidded to a halt and then sprinted back with it locked firmly in her teeth while Emily watched them both closely.

“You mean you wanted him to say it.” Skylar foraged through the various treats while Brittany sprawled on her stomach on the blanket.

Apart from a family on the far side of the beach, they had Shell Bay to themselves.

“Maybe I did. Yes, okay, I admit it, I did.” She gave a groan of frustration and rolled onto her back. “Three little words, that’s all. How hard is it to say three little words?”

“It depends on the words. He’s not the first person to have a problem with those particular three.”

Brittany lifted her hand to her mouth and started to chew the edge of her nail and then let her hand drop as she caught Sky’s eye. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s true that I don’t see the point in ruining your nails over a man, but nor do I think you’re crazy. You two have been pretty cosy. Spending a lot of time together.”

Emily unwrapped meat they’d bought from the deli. “I don’t want you to be hurt the way you were hurt before.”

“That was then and this is now. It’s different.”

“He’s the same guy, Brittany.”

“Yes, and I loved that guy! I loved his resilience, his strength, the fact that despite everything—and I didn’t even know what everything was then—despite everything, he never lost his humanity or his kindness. And it is different now. He’s dealing with things differently. He’s talking. He’s opening up. We’re close.”

“Naked close.” Today Sky was wearing a dress of cerulean blue which she’d teamed with bold silver earrings. With her long golden hair and blue eyes she looked like a summer flower. “Naked close isn’t the same as emotional close.”

“That’s right. Sex is sex, but a relationship is intimacy,” Emily said slowly. “It’s about knowing someone and allowing them to know you back. That’s the really scary part.”

“You’re talking as if he’s a stranger. We were married for God’s sake!”

“Were you? Really? You exchanged vows and rings—” Sky caught Brittany’s eye and gave a faint smile. “Okay, maybe not a whopping diamond or anything—”

“It was a cheap ring from a gift store. I bought it.”

“Whatever. You wouldn’t have cared about that if you’d had something real and sustainable. The problem was that you never really shared anything of yourselves.”

“That’s what I’m telling you. Now we are. And emotional close makes everything different. Better. People evolve. Nothing stays the same.”

“Well, then, that’s good,” Emily said firmly and Sky nodded.

“Really good. Yay.”

Brittany looked at her friends and gave a humorless laugh. “You’re both crap at hiding your feelings. You don’t think it’s good. You think this is going to end in tears.”

“We care about you, that’s all. And we’re hoping he’ll say those words soon.”

“Or we’ll kick his butt,” Sky said happily, helping herself to more food.

“I have some news, too.” Emily handed out drinks. “I went to talk to Doug Mitchell about renting the empty store near the end of Main Street.”

Brittany opened the drink. “Is this for you or for someone else?”

“For me. I’ve been playing with the numbers. I want to open a store that sells a variety of things with a seaside theme. Despite the obvious market, there’s nothing like that on the island. The artists who work here take their stuff to the mainland. There’s a woman who lives over near Puffin Point who makes beautiful mirrors out of driftwood. And John Harris makes those awesome wooden boats like the one he made for Lizzy. I’ve already talked to him, and he’d be interested in making more.”

“Paintings? Jewelry? I can see that working. I think it’s a great idea. I can make you a few pieces to sell.” They finished eating and Skylar wiped her fingers on a napkin while Brittany started tidying up.

“It sounds exciting.”

She tried to ignore the little pang inside her.

Both her friends knew what they wanted to do. They both had a clear vision of the future, whereas hers was murky and opaque.

For the first time in her life, she had no idea what she wanted to do.

All she knew was that she wanted to stay here, living close to her friends, breathing in the salty air when she woke up every morning. She wanted to walk in the forest, watch the sun go down over the ocean from the terrace of the Ocean Club.

Most of all she wanted to be with Zach.

After a decade of traveling, she was ready to settle down in some form, although she was flexible about how that looked. All she knew was that she was tired of carrying her life in a backpack.

Should she tell him?

Yes. She’d tell him how she felt and ask him to be honest with her.

Hope lifting her mood, she scrambled to her feet and turned her attention back to her friends. “So what are you going to call your gift store?”

