Holiday In the Hamptons (From Manhattan with Love 5)

“Maybe.” Eugenia made a decision. It seemed so clear, so obvious, she wondered why she hadn’t done it before. She sat up a little straighter. “And maybe he needs a little help. And I’m going to give him that help, even if it means releasing a few skeletons from the closet.”

“A few? How many skeletons do you have in there?”

Jane frowned. “If you’re saying what I think you’re saying, then those are your daughter’s secrets, Eugenia. Not yours. If there are things she chose not to tell Fliss, then it’s not your job to do it. It’s not your business.”

“That’s where we disagree. When her secrets affect her daughter, my granddaughter, it becomes my business. There are things Fliss believes that are just all wrong. And in my opinion my daughter should have set her straight a long time ago. There were things she should have said that she never did. It’s not good for a child to grow up believing something to be the truth when it isn’t.”

“She must have had her reasons for keeping it quiet.”

“She did. Just as I have my reasons for coming out in the open.” She picked up her cards. “Now let’s play. I want to win big tonight.”

“Poker days are always so exciting,” Martha said. “Even though we don’t often finish the game.”

Jane glanced up. “Are we really going to watch Sex in the City?”

“Of course not.”

“Then why did you tell her we were?”

“It was the only thing I could think of that would make leaving the house more appealing than staying.”

“Did you see her face? Why is it young people think sex is something just for them? How do they think they got here in the first place?”

“I think we should watch it.” Jane was hopeful. “Just in case she comes home early and finds we were fibbing.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“POKER AND SEX TALK? They actually called it that?” Seth drove down the narrow roads that led to the water.

He’d been surprised when she’d texted him, asking him if they could meet earlier.

She’d sprang into his car and muttered “Drive” without offering any explanation until now.

He’d been mildly amused by the irony. For years she’d been avoiding him, and now she was treating him like a getaway vehicle.

“Yes. I heard the words clearly before I went into shock. I mean, their combined age must be close to four hundred.”

“So they have a lot of experience between them.”

“I know. And I’m not sure how deeply I want to think about that.” She glanced back over her shoulder. “They probably have their noses pressed to the window right now watching us through binoculars.”

“Would it bother you?” He didn’t mind if the locals were interested in his life, as long as they didn’t try to influence it the way Vanessa had.

He’d spoken to her the night before, immediately after Fliss had left. It had been the harshest conversation he’d ever had with his sister. With hindsight he probably should have waited until his temper had reduced from a boil to a simmer, but the thought that Vanessa might have in any way contributed to tearing apart his relationship with Fliss had driven aside restraint.

Remembering the conversation, he tightened his hands on the wheel.

Fliss glanced at him. “Is something wrong? You look angry.”

“Not angry.” He forced himself to relax.

“Good. For a moment there I wondered if you’d overheard their conversation. They talked about you in lurid detail. Doesn’t that terrify you?”

“You’re forgetting I’ve lived here for a while. I’m used to them. And then there’s the fact that I don’t scare easily.”

“Then you’re made of tougher stuff than I am. They scared the hell out of me. I’m not used to talking about personal stuff, particularly not with five women all of whom were over the age of eighty.” She slid her sunglasses onto her nose. “You still sail a lot?”