I grabbed a few plates from behind the bar and set up a small buffet of bagels and pastries at the counter.

“Take your pick,” I said, but then I quickly grabbed the chocolate croissant from the nearest plate and smiled. “Except this one. This one’s mine.”

Eva laughed, and my heart did a double-pump. The expression lit up her entire face. It had been a really long time since a woman had made me feel this way. It was hard to describe, except to say that when she smiled, I felt alive for the first time in a decade.

She was even more beautiful in the light of day, and I wondered again what her story really was.

How did a pretty girl like Eva end up on the run? And what had brought her here to Willow Harbor, of all places?

“What if that’s the one I wanted?” she said, pretending to pout.

“Too bad, too sad,” I said. “Ida makes these special at my request. I think she puts a little bit of magic into them, just for me.”

“I’m sure she does,” Eva said, rolling her eyes. But that smile was still on her lips. Damn, it was a nice smile. I couldn’t stop staring.

“I guess I’ll have to settle for whatever this glazed thing is,” she said. “Thanks again for dinner last night, and for this today.”

“You’re welcome,” I said.

She moaned as she took a bite of the pastry. “I think you’re right,” she said. “I think there is a bit of magic in this. I wouldn’t have thought a small town would have such amazing food and coffee.”

“Willow Harbor has its perks,” I said. “If you stick around for a while, maybe I can show you the town.”

She eyed me suspiciously, and I saw that same look I’d recognized last night. She was afraid of something. Or someone. And whoever it was she was running from hadn’t been very nice to her, which might be putting it lightly, judging by the fear that flashed in her eyes.

“Or not,” I said, finishing off the last of the croissant and reaching for a bagel. “I wouldn’t want to be too nice.”

She laughed, but there was a touch of nervousness to it, like she couldn’t quite decide what to make of me. Man, someone had really done a number on her if she couldn’t even accept a few simple gestures without being scared of what it might mean.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “Where I come from, people doing favors for you means you’re going to owe them double in return.”

There was so much bitterness in her voice, it weighed heavy on my heart. I didn’t let a lot of people get too close to me, but in a matter of minutes, I cared about what happened to her. I wanted to know more about what she’d been through and where she’d come from, but I could tell she didn’t really want to talk about it.

Not that I could blame her. I wasn’t one to talk about my past much, either.

Very few people around town except Drifter and a handful of others really knew what I’d been through or why I was stuck here in Willow Harbor, and I liked it that way. Most of them assumed I was human, and that was fine with me. The less people around here knew, the better.

Still, I didn’t want her thinking she owed me anything.

“It’s not like that around here,” I said.

“Well, unless this is the one town in the world where people aren’t really people, I highly doubt that,” she said. “Everyone wants something.”

“Don’t get me wrong. Not everyone in Willow Harbor is nice,” I said, which was the understatement of the year. There was a lot to Willow Harbor that was dangerous, especially at night, but I couldn’t tell her about that kind of stuff. Not that she’d believe me, anyway. “But you’ll find that a lot of people around here are willing to go out of their way to help out, especially once you get to know them.”

When I’d first come to this town, I’d planned on keeping my head down and fading into the scenery. I didn’t want to be known, and I didn’t want to be noticed. But this town and its people—or creatures, in some cases—had grown on me over time.

“Well, I don’t plan on sticking around long enough to get to know anyone,” she said. She made a strange face and picked at the cinnamon roll on her plate. “Except that, like I said, I am running low on cash. You wouldn’t happen to know a place that could use some help for a week or so, would you? Under the table?”

I considered the question, thinking about the various businesses here in town. Most people didn’t tend to trust strangers. Especially strangers who wanted to stay off the record.

“What kind of experience do you have?” I asked.

She shrugged. “Not much of anything useful. But I learn fast, and I’m willing to do just about anything as long as it doesn’t involve gambling.”

I raised an eyebrow at that last part. “Gambling?”

“Long story,” she muttered.

“There aren’t exactly many gambling jobs around town, anyway, so I don’t think you’ll have to be worried about that,” I said with a laugh. “There are a few restaurants, though. I’m sure if Drifter had more customers coming in here on a regular basis, he’d hire you in a heartbeat, but it’s mostly just a handful of regulars.”

“Maybe I’ll check out those restaurants, then,” she said. “I guess I better walk back to my car, though, and see what the damage is.”

I winced. I didn’t think she was going to like what she found. I’d been back down that way early this morning to check that my shipment was still safe and secure, and the car had been in pretty bad shape. There was no way she was going to be driving it anytime soon.