“I don’t know, but I want something with ‘seashore’ in the title.”

“Something Seashore.” Skylar grinned. “Perfect. I’ll design you a logo.” She sighed as her phone rang. She delved into the bag and the smile faded from her face as she saw the caller ID. “Excuse me. I have to take this.” She scrambled to her feet and walked away from them across the sand, her voice carrying in the wind. “Richard? I wasn’t expecting—well, I know that, but I thought you were—”

Feeling as if she was eavesdropping, Brittany caught Emily’s eye. “I don’t like what being with him does to her.”

“Me neither. It reminds me of college.”

“When she was trying to escape from the pressure her parents put on her? I was thinking the same thing.”

They couldn’t hear the rest of the conversation, but when Sky finally walked back to them her smile was forced.

“Sorry. I’m going to have to leave.”

“Now?” Emily’s tone was gentle as she scrambled to her feet. “We were going to spend a little more time on the beach and then I was going to run you up to the airfield in time for your late-afternoon flight.”

“Something unexpected has come up. Richard has booked Zach to fly me.”

“Without asking if it suited you?”

“He knows how much I hate planning. And spontaneity isn’t practical when it comes to air travel.” Without looking at them, Skylar slid her feet into her shoes. “I have to pack. My things are strewn all over the cottage, it’s going to take me a while. Stay there. Pete can give me a ride.”

“No way.” Brittany gathered up their things. “If you’re really leaving, then Em can drop you at the airfield on her way home. I’ll come, too. I need to pick up some things from the store and I’ll walk back across the fields.”

Barely responding, Skylar hurried off towards Castaway Cottage, all long legs and graceful lines.

Brittany watched her go, her own problems temporarily forgotten in her concern for her friend. “He calls and she drops everything. What is that about?”

“I guess she loves him.”

“It didn’t look like love to me. It looked like coercion. Love is supposed to flow both ways. Have you noticed that Richard never comes with her? He expects her by his side whenever he commands it, but it doesn’t work in reverse.”

“Yes, I’ve noticed.” Emily reached for her sweater. “I’ve sometimes wondered if we’re the problem. Perhaps he doesn’t like us.”

“How can he not like us? We’re awesome!” Brittany grinned and then shrugged. “Honestly? He doesn’t know us. We’ve only met him twice and on both occasions he was so busy working the room he barely did more than nod.”

“We’re not important enough to merit a slice of his very valuable time.”

“We’re important to Skylar. That should mean something, surely? He doesn’t like anything or anyone that takes her away from him. It worries me.”

“It worries me, too. But what worries me most is that she sometimes seems almost scared of him.” Emily stuffed the remains of the picnic into the bag and slid it onto her shoulder. “I’ve been on the phone with her when he’s shown up unexpectedly and she dashes off, even if we were in midsentence.”

“You think he’s physically violent?”

“No! I hope not.” Emily caught her eye and then shook her head. “No, I’m sure he isn’t. He cares too much about his public image to ever lose control like that. But she’s always a little jumpy when she talks about him, and very careful not to upset him. She’s trying very hard to be who he wants her to be and losing who she really is in the process.”

Brittany thought about Skylar, so bright, happy and optimistic. “It’s like watching someone trying to cage a bird and it doesn’t make for comfortable viewing. Think we should say something before she flies back?”

Emily shook her head. “No. She needs to work this one out for herself. She knows we love her and she’ll talk to us when she’s ready.”

“I want to fire an arrow into Richard Everson’s butt and I will still want to fire an arrow into his butt if he wins in November. Why is she even with him?”

“I suspect she’s still trying to please her parents.”

“You’d think that the most important thing to them would be her happiness.”

“That’s the theory. Not always the practice.”

Remembering Emily’s own background, Brittany made an apologetic sound and pulled her friend into a hug, the gesture sending bags tumbling onto the sand. “I’m sorry. I’m a tactless idiot.”

“You’re not. And I’m as worried about Sky as you are. If you’re firing arrows into butts, you could add her parents to the list. Now move your feet. You’re treading on the blanket.” Emily extracted herself and stooped to fold the blanket.

“You can’t ever really see inside another person’s relationship. Maybe it will all work out,” Brittany said doubtfully and Emily gave her a troubled look.

