Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
Delaney hurried away from the playground as fast as she could move without breaking into a jog.
Mr. Aylett’s jealousy had been so clear that he might as well have carried a placard announcing it.
She hoped and prayed her own jealousy hadn’t been that obvious.
She and Charlotte had been on their way to meet him after the mayor’s speech. Delaney had seen women buzzing toward him like bees to a honeysuckle vine. Beautiful, accomplished women with sweet Southern accents, all bless your heart and y’all come back. Women who belonged in his world.
Women who weren’t employees.
The sight had sent a wave of jealousy so intense that Delaney had changed course and taken Charlotte to the park. She didn’t want to witness the parade of bachelorettes who couldn’t resist him.
She knew exactly how they felt.
Now, as she walked randomly among the booths, she admitted that all her avoiding Mr. Aylett had done nothing to change how she felt about him.
If anything, her feelings had only grown since their kiss.
He was kind and gentle and understanding when she pretended to be too busy to eat dinner with them.
The compassion and regret in his eyes made it increasingly difficult not to give in to her desire to just be with him.
To sit with him and watch him love his niece so well.
The chilly air nipped at her cheeks. Strings of lights crisscrossed overhead, already illuminated, the sun having dipped below the trees.
A band played on the stage where Mr. Aylett had spoken, the music adding background noise to the conversations and laughter of townspeople who wandered among the vendors.
The scent of hot dogs mingled with the salt air from the nearby bay, turning her stomach.
The whole atmosphere reminded her of home. Except…except she didn’t belong here.
What was she doing? Playing house with a man who was her employer, falling for a child who wasn’t hers to keep? The whole situation was impossible.
She should quit, find another job. But then she’d have to leave Driftwood. She wasn’t ready to go back to Maine yet, and she had no desire to start over somewhere new. Besides, though she’d gotten the settlement for her totaled car, she hadn’t purchased a new one yet. She was trapped.
And while technically that was accurate…those were just excuses.
Truth was, she didn’t want to leave because she was in love with Charlotte. And maybe her uncle.
Delaney needed someone to talk to and considered her options. Mom would do anything to protect Delaney and all her girls from heartbreak. She’d also love to get Delaney to come home.
She appreciated that about her mother. It would be so easy to run home to Mom’s arms. Which was why Delaney couldn’t call her.
Cici and Brooklynn would be just as protective, probably worse. They’d hop the first flight to Virginia and stage an intervention.
But Alyssa…
Alyssa hadn’t lived in Shadow Cove for years. She might understand Delaney’s need to escape for a little while.
And Alyssa had risked everything to save a little girl’s life—after she’d fallen in love with that girl’s father.
She might be able to sympathize with the impossible pull Delaney felt toward Noah, the way her heart constricted every time he smiled at Charlotte.
She’d never planned to stay away from Shadow Cove forever, but she couldn’t imagine leaving them.
Wandering past a row of retail booths, Delaney pulled out her phone and dialed her oldest sister.
“Laney?” Alyssa’s voice held a note of concern. “Everything okay?”
“I’m…fine. Good, really.” Delaney pressed her free hand against her sternum, a habit she’d developed since the accident. “I just need to talk to someone who won’t immediately tell me to come home.”
“Okay. What’s going on?”
“I kissed him.” The words tumbled out. “Well, he kissed me. Two weeks ago. And I can’t stop thinking about it.
We’ve been avoiding each other ever since, only talking about Charlotte, never anything personal, and today he was so jealous when I talked to another man that I thought he might actually growl.
And I understood because I’d just seen him talking to some women, and…
” She didn’t want to admit her own jealousy.
“Just so we’re on the same page, you kissed who?”
“My boss.” She kept her voice low in case someone might overhear. “It was stupid, and I shouldn’t have, and now I can’t think about anything else.”
Silence stretched across the line. Then Alyssa laughed—not mockingly, but with genuine warmth. “Oh, honey. You’ve got it bad.”
“It’s not funny.”
“I know. I remember feeling the same way about Callan. We were in hiding from terrorists when I found out about Peri. The more I saw him with his daughter, the more I fell for him. It was…” She sighed. “It wasn’t the same, of course, but I’m just saying, I get it.”
Which was what Delaney needed, an understanding ear.
Even so, she felt exposed as she passed a booth selling handmade soaps, the scents so overpowering that they turned her stomach.
“He’s my boss, Lyss. And Charlotte, his four-year-old niece…
She’s been through so much. She needs stability, not her nanny having a breakdown over feelings she can’t act on. ”
“Why can’t you?”
“I work for him. I live in the house with him. And I’m not…I’m not suitable.”
“Says who?”
“Him.” The word came out too loud, drawing the glances of a couple of women nearby. She put her head down and hurried away. “He took one look at me and declared me scandalous.”
“He did what!” Her big sister’s anger was palpable through the phone.
“Not like that, not really. Just…” Delaney explained their first meeting and how she’d come to work for Noah, wandering into a side street away from the festival to avoid listening ears. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Tell me about him.”
Delaney had expected her no-nonsense sister to give her step-by-step instructions, as if she were helping her reset her router. But Alyssa was softer now that she was in love. More compassionate.
