Winter in Paradise (Paradise #1)(60)

“There can’t be anything too important in here,” he says. “She hasn’t mentioned it.”

Irene spins around. “Do you have a picture of her?”

“Of Maia? Yes, of course.” Huck takes his phone out of his pocket. There she is, a close-up of her face, his screen saver.

Irene takes the phone from Huck and studies the photograph. He expects her to comment on how pretty Maia is, exquisite really, and elegant in a way that belies her years.

But when Irene looks up, her steel-blue eyes are spooked.

Like she has seen a ghost.

No, Huck thinks. Please, no.





BAKER


He can’t have Ayers pick him up at the villa—he’s savvy enough to realize at least this much—and so he plans to have her pick him up at the Trunk Bay overlook.

“I don’t get it,” Ayers says. “Why don’t I just come to the house?”

For all he knows, Ayers has been to his father’s villa with Rosie. He isn’t willing to risk it. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” Baker says. “But my brother, Cash, also has a crush on you, and I think you coming to the house to pick me up for our romantic beach date would be… uncool and probably also unkind. I’ll be at the Trunk Bay overlook at ten.”

Baker isn’t completely lying: Cash does have a thing for Ayers. When Baker comes down dressed in swim trunks and a polo shirt, holding a couple of towels he lifted from the pool house, Cash shakes his head.

“I can’t believe you.”

“It’s not like we’re eloping. We’re going to the beach.”

“If you were eloping you’d be breaking the law. You’re married, Baker.”

Baker lowers his voice. He’s not sure if Irene is awake yet or not. “I told you, Anna left me. She’s in love with Louisa Rodriguez. Do you not remember having this conversation? Were you too drunk?”

“I remember,” Cash says. “But still.”

Still, Baker thinks. You’re jealous.

“She doesn’t know who you are, does she?” Cash asks. “Who we are?”

“No,” Baker says. “I haven’t told her.”

“If she knew who you were, she wouldn’t go out with you,” Cash says. “But she’s going to find out sooner or later. You should cancel now to save yourself the heartache.”

Baker feels an uncomfortable pinch of conscience. “Don’t tell me what to do.”

“Fine,” Cash says. “What time are you going to be home?”

“She has a previous commitment at three. So I’ll be home around then.”

“Previous commitment meaning another date?” Cash asks.

“She didn’t say.”

Cash takes two bananas from the fruit bowl, pulls them apart, and hands one to Baker. “I have an errand to run around then. Why don’t you have Ayers drop you at the ferry dock at that outdoor bar, High Tide? We can grab a drink and you can tell me about your date.”

Something about this sounds fishy. “What kind of errand?” Baker asks.

“The only kind of errand there is,” Baker says. “A boring one. I have to pick up something coming from the States.”

Money, Baker hopes. Cash was ironically named because he’s the brokest SOB Baker has ever known. However, meeting Cash at the ferry dock saves him from having to give Ayers another excuse about why she can’t come to the house.

“Okay,” Baker says. “I’ll meet you at High Tide at three. And I’ll tell you about my date.”



As Baker hikes up the unreasonably steep hill to the Trunk Bay lookout in the gathering heat of the morning—the trade winds, he’s learned, don’t kick in until the afternoon—he has upsetting thoughts. His father is dead and the list of questions surrounding his death is long, and nearly all of them are unanswered. On the one hand, Baker feels like he’s put in a good-faith effort. He’s made calls, he’s left messages, and he followed up with more messages. Short of hiring a private investigator—which isn’t a step his mother is ready to take—he has done all he can do. On the other hand, his efforts feel meager. He doesn’t deserve a day at the beach. He should be at home to support Irene, whether she wants it or not.

There are the additional issues of Ayers not knowing who Baker is, and—as Cash so emphatically pointed out—of the pesky fact that Baker is still married to Anna and hardly in a position to jump into a new relationship.

To all of this, Baker says: Too damn bad, I’m going anyway. It’s half a day of pleasure. Cash went out on Treasure Island; he has no right to point fingers.

Baker is panting by the time he reaches the lookout. He needs to get in shape! He has time to gaze down over the white crescent of Trunk Bay, backed by an elegant stretch of palm trees. He thinks about snapping a picture and sending it to Anna so she can show Floyd—half the fun of seeing something so breathtaking is letting other people know you’ve seen it—but he doesn’t want Anna to question his real reason for being here on St. John while she’s out saving people’s lives. And there’s no time, anyway, because at that moment, Ayers pulls up in her little green truck.

Baker folds himself into the passenger side. It’s small; he’s chewing his knees, even when he puts the seat all the way back.