“In that case, they more than likely didn’t know who they were after,” Mariela said. “But they knew enough, or at least their boss knew enough, to come here which means someone let that information slip. Who knew you were staying here last night?”

  “Fulton and Andie,” Ronnie answered.

  “Anyone else? I can’t for a minute believe Fulton or Andie would give out that information,” Mariela said. “I just can’t.”

  “No one’s saying they did, love,” Lennox said, his expression softening when he spoke to his wife. “Or that they did it with malicious intent, but I don’t think we should overlook the possibility someone might have inadvertently overheard them.”

  Though he didn’t want to imagine Andie or Fulton being the reason there had been photographers on the beach, Terrence had to agree it could have been an island employee hearing and passing along something they shouldn’t have.

  “They aren’t the only ones it could have been,” Ronnie said, looking at Terrence before explaining. “Last night? At the home?”

  “Shit,” Terrence said, turning to the MacLures. “Yesterday, Ronnie and I went to the children’s home, the one Fulton volunteers at. Before we left to head back to the island, Ronnie got a call from Andie asking us to stop by here to pick up a few things she needed.”

  Ronnie turned pale. “And when I got off the phone, I told you in front of everyone that we needed to stop by here.”

  Which meant there was no way of knowing how word got out. Did it really matter?

  “Is that Andie’s car you drove here?” Lennox asked, and when Terrence confirmed, he added, “I’m going to call Fulton. Let him know what’s going on here. I’ll be back in a few.”

  While they waited, Ronnie walked over to the fireplace Mariela stood near. It took Terrence a few seconds to realize she was looking at a row of framed photographs on the mantel. He’d seen them before, but obviously, with it being her first time in the cottage, she had not. They were all pictures of Winnie. Some with her and Mariela, some of her alone, painting, and even a few of her with Lennox that Mariela insisted remained displayed.

  “That’s my friend, Winnie,” Mariela said with a smile as Ronnie looked from photo to photo. “This used to be her cottage.”

  “She told me,” Ronnie said. Or at least he thought that was what she said. He must have heard incorrectly because Mariela didn’t act like it was strange a dead woman had talked to her.

  No, she wasn’t surprised at all. In fact, she had a knowing look in her eyes. “Dream?”

  “Yes,” Ronnie confirmed. “She’s the one who told me about the men outside.”

  It was the oddest conversation Terrence had ever heard. Unless he was truly hearing things.

  “Just smile and act like it’s normal,” Lennox whispered beside him, causing Terrence to jump. He hadn’t heard the man approach. “Trust me. It’s easier just to accept that some things we can’t explain.”

  Terrence must have made some sort of noise at that because both women turned their way.

  “Were you able to speak with Fulton?” Mariela asked Lennox. “What did he say?”

  “He said if I wanted, he could visit my building in Seattle and find out who it was that gave my tenant the information in the first place.” He chuckled. “I told him I didn’t think that was necessary, but I’d let him know if I changed my mind.”

  There was a brief moment of silence as they all collected their thoughts, Terrence was the first one to break it.

  “What brought the two of you here in the first place? We weren’t expecting you until later on in the week.”

  Lennox and Mariela exchanged a look. It was Lennox who answered. “We thought it’d be nice to spend a few nights here before heading to the island. But I think now we’ll head on back with the two of you.”

  Mariela nodded. “You are going back today, right? I’m assuming you only stayed the night because it got too dark to get a boat?”

  Lennox laughed. “What my wife is trying to say is are the two of you headed back to the island today or were you planning on staying here for more hot monkey sex?”

  Mariela punched his upper arm. “You, Sir, are not funny. You’re embarrassing Veronica.”

  A quick glance showed she was correct. Ronnie’s cheeks had turned a flaming shade of red.

  “She’s a strong woman,” Lennox said. “She can handle it, and if not, she’ll have to learn fast. Especially if she’s going to be with him. The entertainment industry is no joke.”

  “Neither is politics, and she grew up in that environment, so I think she’ll be fine without any extra help from you.”

  “You’re probably right,” Lennox conceded.

  “I know I am,” was Mariela’s only reply.

  “Do the two of you generally go around talking about people like they aren’t in the room?” Terrence asked.

  “Yes,” Lennox said. “We think it’s more mannerly than talking about them behind their backs.”

  Ronnie snorted. “At least you’re honest about it, and you do have a point.”

  “I knew it was a good decision for Andie to hire you,” Lennox said. “Fulton’s going to pick us up at the dock in about thirty minutes. Are the two of you ready to head back, or do you need to pull your stuff together?”

  “We don’t have much,” Ronnie replied. “We’ll be ready to leave in about five minutes. Or at least I will be.” She shot a look toward Terrence in question.

  “Right behind you,” he said.

  * * *

  Two hours later, they were all back on the island and enjoying a huge brunch Andie had put together to welcome the MacLures back to the academy. She said she’d sent out a hurried invitation to all staff currently on the island to attend, and Terrence was shocked at the number who arrived. He obviously didn’t get out and about much when he was on the island, because if asked, he’d have guessed only half a dozen employees were in residence. There were at least fifteen, and even though that wasn’t a huge number, it was more than double what he’d estimated.

