drowned in it after Zach had left her. And what did Hilda mean when she said they were watching him?
She had visions of the islanders setting up a roster to monitor the exact movements of her ex-husband. If it hadn’t been so frustrating it would be funny.
Dropping soap into her basket, she glanced into the street to check no one she knew was about to come into the store.
“Well, if it isn’t Brittany Forrest Flynn.”
Recognizing the female voice, Brittany closed her eyes.
She should have stayed in bed.
Pinning a smile on her face, she turned. “It’s just Forrest these days. I dropped the Flynn.”
“No one would blame you for that, seeing as he dropped you first.”
Definitely should have stayed in bed.
“Hello, Mel. How are you?”
“Better than you, I should think.” Mel Parker, who had been at school with her and now ran Harbor Stores with her parents, eyed her wrist. “I heard you were injured. I’m guessing that’s what happens when you do a dangerous job. I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark a while back. And Lara Croft. Looks like an exciting way to earn a living, archaeology. And dangerous.”
“Well, those are both movies, obviously, and movies remove most of the boring parts. Weeks of people excavating the same piece of earth and finding nothing doesn’t make for gripping viewing.”
“But you broke your wrist.” Mel looked at Brittany’s cast in awe and admiration and Brittany decided she’d better spell out the detail or the next time she came into town she’d be hearing stories about how she’d been chased by natives with a massive boulder rolling towards her.
“I was talking to someone and tripped.” In fact she’d been laughing so hard at one of Spyros’s jokes, she hadn’t looked where she was putting her feet. “I fell into the trench.”
Mel’s eyes went round. “That sounds awful. Were there snakes?”
“No. No snakes. And no angry natives.” Just Spy, also laughing so hard that it had taken him a moment to realize she’d actually broken something. “Sorry to disappoint. And anyway, I don’t mind snakes. Just spiders.”
“We were all real sorry to hear the news.”
“That’s kind of you, Mel, but it will heal.”
“I wasn’t talking about that news. I was talking about Zachary.” The girl’s voice lowered and she glanced around the empty store, even though both of them knew that a store crowded with people wouldn’t have stopped her gossiping.
Deciding it was time to move this reunion on, Brittany dropped several cans of tomatoes that she didn’t need into her basket. “Everything is fine, Mel.”
“Can’t see how it can be fine when you’re living with your cheating ex under your nose.”
Brittany frowned. “He didn’t cheat.”
Why did everyone keep saying that?
“Oh, that’s right, he just upped and left. I guess that’s almost worse.” Clearly not in any hurry to return to the demands of her job, Mel pondered the severity of the crime. “Mom always says that when a man leaves you for another woman, then all it means is he met someone he liked more and you weren’t right for each other, but when a man leaves you for no one in particular, it means he didn’t like being with you enough to stay. That’s got to hurt.”
Brittany contemplated swinging her good arm and decided she didn’t want to be arrested on her first proper day back on the island. “Or it means we were both too young to be married.”
“You were young.” Mel leaned against the aisle, settling in for a long chat. “And to think we were all jealous, because you were the one who caught his eye. We all wanted Zach to be our first. Who wouldn’t? The man was sex on a stick. I still remember the rumors about just how good he was in the bedroom.” She looked at Brittany expectantly, clearly waiting for confirmation and juicy details.
“Nice meeting up with you again, Mel.” She snatched toothpaste and shampoo without looking at the brand and headed to the checkout.
“I’ll ring those up for you.” Suddenly efficient, Mel walked behind the counter. “Zach comes in here sometimes so if you’re looking to avoid him, just send me a text and I can warn you if he’s here. You won’t want to be anywhere near the man.”
“I don’t need warning and I’m not trying to avoid him. I’m just trying to live my life.” And that was turning out to be a thousand times harder than she’d expected. She was tempted to abandon her purchases and run. “But thank you for caring.”
“Thought it might be awkward, what with you making such a giant fool of yourself and all. Throwing in college, marrying the man. You always were a romantic, and so in love with him. Which just goes to prove that even smart people can be stupid when it comes to love.”
“I don’t think—”
“If it were me, I might have forgiven the fact he hadn’t bought me a ring.” Mel bagged up the purchases. “I’m not sure I’d have been so forgiving if a man had left me after my wedding night.”
Great. No doubt the whole island had been speculating that Brittany Forrest was bad in bed.
“It wasn’t my wedding night.”
“Oh, that’s right, he waited ten nights.” She gave Brittany a knowing look and Brittany waited for her to voice the implication hovering in the air.
Ten nights to see if she would improve and when she hadn’t, he’d walked.
Was that what they were all saying?
It horrified her to think of people talking about it and speculating about something so personal.
“I appreciate your concern and deep interest in my life, Mel, but it was a long time ago.”
“He’s still sexy as hell, though. And now he has money. No one knows exactly how he came by it, of course, but who cares?” Mel sighed and stared dreamily out the window, her feelings for Zach visible on her face.
Brittany frowned. “I would care, but I don’t think for a moment that he—”
“The way he flew that little girl through that storm when she was sick and no one else would? There’s a touch of a hero inside him. I’ve always said that what he needs is the right woman.” It was obvious she thought she might be that woman. “I mean, he’s single and all, and I’m guessing you’re not interested.” She eyed Brittany closely, looking for visual signs of inner trauma, and Brittany held her gaze and her temper.
“I’m not interested, Mel. He’s all yours. I moved on a long time ago.”
But it seemed no one else had.
Apparently it wasn’t just with Zach that she had to keep up the pretense that she didn’t care,