Was that what love did? Changed people for the better? All it made Delaney feel was weak and exposed.
Where did Delaney even start to explain Noah Aylett?
“He’s…he’s not what I expected when I took this job.
He’s raising Charlotte for his brother, who abandoned her and took off.
Noah had to figure it out. But he’s so good with her.
Patient in ways I didn’t think men could be.
He makes her breakfast every morning and remembers which stuffed animal she needs for comfort.
He reads her stories every night, even when he’s exhausted. ”
The words poured out of her, weeks of suppressed thoughts finally finding voice. “And he’s kind to me, Lyss. Really kind. I was in a little car accident—”
“You were? I didn’t hear about that.”
“I didn’t want to worry anybody.” Or explain the strange events of that night. “It’s not important. It’s just that he dropped everything to be there. I was bruised for a few days, so he worked from home to help with Charlotte. He’s…he’s a really good man.”
Exactly the kind of man Delaney wanted to be with someday. But not this man, not this day.
“Take away the fact that you work for him,” Alyssa suggested. “What’s stopping you from being with him?”
Delaney laughed, though it came out more like a choked sob. “He’s way out of my league. He’s smart and handsome and wealthy and—”
“You’re smart and beautiful, and it’s not like you come from the wrong side of the tracks.”
“I know, but… He’s accomplished. He’s a grown-up, you know? Probably a decade older than me, divorced. He owns his own business. I’m just—”
“You’re not ‘just’ anything, Delaney. You’re amazing, and he’d be lucky to have you.”
Not really, but she saw no point in arguing. “I don’t think he really has feelings for me. I think it’s just… I mean, we live in the same house. And now we’ve had that kiss. I think…I think it’s just physical for him.”
“What if you’re wrong?” Alyssa asked. “What if he really does have feelings for you?”
The question sent hope fluttering in Delaney’s stomach, quickly followed by a wave of dread. “It doesn’t matter. He’s made it very clear that nothing can happen between us.”
“Maybe, but—”
“There’s no maybe.”
“Maybe there is. Let’s face it, the fact that you love his niece isn’t exactly a point against you. If he feels the same way—”
“He can’t. I’m his employee. He’s trying to avoid scandal, and I live in his house.”
“So move out.”
Move out?
Could she? It would be tight financially, but if she could find a room to rent nearby, then that barrier would be lifted.
If she didn’t live at the Aylett house, then maybe their dating wouldn’t be quite as scandalous.
Or maybe their attraction for each other would fade. Well, his for her, anyway. She didn’t think anything was going to change how she felt about him.
It was an idea. But how would she even broach the subject? I have feelings for you, so I’m going to move out so we can explore…
Her cheeks warmed at the thought of that conversation. How would she ever muster up the nerve to say it?
What if he rejected her? What if he laughed at her?
What if he wasn’t who she thought he was?
Owen had been kind to her. He’d been affectionate and attentive. And he’d been a smuggler who’d shot a man.
In a million years, Delaney would never have guessed her gentle-giant boyfriend could be capable of such a thing.
How could she know if Noah really was who he said he was? How could she trust her own judgment?
And if he knew how she felt, he might take advantage of her. He might lure her in and then crush her to pieces.
Or just fire her.
She couldn’t bear the thought of leaving Charlotte. She couldn’t risk it.
“Thanks for talking me through it, sis.”
“Sure. Keep me updated, and keep in touch. I miss you.”
“Miss you too.” Delaney ended the call, disappointment making her legs feel heavy. She was a fool to have thought there might be a solution to her dilemma. Her solution was to do her job and love…admire, anyway, Noah from afar and hope he never learned the truth about how she felt.
She looked around, realizing she’d wandered onto a back road that led toward the Aylett house. The sun had nearly set, casting long shadows between the stately homes. It was darker here, away from the festival lights.
When she turned to head back, movement caught her eye—a figure half a block behind her ducking behind a bush.
A shiver slid down her spine, raising goose bumps on her arms.
Was someone following her?
Her car careening down that hill, brakes useless after someone had cut her brake line, flashed through her mind.
Yet she’d wandered off alone.
Stupid.
Unwilling to walk past the place where that shadow lingered, Delaney decided to continue to the corner and return on the parallel street. She spun.
A man was right there, not even a foot away.
She gasped and stepped back, expecting an excuse me, or a sorry to frighten you.
He looked down at her, close enough that she could smell his aftershave. He was an older, distinguished-looking man with gray hair and matching eyes. His dark expression had her taking another step back.
“Tell your friend his merger’s not going to happen,” he said. “It’s time for him to give it up.”
“Who are you?”
His lips spread into a vicious, predatory smile. He turned and walked away, stride slow and purposeful.
Delaney stared after him, heart thumping a wild beat. She waited until he’d crossed at the next street, then hurried to the corner and jogged the other direction, toward the festival.
She glanced back again but saw no one following her.
That didn’t mean they weren’t there.
She practically ran to the park, where she searched desperately for Noah.
She wouldn’t feel safe until she was by his side again.