  He studied each person in attendance, trying to determine if they looked guilty or uncomfortable at all. No one looked suspicious, however, and he finally stopped when Ronnie elbowed him in the ribs and told him not to be such a creeper.

  He tried telling himself since no damage had been done, the entire photographer ordeal was best forgotten. But he couldn’t shake the feeling he was overlooking something.

  Chapter 23

  Veronica

  The following Saturday night, Lennox and Marie asked for Fulton, Andie, Terrence and her to meet them for dinner at their island residence. The four of them had decided to meet together at Veronica’s office in the main building and to walk over together.

  Andie arrived first, and for that, Veronica was thankful. So much so, she couldn’t help but wonder if Andie hadn’t arrived early because she had somehow picked up on her unspoken anxiety about the matter. Not that she would have minded if Fulton had been the first to show. No, the truth was, Veronica didn’t want to be alone with Terrence.

  Since they’d been back on the island, he’d acted like nothing had happened between them. Sure, he was pleasant whenever their paths crossed, but it seemed to her as if he was going out of his way to avoid her.

  But why would he do that?

  She finally decided he’d only been interested in the chase, that he only wanted her when he thought he couldn’t have her. The realization should have made her upset over what happened at Winnie’s, but she couldn’t bring herself to regret that night.

  She thought about telling him he was being ridiculous. It wasn’t like she was going to jump his bones or anything of the sort. Hell, she was a big girl. She could take a hint. If he didn’t want her, she could live with that.

  “It’s about time,” Andie said while they waited in Veronica’s office for the two men.

  “About time for what?” Veronica asked.

  “You haven’t picked up on it?” Andie asked, her shoulders dropping in defeat. “Fulton doesn’t see it either. He thinks I’m making the whole thing up.”

  “What thing?” Veronica barely had time to ask before Fulton’s voice filled her office space.

  “Don’t tell me you’re trying to convince Veronica of your theory?” he asked, though the smile he wore proved he knew she was doing that exact thing.

  “What theory would that be?” Terrence asked, walking into the office behind Fulton before Veronica could get the words out to ask the same question.

  Fulton reached for Andie and pulled her toward him in a big bear hug. “My dear wife is adamant that Lennox and Marie are up to no good. That they have something up their sleeve. A secret they haven’t told us.”

  Veronica loved how Andie didn’t try to argue with her husband. She only agreed and added, “I think they plan to tell us tonight whatever secret they’ve been keeping.”

  “And I think they simply wanted to have us all over for dinner,” Fulton followed up with.

  Terrence rubbed his chin. “You know, now that I think about it, she might have a point.”

  “Andie?” Fulton asked, as if there was someone else it could possibly be. “Ouch,” he added when the woman in question slapped his arm.

  “Yes,” Terrence answered but didn’t elaborate further until they had made their way outside and were headed toward the villa where the couple in question stayed. “How many times over the past few summers have we been asked to dinner at their villa at the same time? Maybe twice?” He answered his own question.

  “Exactly,” Andie said. “And why ask us to the villa in the first place? There’s only one reason I can think of, and that’s because they want to tell us something but don’t want anyone else on the staff to know yet.”

  Veronica was still caught up in the infrequent nature of the invitation. “This isn’t something you do every summer?”

  “No,” Andie replied. “Like Terrence said, maybe twice before.”

  “Before the two of you succeed in convincing poor Veronica we’re about to have a bomb dropped on us for dinner, I feel the need to bring up that both times we were previously asked over for dinner occurred right before summer break ended and the fall session was about to start. They wanted to discuss academy business and did so at the villa because there were more staff on site.”

  “All you’re doing is adding to my argument that something is going on,” Andie said. “Because there’s only a skeleton staff on the island now.”

  “You know what that means, don’t you?” Terrence asked.

  Though it might have been a rhetorical question, Veronica couldn’t help replying, “They’re going to spill major secrets tonight.”

  Fulton sighed. “Not you too?”

  But she was too busy laughing with both Terrence and Andie to reply.

  “Fine,” Fulton said in playful disgust. “We’ll see who’s right by the end of the night.”

  “You know what I think?” Terrence asked when the laughter died away and as they walked up the short path leading to the MacLure villa. “I think maybe hearing whatever Lennox and Marie have been keeping secret will inspire the two of you to drop whatever it is you’ve been whispering about with each other for the past week.”

  All traces of amusement left Andie’s voice and expression. Fulton looked guilty.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Andie said.

  “Me either,” Fulton added, but he didn’t sound convincing at all.

  Obviously thinking the same thing, Terrence snorted. Then, catching Veronica’s gaze, he rolled his eyes and mouthed they’re lying. She hadn’t picked up on any clues from either Fulton or Andie hinting there was something they were keeping to themselves. Of course Terrence knew them much better than she did, especially Andie.

  “Hey, guys.” Marie greeted them, opening the door. “Come on in.”

