What a brat, I think. But since I’m still trying to be a good girl, I don’t utter it aloud.
“That’s a shame. But we’re all so excited for you and Blake, Wendy, and nothing could overshadow that.”
“Thanks, that means a lot,” she tells me. “Actually, instead of reading, I think I’ll hit some tennis balls against the backboard.”
Wow, I think, as she hurries off. What a difference a day makes. Twenty-four hours ago, I figured I was the only one with a distaste for Hannah, but now there are three of us.
After exiting the house and fixing an espresso to go on the sideboard, I make my way across the yard toward the boxwoods, planning to finally park myself on the bench inside the glade. But someone’s already inside, I realize. At least two someones actually. I hear a male voice—and though it’s too low for me to make out the words, his tone seems very hostile.
Instinctively, I freeze and take a step backward. As I shift positions, I’m suddenly able to see into the glade through a small, open space in one of the boxwoods. It’s Nick in there—and he’s with Hannah. They’re standing only a few inches apart from each other, and though he’s in profile, I can see enough of his mouth to know it’s twisted in anger.
Are things between them beginning to unravel? Maybe Hannah’s responded to Claire’s ultimatum and revealed a truth about herself that Nick can’t accept. In that case, she may be in our rearview mirror before the day’s over.
I watch as she reaches up and lays a hand gently on Nick’s cheek. He attempts to shrug it off with a flick of his head, but she places it there again, and this time he doesn’t resist.
Move, I command myself. However intense my curiosity, I know it’s inappropriate for me to be watching this. Before I can inch backward, though, Nick shifts slightly so I can see more of his face. And I realize that it’s not Nick standing there with Hannah’s hand resting on his cheek.
It’s Marcus.
8
Oh boy. I turn away immediately, being careful not to slosh my espresso onto the grass, and start toward the path, still holding my breath. I’m in such a discombobulated state that I soon realize I’m heading back to the house even though that wasn’t my intention.
What the hell did I just witness? I’ve wondered since Friday night whether Marcus has a lingering romantic interest in Hannah, and their heated conversation and body language suggest my instinct was right.
And it doesn’t appear to be a one-way street. The way Hannah laid her hand on Marcus’s cheek looked very intimate.
When I reach the patio, I set my notebook and cup on the table, so lost in thought it takes a minute to notice that Keira’s appeared, dressed in a bathing suit and cover-up.
“Morning,” she says.
“Oh, hi, good morning.” I swallow hard, thinking about the scene playing out not all that far from us. “Going for a swim?”
“In a minute, yes. It’s so warm today. Have you seen Marcus, by the way? He came downstairs earlier, saying he was headed to the pool.”
My heart sinks. Should I tell her what her husband is up to? I’d certainly want her to clue me in if she spotted Gabe in a tête-à-tête with a woman he used to have sex with.
Before I can respond, she moves her gaze over my shoulder toward the cottage path, as if her attention’s being drawn there by an unseen force.
“Um, I thought I saw him a minute or two ago,” I blurt out. “Near the boxwood grove.”
“Over there?” she says. “Okay, I’ll track him down. See you in a bit.”
She crosses the patio and steps off onto the path in that direction, and I stay glued to the spot, stunned by what I’ve done. Yes, it’s only fair that my sister-in-law know the truth, but it’s really not my business to orchestrate the revelation, especially in a way that could humiliate her. I have to catch her before she walks into the glade.
I rush across the patio and hurry up the path, trying to come up with a little white lie to tell her, maybe that I think I just heard Marcus’s voice coming from the pool area.
But I’m too late.
When I spot Keira, she’s many yards ahead of me and walking purposely toward the grove, her ponytail bouncing. Before I can call to her, she disappears into the center of the boxwoods. I feel like I’ve pulled the pin from a hand grenade and it’s about to explode.
But a second later, she emerges, her expression intent rather than crushed or livid. Marcus and Hannah must have moved on. I exhale with relief. Maybe I won’t burn in hell after all.
“No luck?” I call out from the path.
She shakes her head as she strides in my direction. “How long ago did you see him?” she asks.
“A minute or two before you and I spoke. He might have gone back to your room since then—or he’s down by the pool now.”
I realize as I’m standing there that I’m barely thinking straight and left my notebook on the patio. “Are you going that way?” I add. “I need to get something.”
She nods, but now she looks puzzled. Has she grown suspicious of Marcus this weekend?
“Or maybe he went to look for Gabe?” I volunteer as we start up the path. “To connect before the meeting with Ash?”
She doesn’t answer but abruptly stops and cocks her head.
“Marcus wasn’t in the glade, but Hannah was.”
“Huh,” is all I manage.
“Do you think they’d been in there together?” she asks.
“Together?” I decide I need to quit while I’m ahead and not admit to what I saw. “Why would they be together?”
“I don’t know.” She scrunches her mouth. “But it’s kind of a weird coincidence, don’t you think? That they were both there in the last few minutes? It’s not like the boxwoods are a spot people tend to congregate in.”
“Keira, are you worried about Marcus and Hannah?”
She shrugs halfheartedly. “No. I mean, he hasn’t done anything to make me worry. But you always feel vulnerable when you’re married, don’t you? There are so many distractions for guys, and so many women who operate like predators.”
“Even though Marcus dated Hannah for only a short time, it might be weird for him to have his brother engaged to her,” I say carefully. “Why don’t you talk to him and see what’s on his mind?”
“When Nick first called and said he was dating Hannah, Marcus told me that he didn’t exactly end things well with her. He ghosted her, just stopped calling, and she later sent him a kind of pissy text. Do you think being with Nick is her way of getting back at Marcus?”
“Marrying someone’s brother seems like a pretty drastic way to get even, but who knows. Either way, Keira, the person you really need to talk to is Marcus.”
She nods. “You’re right.”
We reach the patio, where I grab my notebook and say good-bye. Abandoning the idea of trying to work outside—too many land mines at the moment—I return to the cottage. After making a cup of tea, I settle at the table in the sitting room, which is cooler than outside thanks to the stone walls and closed drapes.
I manage to scribble down only a couple of notes because by now my mind is a jumble of thoughts and emotions. I’m ashamed of myself for almost sending Keira into an ambush. I’m also angry at both Marcus and Hannah for whatever that conversation was about. But most of all, I can’t stand the idea of Hannah invading this family. She’s already messing with our dynamic and throwing the whole ecosystem out of whack.