Harbour Falls (A Harbour Falls Mystery #1)(64)

I looked into his eyes and hoped he could read the truth in mine. “I’ll never betray you, Adam. I swear on my life, no matter what you tell me, it will stay between you and me.”

He pulled me roughly to him and kissed me hungrily. His hands found purchase on my hips, his long fingers pressed gingerly into my flesh. There was urgency in these deep kisses, and I sensed it had nothing to do with lust. It was about acceptance. Soon, too soon, he loosened his grip, composed himself, and slowed the kisses. I leaned my head on his shoulder, and we held onto each other, both of us silent.

After several moments, he chuckled, murmuring into my hair, “There is one good thing that came out of it all. I was able to buy this island.”

I pulled back. “Weren’t you worried it would draw attention to you? Making such a large purchase?”

“Not at that time. The island didn’t go up for sale until months after the whole SEC investigation had concluded. My assets were no longer frozen, and I’d always planned on investing in real estate. So…”

“So you bought an island.” I smiled, brushing a dark lock that had fallen across his forehead back into place.

“I always loved this place, the beauty, the ruggedness, the privacy. My family used to vacation over here when I was a child.” He paused, and his expression darkened. “Of course, Chelsea hated this place. She told me she’d never live out here. I didn’t move here until after she was gone.”

“And here we are,” I said quietly.

“Yeah, here we are.” His fingers caressed my cheek tenderly. “I’ve never told a soul that whole story.”

“Would you have told me had I not…” I leaned into his warm touch. “Uh, you know.”

“Yes, eventually. Remember?” Adam said playfully.



I had to smile at his lighthearted reference to our words from the other night. This new openness between us made me feel brave enough to ask, “Adam, what’s going on between us?”

He hesitated, pulling back. “This is a conversation we should save for later. I have to go if I’m going to make my meeting over on the mainland.”

“I know,” I said, “I just thought…”

Adam cupped my face, kissed my lips, and then said, “I should be back at the dock by about six. Let’s meet at the café, and we can talk there, sound good?”

That sounded good to me, so I told him so. Adam stood, and after one more long and lingering kiss at the door, he straightened his tie and left for his meeting over on the mainland.

Once he was gone, I checked my cell for messages I may have missed, since I’d turned it off yesterday evening before going up to Adam’s. Oddly enough Katie, my agent, had left two voicemails and three texts asking me to call her as soon as possible. So I sat down at the dining room table and dialed her number.

She picked up immediately. “Maddy, where have you been? Why didn’t you call me back last night?”

“Um, my phone was charging,” I lied, cringing at my pathetic excuse. And before she had a chance to question me further, I added, “Why? What’s going on?”

“Well,” she stated slowly, “some woman from Maine stopped by the office late yesterday afternoon. She said she was your friend, and—”

“Wait, what? She said she was my friend?” I interrupted, baffled. “From where? Here?”

“Yeah,” Katie continued, “from Harbour Falls. Her name is Ami. She was with a clean-cut-looking guy with kind of sandy-colored hair. I’m guessing he was her husband?”

Whoa, wait a minute. “Ami and Sean are in Los Angeles?”

Things were getting stranger and stranger. California was where they’d gone for their little trip? Bizarre.

“You do know them then?” Katie asked.

“Yeah, but what are they doing there?”



“Oh, you’re going to love this,” my agent continued, clearing her throat. “First her husband just kind of hung out in the background, looking uncomfortable and kind of apologetic.”

“Apologetic?”

“Yeah, I guess because this Ami was going on and on about how I needed to step in and put a stop to, oh wait, how did she put it?” Katie paused for a beat. “Uh, this was it, word for word: I should ‘put a stop to whatever the hell Maddy is doing on Fade Island before she ends up hurt. She’s in serious danger.’”

“Oh Lord,” I gulped. “Katie, not to sound insensitive, but the truth is that Ami has some serious mental issues.”

“No kidding,” she said, “I kind of guessed as much.”

But I had to wonder what Ami had been referring to? And why would she involve my agent? She must think Katie is my boss and can tell me what to do. Did Ami really believe I was in “serious danger”? And was it serious enough to warrant a trip out to LA in some convoluted attempt to protect me? It just felt like something was off.

“You didn’t tell her anything, right?” I asked.

“Of course not. But, Maddy, she was really worked up. God only knows who else she’s been in contact with out here.”

There was only one other person Ami knew of from my life in California—my ex-boyfriend, Julian—and I could only hope she’d dare not look him up. I put my head down on the table. “Ugh, what a mess,” I mumbled.