  Veronica couldn’t help but study everything Marie and Lennox did or said, even with the conversation flowing easily during dinner. The evening had held the potential to be awkward considering the discussion on the walk over, but by the time everyone had finished eating, Veronica had almost forgotten about the big secret Andie expected to be dropped.

  Almost.

  But as soon as the dishes were put into the kitchen sink to be cleaned later and Marie and Lennox sat down, each looking at the other with curious expressions, the other four people at the table went on high alert.

  Fulton muttered something under his breath Veronica couldn’t make out. Sitting beside him, Andie didn’t appear to hear it either. But that was likely due to the look of shock she wore, as if she hadn’t believed her own prediction.

  If either Lennox or Marie found the behavior of their dinner guests odd, they didn’t address it.

  Lennox cleared his throat. “Marie and I didn’t just invite you guys over for dinner. We actually have some news to share with you.” He looked at his wife with a happy smile and picked up her hand from where it rested on the table. “We’ve decided to sell the academy.”

  Glancing around the table, it became clear to Veronica that the news wasn’t anything expected. And while she was surprised at the announcement, her reaction was nowhere near as shocked as everyone else.

  Fulton was the first to speak. “What brought this on?” he asked. “Is everything okay? Are either of you sick?”

  “No,” Lennox assured him. “Nothing’s wrong and no one is sick. We just don’t feel as if the academy is us anymore.”

  No one else looked as if they were going to say anything. Veronica assumed they were still in shock and processing the news. Across the table, Lennox and Marie appeared to be a bit at a loss. It seemed the two of them were happy with their decision. Had they expected their employees to be happy as well?

  Since no one else was saying anything, Veronica decided to break the silence. “What does that mean for the future of the academy? What are the two of you going to do?” Surely they weren’t planning to retire.

  “I forget you don’t know our story,” Lennox said. “This academy was never my life’s dream or something I aspired to do. I built it out of guilt, and I let go of that guilt years ago. Both of us did.” He lifted Marie’s hand to his lips and placed a kiss on top. “Now we feel it’s time for us to move on and leave the past behind us for good. We’re not exactly sure what we’re going to do next. We’ve both received some offers, but the first order of business is to sell the academy.”

  Veronica nodded. “I would say you should run for office because you’d be great at it, but something tells me you’re not interested.”

  “I did think about it briefly,” Lennox admitted. “But you’re right about the no interest part. I spent too many years ignoring my feelings for Marie, and I’ve enjoyed the past few with her too much to spend the amount of time needed to be effective in any sort of office away from her and our home.” He looked around the table. “As for the future of the academy, I still think it serves a purpose and a good one at that. I hope to sell it to someone who will continue the work I started.”

  Lennox paused, almost as if he expected someone to say something. When no one did, he frowned and glanced at Marie. She nodded.

  “I’m probably dropping too much on you at one time,” he continued. “But Fulton, if I’m going to be completely honest, I was hoping you and Andie would be interested. With the two of you living here and all the work you’ve put into the academy and island over the years, I could sell it to you both for next to nothing.”

  Fulton looked flabbergasted, and Veronica wasn’t sure Andie’s jaw had come off the floor since Lennox’s big announcement.

  “Uh…,” Fulton started.

  Veronica didn’t know Fulton all that well, but she was willing to bet speechlessness wasn’t a common reaction from him. The way Terrence shot his gaze away from Lennox to gape at Fulton confirmed her suspicion.

  Fulton shook his head. “We’ve been discussing how to tell you, Boss, and while we’ve come up with several different ways, this was never one of them.”

  Terrence shot Andie an I told you so look but wisely kept quiet.

  It was Lennox’s time to be shocked. “Tell me what?”

  “Andie and I won’t be coming back after the fall session,” Fulton replied.

  “What?” Lennox, Marie, and possibly Terrence replied at the same time.

  “I’ve been offered the head chef position for a new restaurant opening in Seattle,” Andie said. “The owner has been very successful in New York and Boston, and he wants to expand his market. This will be his first property on the west coast.”

  “You’ve had several similar offers over the years,” Marie said. “What made this one so special?”

  “It’s because of me,” Fulton said. “I’ll be starting something new.”

  Absolute silence fell over the table, and no one moved.

  “I didn’t know you were unsatisfied with your job.” Lennox frowned. “I wish you would have told me before you went off looking for something else.”

  An odd look of amusement came over Fulton’s face. “It wasn’t like that. I didn’t go looking for another job, this one just fell into my lap. Or will. Eventually.”

  “I don’t understand,” Lennox replied. “What kind of job will you be doing?”

  Fulton smiled damn near the biggest smile Veronica had ever seen. “Full-time, stay-at-home dad.” He gazed at his wife with a look that combined joy, love, and admiration. “Andie’s pregnant.”

  Chapter 24

  Terrence

  “I’ve been thinking,” Fulton told Terrence the next morning. With the news dropping of Andie’s pregnancy and the upcoming sale of the island and academy the night before, Fulton had asked Terrence if he could help clear out the decades-old and untouched storage areas in the lighthouse. A task, he added, he’d been putting off forever that now needed to be done. Thinking the physical activity would keep thoughts of Ronnie at bay, Terrence had agreed.