First Time in Forever (Puffin Island 1)

Gradually it dawned on her that they were in a semi-public place.

One of them needed to say something, and she decided that since he’d taken the lead on everything else, she’d do that part. “If I’d known swimming was this much fun, I would have done it years ago.”

He made a sound that was half laugh, half groan and brought his mouth back to hers. “Leave Lizzy with Agnes tonight. We can watch the sunset from my bed.”

She eased away, feeling the pull of regret. “I can’t.”

“Why not? She’d be safe.”

Lizzy would be, but what about her? Up until the past few weeks, she’d never thought of herself as particularly sexual. What if they got as far as bed and she disappointed him? This was a small island. She could be committing herself to a summer of awkward encounters.

Her nerve fled. “I’ll get changed and we’ll forget it ever happened.”

“Sure. That should work, as long as no one looks at the surveillance footage.”

She glanced up and saw a camera focused on the pool. “There are cameras?”

“Yeah, we just starred in our own private movie.”

Emily gave an embarrassed laugh. “Well, hopefully no one will ever have reason to examine the footage.” She didn’t trust her arms to be able to haul herself out of the pool the way he did, so to avoid a potentially ungainly accident, she chose to use the steps. She could feel him watching her every step of the way from the pool to the changing room.

“Emily—”

She turned her head. “Yes?”

“If you change your mind, you know where I live.”

*

AFTER THAT SWIMMING LESSON, everything changed.

Or maybe the change had been happening gradually, and he hadn’t noticed it.

Either way, Emily went from hiding away in Castaway Cottage to being a visible part of the Puffin Island community.

She and Lizzy visited Agnes every morning to walk Cocoa, only now whenever Ryan called on his grandmother, he noticed small gifts on the kitchen table. Gifts that revealed exactly how Emily was spending her time with her niece. A bowl heaped with blueberries picked fresh from the bush. A plate of home-baked cookies and a picture of a boat bobbing on the waves painted by Lizzy.

“I think that girl is enjoying doing things she’s never done before,” was all that Agnes would say when he questioned her about the gifts that kept appearing.

“Lizzy?”

“I meant Emily, but that statement is probably true of both of them.”

Judging from the interesting shape of the cookies, Emily was as experienced a cook as she was a swimmer, but he wasn’t about to diminish her attempts to entertain the child and become part of the local island community at the same time.

A week after the first swimming lesson, he walked in to find Agnes wearing a necklace of glittery pink beads.

Recognizing Lizzy’s signature color, Ryan refrained from reaching for his sunglasses. “Nice necklace.”

“Lizzy made this with Emily. The child has an eye for anything that sparkles. I guess she inherited that from her mother.”

“Does she talk about her mother?”

“A little, to Emily. They’ve made a scrapbook together, with pictures and news stories.” His grandmother gave a faint smile. “Positive ones.”

Aware of the rumors that had surrounded Lana Fox’s colorful love life, Ryan wondered how long Emily had toiled to find material suitable for young eyes. He could imagine her, those green eyes serious as she’d searched for images to keep Lana’s memory alive for her daughter.

“I came to see if any of your group need a ride to your book club meeting tonight, apart from Hilda.”