“Maybe. But if it’s right, if it’s really love, I don’t think it should be that complicated, should it?”

“You’re asking the wrong person.” Brittany took the blanket from her and picked up her flip-flops. “I’m starting to think that there is nothing in the world more complicated than love.”

Emily touched her arm. “You really do love him, don’t you?”

Brittany stared out to sea. “I think a small part of me never fell out of love with him. Does that sound crazy?”

“No, it sounds like you. You’re loyal to your friends. You stick with people through thick and thin.” Emily’s hand was warm. Comforting. “Do you think he loves you?”

Brittany thought about the past few weeks, about the gradual shift in their relationship. The laughter, the long talks in the dark while they lay there wrapped together. “I think he does. But it’s hard for him to say those words. He’s never said them to anyone, Em. And if you struggle to trust people, handing over your heart is the ultimate test of trust.”

And she wasn’t sure he could do that.

ZACH EXECUTED A PERFECT landing on the ocean, and his four passengers, a family from Boston who regularly used his services, stepped from the plane onto the dock of the private island they used regularly over the summer months. The days were growing shorter, the temperature falling and the leaves starting to change. Another storm was forecast, but for now the weather was perfect. Maine was dressed up in her finest for the tourists, the sea sparkling in the sunshine.

He arrived back at Puffin Island in time for his last flight of the day.

This time his only passenger was Skylar.

As he landed, he saw Emily’s car swing into the small parking area. The glimpse of a mahogany ponytail in the passenger seat told him Brittany was there, too.

He made his final preflight check, watching out of the corner of his eye as the three women climbed out of the car and hugged.

Brittany turned her head to glance in his direction, then lifted a hand and waved to him before sliding back into the car.

Skylar walked towards him, dark glasses covering her eyes.

He noticed that her stride lacked its usual bounce and she was quiet as she slid into her seat on the plane.

Reminding himself that there was no obligation on his passengers to make conversation, Zach secured the door, then took a look at Skylar and froze.

She’d removed her glasses and her fingers were pressed to the bridge of her nose.

He’d made enough women cry in his life to know when one of them was near tears.

“Skylar?”

“I’m fine.” Her voice was clogged and she turned her head to look out the window.

Zach was prepared to take her at her word. He was paid to fly passengers safely to the mainland. Their emotional well-being wasn’t his business and anyway, she had friends. Good friends who were no doubt supporting her through whatever trouble she was in. She didn’t need him.

He was about to leave her and walk through to the cockpit when she turned to face him. One single tear escaped from the pool gathering in her eyes and slid down her pale cheek.

“Do you ever find people hard to understand?”

Zach stilled. “All the time.”

“He’s supposed to care about me, but if he cares, then why does he always want me to be different? ‘I don’t like you in that dress, I prefer your hair when it’s elegant, not loose, try not to laugh so loudly—’” More tears fell and Zach groped in the pocket of the adjoining seat to find some tissues.

He pulled one out of the packet and handed it to her. “Do you want me to call Brittany or Emily?”

“No. I know they’re there for me. They’re always there for me, but just for once I’d like my man to be there for me and not my girlfriends.” She blew her nose. “He keeps hinting at marriage, but he never says he loves me. And we never do the things I want to do, which is weird because when we first met we seemed to have so much in common. I have my exhibition coming up in December. I’ve asked him to come with me to London. I thought it would be romantic. But he says he can’t make it, as if I picked the time on purpose to be awkward. I know the election is November, but just once I’d like to know he was putting me first. He doesn’t have to come for long. Just two days would be enough to show me he loves and supports me. Showing it is more important than saying it, don’t you think? The words are pretty easy to say.”

Zach, who found those words impossible to say, stayed silent. It was obvious to him that she didn’t expect a response, so he handed her more tissues and listened as she talked and sobbed.

“I’m being stupid. I’m lucky. He’s perfect for me.”

Zach handed her another tissue, making a mental note to replenish his stock. “How do you know he’s perfect for you?”

