The Memory of You (Sanctuary Sound #1)(30)

For a second, he saw a waver in Val’s gaze. Maybe he’d struck a chord.

Wallingford weighed in. “I will take all of this into consideration, along with the other information you both supplied, and come up with some recommendations.”

Val sat back. “Thank you. So that’s all for today?”

That’s all, she’d asked, sitting there calm and carefree. Meanwhile, sweat dripped down Ryan’s back. He knew he shouldn’t let his emotions control him or this process. But anytime he looked at Val, resentment grabbed him by the throat. Her betrayal of their vows, of their daughter . . . it didn’t make sense. She’d never been the perfect woman for him, but he hadn’t thought her so heartless, either. He couldn’t wrap his head around it, and that drove him crazy. He didn’t have the energy to waste on this now, though. Not when he had to drive back to Hartford and get in a few hours of work on the O’Malley case.

“I’ll get back in touch to set up another meeting.” Wallingford smiled at Val as if he were her grandfather. God, she could pull any man’s strings. Most of his gender could be a complete sucker for a gorgeous face and a tight ass.

“Next time I’d like to attend by videoconference or something.” At least that way, he wouldn’t have to breathe the same air as Val. “I can’t keep skipping out on my new job like this.”

“That’s amenable to me.” Wallingford looked at Val.

She leveled Ryan with a skeptical look, as if trying to figure out what he was hiding. That would be nothing—not that she and her scheming brain would accept it. “Fine.”

“Good.” Wallingford stood and collected the tax returns and other documents they’d supplied. “Have a good day.”

“Wait up, Val,” Ryan said as he shook Wallingford’s hand. “I want to talk about Emmy.”

“Okay.” She said goodbye to Wallingford with a sweet-as-pie smile. Once she turned her back to the older man, her expression steeled. “What?”

Ryan asked, “First, what’s the deal with Block Island?”

“John has a place there. We’d like to take Emmy for the long weekend. I thought you could bring her up to Point Judith, and we’ll take the ferry Saturday morning. You can come back Monday afternoon to pick her up.”

He didn’t want John around his daughter, but he knew he had no say. “I’ll make it work, but do me a favor. Be careful of letting Emmy get attached to John. We don’t know what the future holds, and we should try to keep her from losing more people. At least until she’s gotten used to the divorce.”

“I could say the same to you.”

He gestured toward his chest with both hands. “I’m not seeing anyone.”

“Steffi?”

He rolled his eyes. “My mother hired her to work at the house. She’s converting the porch to a family room. We aren’t dating.”

“Then what’s the sailing excursion about?”

“That was Emmy’s doing, not mine. I’ve talked with Steffi about not letting Emmy get too attached, but Steffi’s working at my mother’s house every day when Emmy gets off the bus, and Emmy is curious about what she’s doing. She seems to enjoy helping, and she needs something to feel good about. When the project is over, it’ll end. By then, Emmy should have some friends. She’s struggling with the transition at school right now.”

Val seemed both relieved to learn that he and Steffi weren’t romantically involved, and concerned about Emmy’s school situation. “What are you doing about school?”

“Trying to encourage her to invite some friends over. That’s how the sailing thing started. I want her to invest in our new community instead of sitting home alone hoping our separation is temporary.”

“Are you saying something to give her the impression we might reconcile?” Val’s inscrutable expression might’ve worried him if he cared about her opinion.

“Trust me, I’m no more interested in that than you are, Val.” As soon as he said it, he regretted it, because he saw the challenge it ignited. She didn’t want him, but she still wanted him to want her. Val loved sex and power games. Always had. He wished he’d realized that before they’d gotten involved, and run in the other direction.

“I’ll email you the ferry departure time for Saturday.”

“Fine.” He glanced at his watch. “Got to run.”

Old habits made him lean forward to give her a kiss goodbye, but he jerked himself back before making contact. She’d gone still and held her breath.

Near miss. Without another word, he strode out of the conference room and to the elevator. His day would improve exponentially the farther away he got from her.



Ryan arrived home that evening to hear the sound of his daughter’s laughter in the yard. He saw her with Steffi, who was trying to teach her how to rainbow kick a soccer ball.

Shocking as that sight was, it didn’t hold a candle to seeing Emmy in shorts and sneakers. No ruffles. No dress. No pink ribbons in her hair.

Meanwhile, he knew Steffi had gone to see Peyton yesterday. Yet here she was, putting on a brave face for his daughter despite the fact that she’d probably had a rough weekend. He wanted to ask her how she was feeling. Not that Steffi would share her feelings with him, he reminded himself, and returned his attention to his daughter.