Under the Boardwalk (Costas Sisters 1)

But most importantly, she had Quinn to thank for expressing a love of an entirely different kind. Not in words but in gestures and emotions and in a distinctive way she couldn’t mistake. He’d made love to her, so she couldn’t help but feel the connection between them. One she desperately wanted to believe in.

But fears and questions remained. She couldn’t forget how easily he’d blended in and accepted her family. A family she wasn’t anything like. Yet Quinn had tried to bring out that more outgoing, sexy, and fun woman he called Ari. But what of Professor Costas? Even without the suits, Ariana was still a part of her personality. Her soul. Could Quinn accept all of her?

Or once again would she be the outsider with a broken heart, longing for something she didn’t understand and couldn’t have?

The sound of her cell phone pulled her away from her thoughts. She leaned over and pulled it out of her purse, hoping not to wake Quinn. “Hello?” she asked softly.

“Good morning, Ariana. It’s Bill Riley,” said a deep, familiar voice.

“Well, hello yourself,” Ari said to the chairman of the Psychology Department at her school. Despite her thoughts, she wasn’t ready to talk to anyone from Vermont. His voice brought stressful tension she didn’t welcome.

“I called your parents’ house. I’m so sorry to hear there’s been no word on your twin. It’s dreadful, it really is.”

“Thank you,” she murmured, the guilt rising in her chest.

“I’m calling because I need to know if and when you plan on returning. Not only because we all miss you, but because I need to work on your replacement’s schedule. Of course I understand it’s a difficult decision and I’m sorry to put you on the spot,” he said with his characteristic mix of academia and caring.

Ari swallowed hard. She knew she’d have to face this decision sometime. “I need some more time here.” She pushed herself up in bed and found Quinn staring at her, his expression closed but curiosity evident in his compelling gaze.

“But you’ll finish the semester yourself? The kids miss you and there’s nobody who teaches with the same flair.”

Ari licked her suddenly dry lips. Since when did Professor Costas, in her dark suits and pulled-back hair, do anything with flair? “Of course I’ll be back,” she said, eager to end this conversation.

When she had come home, she’d planned on returning to Vermont as soon as she found her sister. Now the thought of leaving her family—and Quinn—behind wasn’t as appealing. “I’ll call you when I know more,” she promised Bill. “Probably the middle of next week.”

By then Zoe would have returned and she would have had more time with her family. Deciding about her permanent future would have to wait until she was more sure herself of where she wanted to be. Where she was welcome and wanted—as the complete combination of both Ari and Ariana, she thought.

Quinn watched as Ari turned off the phone and replaced it in her purse by the side of the bed. He’d awakened to the sweet sound of her voice, remembered the intimacy between them last night, and then had his heated memories and hopes shattered by her words. Of course I’ll be back, she’d said. He had no doubt she was talking about Vermont.

Which meant she’d be leaving again. Just like he thought. Just like he should have known all along. Didn’t everybody in his life walk sooner or later?

“Who was that?” he asked, his voice sounding calmer than he felt.

“Bill Riley. He heads the Psych Department at the university.” Ari brushed her hair out of her eyes.

He tried not to be affected by her full lips and disheveled, I-just-had-sex look, but failed. “Must be important for him to call so early.”

She glanced at the clock and laughed. “It’s nearly eleven. Actually it was important. He’s got a colleague subbing for me and he wanted to know how long I’d be gone so he could arrange the schedule.”

“And you told him you’d be back.” Needing distance, he rose from the bed.

“Well, I have to finish the semester . . .” Her voice trailed off.

“Of course you do. Just like I have to be downstairs.” So far this case was falling into place, but he never assumed anything was complete until it was time to walk away.

Being back on the job now would give him something to focus on other than the fact that he’d nearly let himself be suckered into believing he had a future with Ariana.

She didn’t say a word when, seconds later, he closed himself in the bathroom for a quick shower, all the while instructing himself to ignore the confused expression on her face and the wounded look in her eyes.

He was the one who’d taken a sucker punch this morning, not her. He’d put everything on the line for a woman and a future, in an ultimate gamble he was obviously destined to lose.

•  •  •

Alone in Quinn’s hotel room, Ari sat stunned by Quinn’s abrupt shift in mood from when they’d gone to bed last night to when they’d woken up this morning. She supposed he was shaken by her phone conversation, but so was she. When Ari was with Quinn, Vermont was the last thing on her mind, and that was a notion she knew she had to explore further. But first he had to finish this situation with Damon, just as Ari had unresolved family issues waiting for her when her sister came home.

Which reminded her, she needed to contact the man who was interested in taking Spank. Though she’d found him via the Internet, she’d called an old friend from high school who’d become a private investigator and he’d looked into the man’s background. Michael Peters was an animal trainer who specialized in monkeys. He was based in New Jersey and met all the requirements for owning an exotic pet—which meant he met most of Ari’s requirements. He lived close enough that Sam could visit. His resumé even said he’d owned the monkey on the television show Friends before moving from L.A. If his references checked out, he’d make a good parent for Spank, and Ari felt responsible not just for Sam’s emotional well-being but also for the monkey’s future.

She dug through her purse but couldn’t find the page she’d printed with Peters’s info rmation. When, after her shower, she looked for her lip gloss and couldn’t find that either, she remembered dropping her purse in Damon’s office, and headed downstairs to reclaim her things. After the chilly reception this morning, she only hoped she didn’t run into Quinn.