“Everyone says so. My parents. My brothers. He ticks every box on their list. According to my father, dating Richard is the one thing I’ve done right in my life.” She scrunched the tissue into her palm. “My parents introduced us. They were hoping he’d be a stabilizing influence on me. Until I started dating Richard I hadn’t done a single thing in my life that pleased them or made them proud.”

There had been times during his childhood when Zach had wondered what it would be like to have a normal family, but the more time he spent observing others, the more convinced he was that such a thing didn’t exist.

“If you’ve never made them proud, then your parents are clearly insane.”

She gave a watery laugh. “Is that a compliment, Zachary Flynn?”

“It’s an observation.”

She sniffed. “My dad is a judge. Very serious.”

“Then I’d expect him to have a better appreciation for human differences and individuality.”

Skylar blew her nose. “Differences are for other people. In our family, conformity is compulsory. Was it Richard himself who called to book this flight for me?”

“His office.”

“Right.” Another tear escaped. “I really am sorry about this. You have places to be and I’m going to make you late. You’ve been very kind. Thank you, Zach. I’m very grateful, although just for the record if you hurt my friend, I will kill you.

Ignoring that last part, Zach handed her the rest of the tissues and dropped to his haunches in front of her. He’d never seen anyone more miserable and confused in his life. “What do you really want, Sky?”

She leaned her head back against the seat, her eyes swimming. “I want to be in love. Really in love. And right now I don’t think I’m feeling what I’m supposed to feel. I dreamed of something so different. I dreamed of more. But what if I’m wrong? What if I’m as idealistic as my parents say I am and this is all there is?’

“If you don’t feel the right way, you don’t feel the right way.”

“I don’t know what the right way is. All I know is that I want someone who I know will be there through thick and thin. I want a guy who is my best friend as well as my lover. I want to be with someone who is interested in what I do, and proud of me. I don’t want to feel as if I’m just another member of someone’s campaign team. I want to laugh and have long conversations that last until morning, but most of all I want someone as reliable as my girlfriends, someone who is going to hold me when life turns to shit and not walk away when things get tough.”

He said nothing.

She sniffed, her breathing jagged. “I don’t want to build a life on lies and then find it all comes crashing down years later. I want to build a future on firm foundations. I want to slide into old age laughing at the things we’ve always laughed at.” She blew her nose. “You’re so lucky having Brittany. No one could have a more loyal, loving friend. If she were a man I’d marry her, and I’m not even that wild about marriage as an institution.”

Tension rippled across his shoulders.

He knew Brittany was loyal and loving, and what had he ever given her in return?

Sky cleared her throat. “I can’t believe I’m talking to you about this and not Em or Brit.”

“Why are you?”

“Because you don’t care about me so you’re unbiased.”

Zach gave a faint smile and rose to his feet. “Maybe I’m not. I sure as hell wouldn’t vote for the guy after what you’ve just told me.”

She gave a choked laugh and then blew her nose again. “Brit always said you were good with anything injured. I guess that’s me. You’re a good listener. I expect you’ve had a lot of experience with female tears.”

“Causing them,” Zach muttered. “Not mopping them up.”

“I know. You dumped my friend, remember?”

He remembered.

Sky took another tissue from the packet. “When Em and I first met her, she was broken. And we didn’t understand it. After what you’d done to her, we couldn’t understand why she didn’t just wipe you out of her head. And then we got to know her, and we realized she is the most loyal, loving friend anyone could have and that for her, love isn’t something you give and then take back. She never gives up on people, so losing touch with you, having you cut out of her life like that, was torture. It was like trying to live with part of herself missing.”

Zach couldn’t breathe. “She must have hated me.”

“Sure, she hated you, but I can guarantee that if you’d picked up the phone at any point in those ten years and asked for her help, she would have been there for you. She might have yelled at you and slapped you for behaving like a shit, but she would have been there.” Sky sniffed. “Brit would never, ever, leave a friend who needed her.”

“I wasn’t a friend.”

“Do you seriously believe that? You dumbass.” Sky sighed and rolled her eyes. “I can’t sort out my own love life but at least I can try to help with yours. Do me a favor, Zach. If you don’t love her, if you want to take the amazing gift of her love and friendship and throw it away, then at least tell her straight. But please, for the love of God, think carefully before you throw away the best thing you’ve ever had.”