else in his face.
A yearning. And an immense sadness.
Instinctively Kyla moved towards him and then she stopped herself. How could she offer comfort and support when he’d already rejected her? Any gesture like that on her part would be misconstrued. And, anyway, Ethan had already proved on so many occasions that he wasn’t a man to open up and confide. What had he ever told her about himself? Hardly anything.
‘Kyla!’ Evanna’s voice came from behind her. ‘I’ve put some food on a plate for you and we’re ready to eat.’
Kyla took one last, lingering look at Ethan’s broad shoulders and turned away.
She had no idea what was wrong with him but she did know that he wasn’t hers to comfort. He didn’t want what she was offering.
And suddenly she wished she’d never joined them for the picnic.
Maybe, in time, she’d be able to treat Ethan like nothing more than a colleague and friend. Eventually she’d be able to laugh alongside him and enjoy a drink and a casual chat, but she hadn’t reached that stage yet. She was painfully aware of him and it was only by a supreme effort of will that she managed not to just sit and stare at him.
Dropping onto her knees on the picnic rug, she reached for the plate. ‘Thanks for this. I need to eat quickly and make a move.’
‘What’s the hurry?’ Logan handed her some French bread. ‘We’ve hardly seen you all week and it doesn’t get dark for hours. What’s the matter with you? You’re behaving very oddly.’
‘No, I’m not.’
‘Well, usually you strip off and swim.’
Usually Ethan wasn’t with them.
She just didn’t know how to behave in his company any more. If she was chatty and friendly then he’d think that she was trying to flirt with him, and if she ignored him he’d think she was heartbroken. She couldn’t win. All she knew was that she needed to put some space between them before she made a fool of herself.
‘I have lots to do in the house. I haven’t had a chance to tidy up this week.’
Logan frowned at her. ‘But you hate tidying up, and—’
‘Logan, shut up,’ Evanna said gently, interrupting him and pushing a plate of chicken into his hands. ‘Stop being so controlling. I’m sure Kyla knows whether she needs an evening at home or not. Why don’t you just eat my chicken? Don’t let Kirsty grab it—I’ve done something different for her.’
Kyla mentally blessed Evanna for her tact and then blushed slightly as she felt Logan’s searching gaze on her face.
He knew.
She could tell by his face that he knew, and she gave a faint smile and a shrug.
Her brother was very astute about other people’s problems, she mused, just not about his own.
When was he going to notice that Evanna was perfect for him?
Ethan returned to the picnic rug and handed Kirsty to Logan. ‘She loves the water.’
‘Of course. She’s a local. She’ll swim like a mermaid by the time she’s four.’ Logan grinned. ‘Just like her Aunty Kyla.’
‘I was three.’
‘And you were always leaping off the rocks into the water. “Keep an eye on your sister Logan.”’ Logan gave a wry smile as he mimicked his mother’s voice. ‘You had no sense of danger.’
‘You can’t live your life looking over your shoulder.’ Kyla finished the food on her plate, careful not to look at Ethan. She wanted to swim but not now. Not while he was there. She’d go back to her cottage, wait for them to finish the picnic and then come down later. ‘I’m off.’ She jumped up and brushed the crumbs from her jeans. ‘Thanks, Evanna, that was delicious. Logan, I’ll see you tomorrow. Don’t forget to phone Mum later. She keeps missing you when she calls and she wants to chat about the arrangements for Aunty Meg’s birthday.’
Ethan was watching her. She could feel him watching her and she forced herself to cast a casual glance in his direction and smile.
‘Bye, Ethan.’ She felt as though her face was going to crack. ‘See you tomorrow.’
Walk, Kyla, walk. And no looking back.
There are other men out there, she reminded herself as she made her way across the sand to the cottages. Nice men. Uncomplicated ones.
And one day she was going to meet one of them.
CHAPTER SEVEN
ETHAN hesitated by Kyla’s back door, knowing that he shouldn’t be there. But how could he stay away? She was avoiding her family and he was the cause of it.
She didn’t want to bump into him.
Gritting his teeth, Ethan lifted a hand to knock on the door, but at that moment she wandered into the kitchen. And saw him.
She’d obviously just come out of the shower and was wearing a pair of tiny shorts and a skimpy top, and her hair fell in damp, curling waves over her shoulders. Her feet were bare and her legs long and lightly tanned.
Their eyes held for a long moment and he wondered fleetingly whether she might just ignore him.
But then she walked over and opened the door. ‘Is something the matter? I was just going to bed.’
Bed? She looked like that to go to bed?
Ethan felt his blood pressure rise several notches and suddenly he wished he’d left this visit until the morning. Everything that needed to be said could have been said in the harsh light of day when she was wearing a navy uniform.
Not that her navy uniform did anything to disguise the tempting curve of her bottom.
‘Ethan?’ she prompted him with a frown. ‘What’s the matter?’
He pulled himself together. ‘You’re going to bed? It isn’t even nine o’clock.’
‘I’m tired.’
‘Can I come in?’
Something changed in her eyes. Suddenly they were guarded. Wary. ‘Why?’
‘Because I need to apologise.’ He came straight to the point, his voice rough. ‘And because we need to talk about the other night.’
She didn’t play games—didn’t pretend that she didn’t know what he was talking about. She wasn’t that sort of woman. ‘It was over a week ago, now. It doesn’t matter.’
‘I’ve tried pretending