“I know a good mechanic who would be willing to tow it in and take a look at it for you,” I said. “Why don’t you let me give him a call and have him meet us down there? I’ve got to head back that way, anyway, pretty soon.”

She seemed to consider it, and then finally nodded. “Okay, but without a job, I don’t know how I’m going to pay for any repairs.”

“We’ll figure something out,” I said. “Let me make that call. I’ll be right back.”

I headed back upstairs to my room to grab my wallet and keys. I’d accidentally left them here this morning and had to put my breakfast purchases on my tab, promising to come back this afternoon to pay for them. Luckily, I spent enough time and money at both of those places for them to let it slide this one time. Besides, Loran—the owner—was a nice guy, if a bit mysterious.

I pulled out my cell and made a quick call to my buddy, Brandon. He ran a local auto repair and tow shop with his brothers. He agreed to meet us out by the car in fifteen minutes. I glanced at the time. It was getting late, and I needed to get this shipment to the island by noon. I would have to walk Eva to her car and take off, as much as I hated to leave her alone.

I met her down in the bar where she was cleaning up the plates and finishing off her coffee.

“You ready to go?” I asked. “Brandon is going to meet us there.”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” she said.

We left the bar and walked outside into the bright sunshine. It was cooler today than it had been lately, and she shivered. She didn’t seem to have a coat with her, and the hoodie she was wearing was thin. I offered her my jacket, but she shook her head.

“No, thanks. I’ll be fine,” she said. “I wouldn’t have thought it would be so cold in South Carolina this time of year.”

“It can sneak up on you,” I said. “Around here, it might be eighty degrees out one day and sixty the next. Do you have a coat in the car?”

“All I have is what I’ve got with me,” she said. “As soon as I find a job, I’ll get what I need.”

We stepped down onto the beach, and Eva stopped for a moment. She faced the ocean and smiled.

“It’s so beautiful here,” she said. “I can’t believe you get to wake up to this every day of your life. You have no idea how lucky you are.”

I looked out at the ocean longingly. She was right, it was beautiful beyond words. But there was a beauty under the surface that humans could never fully understand, and it broke my heart to look upon the sea and be denied the world hidden below.

For ten long years, I’d been away from my home in the ocean, and there wasn’t a day that I didn’t miss it with my whole heart.

I looked away.

It was better not to think about it. This was my life now, and there was nothing that could change it.

“Come on,” I said. “We better get going.”

Despite the cold air, Eva slipped her shoes off and dug her toes into the sand. There was a child-like wonder in her eyes as she started walking along the beach. She paused every now and then to scoop up a shell and slide it into her pocket.

“You act like you’ve never been to the beach before,” I said, laughing.

“I haven’t.”

She said it simply, like it wasn’t all that strange, but to me, it was unimaginable. How could anyone have never seen the ocean before? Never walked on the sand? I couldn’t even conceive of a life away from the sea.

“Then that settles it,” I said. “You have to stay in Willow Harbor long enough to at least experience life on the ocean. There’s so much to see and do besides just standing on the beach collecting shells.”

“Like what?” she asked.

Gosh, where did I even begin?

“Tide pools, the way the air smells after a storm, the tide coming in and going out, moving to the rhythm of the moon,” I said. “Maybe I can take you out on my boat sometime.”

I couldn’t even believe I’d just offered that, but the words had come out before I’d been able to stop myself.

I’d been careful to keep my life secret and my heart guarded for so long. Why was this girl sending my head into such a strange space? But watching her face as she stared out at the ocean, I wanted to teach her about it. I wanted to really show it to her.

My true home.

It was like offering to show her the insides of my heart.

I needed to get ahold of myself before I went too far. I couldn’t afford to let anyone get too close to me. I didn’t need anyone asking questions about my life, but at the same time, I couldn’t seem to resist the pull of her.

There was just something about her. Something vulnerable, but strong at the same time.

Maybe it was just that I hadn’t met many people who had the same broken look in their eyes that I saw in my own most of the time.

“I think I’m happy on the shore for now,” she said. “But maybe someday.”

Why did that one little word send shivers of excitement down my spine?

Someday.

I’d been stuck in this life for so long that I’d stopped dreaming of somedays, but for some crazy reason, this woman I barely knew had me looking forward to the future.

Maybe that meant she would stick around a little longer, after all.

Why did I hope so much that she would?