Page 57 of Harmless Secrets

He nodded. “But I mean still. If they search for you here, it would set off some alarm bells. Right now, they think you’re in Washington. Or at least on the mainland.”

She nodded but couldn’t think of anything to say.

“Why don’t you tell me why you’re wandering around the house?”

“I don’t know what to do.”

“You don’t let her stay over many nights?”

“Since we came from the hospital.”

He opened his mouth, then it snapped shut. “Didn’t your cousin…”

She shook her head. “When I say no one knew where I was, I was serious. My cousin has no idea where we are. That was for her protection as well as ours.”

“Tell you what. Why don’t we get some wine and go watch the sunset?”

It sounded romantic and very tempting. She hadn’t had much romance in her life, and definitely not the last few years.

“You don’t have to entertain me, Devon.”

His lips curved and when he spoke his voice dipped an octave lower. “Good, then you can entertain me.”

He stood and stretched. His back made cracking noises. “Damn, I sat there too long. I could definitely do with some wine.”

He walked passed her and grabbed her hand as he did. She had no choice but to follow him. And he was right. Relaxation might just bring her head back to where it needed to be.

Sixteen

Devon walked beside Ali and tried to remember the last time he’d been this nervous. It was probably high school. No, it had been the night when he first met her. So odd that this woman, one he should never trust and definitely should avoid, was the woman who pulled at him. Even his first love couldn’t compare. Nothing did, and that scared the hell out of him.

“You don’t live here all the time, so where else do you live?” she asked.

“I have a flat in London.”

He sensed her glance. Devon was glad when she didn’t ask him about that. He didn’t want to explain why he kept a flat there. Part of it was work, but it would be just as easy to rent some place or stay at a hotel. He had pegged her for someone from Great Britain. That had driven him to get a flat there. And now that he was thinking it, he was even more embarrassed. He had told himself at the beginning she had nothing to do with it, but now, with her here, he knew she did. It was kind of pathetic that he had gotten a flat with just the hope of running into her one day.

“I also keep that place in Vegas.”

“Doesn’t it get on your nerves?”

He felt his lips curve. “At times.”

“Then why do you stay?”

“It’s familiar and I like the anonymity of it.”

She didn’t respond, but he sensed that she didn’t like his answer. He was lying of course, but he couldn’t tell her the real reason he stayed in Vegas. Several times, he’d thought of moving back to the East coast, or making the permanent shift to Hawaii. He found himself unable to move away. The reason was walking beside him.

He had hoped one day she would return. He hadn’t realized it until he saw her in Seattle, but he hadn’t moved away because he hoped she would just appear again. He’d wanted to walk out to the bench that gave the best views of the sunset, but he decided to stay closer to the house.

“This house is fabulous.”

“I like it. I was going to buy a condo, but I found this. The owner was very motivated to sell.”

She sipped her wine and looked out across his lawn. “I particularly like the cannons.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, like almost everything else, they came with the house.”