For All Time (Nantucket Brides 2)

“I think you know my brother well.”

Toby hesitated before replying. “You could have some of that on Nantucket,” she said softly.

“And miss out on coming up with some ghastly theme that would please the very discerning Victoria for her wedding? No, thank you.”

Toby couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face. Never in her life had she lived alone and she had no desire to find out what it was like. “All right,” she said. “You can have Lexie’s room.”

“That’s very kind of you. I never imagined that—”

“Are you kidding me? Of course you imagined staying at my house. You’ve worked at it. Your hints weigh about a ton each. Whales are lighter than your hints.”

Graydon was laughing. “I thought I was being subtle, but it is true. I meet so many strangers and—”

“Spare me the Poor Prince act,” Toby said. “You cook, you drive, you boss people around, you settle arguments. You even run around half naked in front of my roommate—”

“And you.”

“And in front of me,” she said. “It’s my opinion that you’re more than competent at everything. In fact, it’s my guess that you could probably run an entire country all by yourself. So why do you want to stay with me? And your answer better not be about sex.”

“You wound me,” Graydon said, his hand melodramatically over his heart. “I’m not my brother. I do thank you for the remark about the country, though. I’m going to try to do just that.” He pulled into the drive of the house they shared and shut off the engine. When he turned to look at her, she saw not one trace of humor. “I don’t know the answer to your question,” he said. “Right now nothing in my life makes sense. I have some problems that I don’t know how to deal with—I won’t bore you with them—but there’s something about you that makes me feel calm enough to believe that I can eventually solve them. I know I could go elsewhere and have some so-called excitement but …” He motioned toward the little house. “This is what I need now. Solitude with a garden and a young lady who makes me laugh and talks to me of mermaids. Does any of this make sense?”

“It does,” she said. “When I left my parents’ house to be on my own, I was quite scared. Lexie took me in and—” She broke off. “All right. We’ll be friends and you can stay here while you’re on the island.” She reached for the truck handle but looked back at him. “If you ever want to talk about what’s bothering you, I’m a good listener.” She got out.

He watched her walk toward the house. Right now the only thing bothering him was the vision of her in her wet underwear.

He took his time before he got out of the truck, then began to remove the supplies from the back. Toby’s red metal toolbox was on the bottom and it made him smile. Not many women had a toolbox of their own. He carried everything back to the little storage shed by the greenhouse.

He didn’t know much about gardening but to him it looked like everything in the greenhouse needed to be watered. He picked up the hose that was coiled on the floor, turned on the water, and went from one plant to another. It was soothing work and he thought he should use the time to think about Lanconia and Danna and Rory and what his future was going to be after he was married and …

He couldn’t seem to focus on any of that. All he could think about was Toby in her lacy blue underwear.

When Toby’s cell phone rang, she and Graydon were at the dining table eating the frittata he’d made and a salad she’d put together. The ID said it was Victoria. “She can’t possibly already want to know what we’ve come up with,” Toby said as she answered.

Graydon was so pleased by her use of “we” that he didn’t reply.

“Darling,” Victoria said, “I hope you know that the island is buzzing about the mysterious man who’s moved in with you.”

With a glance at Graydon, Toby put her napkin on the table, got up, and went into the living room. She didn’t want him to hear whatever Victoria was going to say. “We’re roommates and that’s all.”

“I know that but they don’t. I fear that your reputation has been damaged beyond repair.”

“Good,” Toby said. “I’ll no longer be some plastic trophy the boys want to win.”

Victoria laughed. “That’s a beautiful way of looking at it. Anyway, dear, I have something to ask you. Yesterday I spent hours with Jilly and found out a great deal about your prince. His country is very important to ours since they have that metal we so desperately need. I think you should stay with him while he’s here.”

“How could I do that? I have a job.”

“I have many friends on the island and I’m sure I could find someone to temporarily take over your job at the florist shop. If you approve, that is?”

Toby walked to the doorway to look at Graydon, who was still sitting at the table. He’d stopped eating and was waiting for her to return.

“Toby, darling, could you stand some vacation time so you can be with your prince? Show him around Nantucket, that sort of thing?”

“Yes,” Toby said. “I could.”

“I’m so glad,” Victoria said. “And how are you doing on the wedding plans?”

“When we have more ideas, we plan to make a presentation. Maybe in a few days we can all get together and—”