“What? If there’s a problem here, then you need to spell it out.”
“For a start it would have been nice to have known I was catering for six, not five.”
“Whenever you cook you always make enough for the entire island but you’re right, I should have mentioned it. I would have done but I just happened to bump into Zach a few hours ago.” Ryan put the bread and the plates down on the table, then walked over to her, cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. “Forgive me.”
Emily melted, murmured a few words that the others couldn’t hear, and then eased away. “It’s not me you should be asking for forgiveness, it’s Brittany. This is awkward, Ryan.”
Ryan smoothed Emily’s hair back from her face with a gentle hand and then glanced at Brittany. “Is it awkward? Am I in trouble?”
Brittany managed a smile. “Of course not. It’s fine.”
“There. I told you. They’ve been divorced for a decade. They’ve both moved on. Is this ready? I’ll carry it through. It’s heavy.” Ryan reached for the chowder. “You can bring the bread and bowls, Sky.”
Skylar waited until he’d walked through the door and shook her head. “Men,” she said slowly as she juggled the bread and the bowls. “Utterly clueless.”
“I’m not arguing with that, but in this case he’s right. I’ve moved on.” Keen to avoid a conversation, Brittany grabbed the bread. “I’ll take that before you drop it.” She didn’t know which was more stressful, facing her friends or facing Zach.
How should she handle it?
Did she smile and pretend nothing had happened?
Did she just ignore the whole thing?
Deciding she might as well get it over with, she walked through to the dining room and almost fell over Cocoa, Ryan’s spaniel, who was running around, excited at having so many visitors in the house.
“Sit.” Ryan placed the chowder in the center of the table and glared at the dog. “Do not jump up.”
Ignoring him, Cocoa wagged her tail hard, almost vibrating with the effort not to jump and put her paws on his legs.
The distraction gave Brittany a moment to compose herself.
Zach was lounging in tense, brooding silence at the far end of the table.
Even without looking she was aware of him, as if her body had some sort of internal radar that sent off signals whenever he was nearby.
Deciding that the longer she left it, the worse it would be, she glanced at him and acknowledged his presence with a brief nod.
Those volcanic dark eyes focused on her for a brief moment and she felt as if she’d been fried alive. Dark lashes shielded his expression and his slim, sensual mouth was unsmiling.
Remembering everything he could do with that mouth made heat rush from her toes to her neck.
Last time she’d seen him, he’d been stripping her naked in less time than it took most people to switch on their phone. And she would have done the same to him if she hadn’t been a fumbling wreck. Fortunately, he’d had enough skills for both of them, which was why they now found themselves in this embarrassing situation.
The level of physical intimacy contrasted starkly with the emotional distance between them.
Awkward? No, it wasn’t awkward. It was so much more than awkward, there wasn’t a word for it.
She deposited the bread on the table.
What should she say?
She wanted to leave, but that would stimulate questions she didn’t want to answer. It would also potentially create a problem between Ryan and Emily and she didn’t want to be the cause of friction.
She slid into the only vacant chair, wishing it wasn’t so close to Zach.
Alec and Ryan were locked in an argument about one of the yachts moored in the marina and Emily was busy ladling creamy chowder into the deep bowls. The atmosphere was warm and relaxed, laughter and conversation flowing around her. Brittany was aware of nothing except the pounding of her heart and the incredible stillness of the man seated at the end of the table.
She couldn’t breathe.