"Everyone knows about The Talk," she said crossly.
"Is that so?" He sounded irritated. "You shouldn't believe every bit of gossip you hear about me."
"You mean it's not true about The Talk?"
He opened the door, letting in another gust of wet air. "I've got no intention of discussing the details of my private life at this particular moment."
"Why not?" Her chin came up. "None of my business?"
"No," he said grimly. "It isn't. But just so we're clear on this subject, I'd like to point out that we've already had The Talk."
"Is that so?" she asked in icy accents. "I don't recall it."
"Then you've got a short-term memory problem, lady."
"Don't you dare try to wriggle out of this." She strode forward, clutching the chenille throw to her throat, and came to a halt directly in front of him. She jabbed a forefinger against his chest. "You did not give me The Talk. I wouldn't have forgotten something like that."
"No," he agreed coolly. "I didn't deliver it. You did."
That stopped her cold.
She stared at him. "I beg your pardon?"
"Don't you remember?" He moved out onto the shadowy porch. "You made it clear that you're a free spirit and that you'll be leaving at the end of the summer. Sounded to me like you weren't looking for anything other than a short-term affair."
"Hang on here, I never said anything of the kind. You're putting words in my mouth."
"Trust me." He flicked on a little penlight and started down the front steps. "I know The Talk when I hear it."
She was too dumbfounded to speak for a moment. By the time she had recovered, he was in the car, driving away into the night.
She abruptly realized that her bare feet were very cold.
Chapter 9
"What do you think is going on?" Lillian asked on the other end of the line.
"I think they've started an affair." Hannah glanced out into the hall to make sure no one was eavesdropping on her conversation with her sister.
Satisfied that she and Winston had the office to themselves, she closed the door and went back to the chair behind the desk. Winston, stretched out on his belly on the rug, watched her alertly.
It was obvious that he sensed her tension.
"You're sure they're involved?" Lillian asked.
"Yes. You should have seen him last night when he came back here to pick up Carson. Whatever is going on between those two, it's serious."
"Did he give her The Talk?"
"I don't think so. I asked him point-blank and instead of making a joke out of it, the way he usually does, he acted pissed off."
"He was mad?"
"Yes. More or less told me to mind my own business. Believe me, he was not in a good mood last night."
"Hmm."
"I know," Hannah said. "I had the same reaction."
They both fell silent for a while, thinking. Hannah looked out the window. The air was crisp and clear in the wake of the big storm. The bay was unnaturally smooth. From where she sat she could see Rafe and the two gardeners working to clear some branches that had been downed by the high winds.
"He hasn't let any woman get to him since Amelia died," Lillian said eventually.
"I know. Give me your professional opinion."
"I'm out of the matchmaking business, remember? I'm an artist now."
"You must still have some instincts. Your intuition when it came to figuring out couples was always amazing."
"My instincts aren't any good when it comes to those two," Lillian said honestly. "I tried to read the situation that night when I saw them together at my show there in Eclipse Bay. I got nothing. A complete blank."
"Does that mean it's a bad match?"
"No, it means I just couldn't tell one way or the other. It's hard to explain, but it was as if there was some sort of invisible glass shield between them and my intuition. I couldn't get past it. Whatever is going on with those two is as much a mystery to me as it is to you."
"Personally, I'm hoping she's the one for Nick. I really like Octavia, and Carson adores her."
That caught Lillian's attention. "Carson likes her?"
"Yes. I've never seen him like this with any of the other women Nick has dated. You'd think he was trying to do a little matchmaking himself."
"Interesting." Lillian pondered that briefly. "Of course, in all fairness, Carson has never had much opportunity to get to know any of Nick's other girlfriends."
"That's because Nick has always gone out of his way to keep that part of his life compartmentalized and separate from his life with Carson. This time it's different. That's my big point here. The very fact that Nick has allowed Carson to develop a personal relationship of his own with Octavia is a very strong indicator that this is not business as usual. Don't you agree?"
"Maybe. Depends."
"On what?"
"Well, it could be that Nick isn't deliberately allowing Carson to get to know Octavia. It may just be the circumstances. Eclipse Bay isn't a big city. There's no way Nick could have a clandestine affair here. It's impossible to keep one's private life private in this town."
"And nobody knows that better than Nick. Yet he made the decision to spend the summer here and it looks to me as if he has actively encouraged Carson to form an attachment to Octavia. I swear, they find an excuse to stop by her gallery every single day when they go into town to pick up the mail or shop for groceries."
"All right, I agree that isn't Nick's usual M.O. when it comes to women and his personal life," Lillian said thoughtfully. "Could be significant. You're sure he hasn't had The Talk with her?"
"Almost positive. It may mean that he's finally ready to move beyond the loss of Amelia."
"About time," Lillian said.
"Hey, he's a Harte. When Hartes fall in love, they fall hard."
"Mmm."
"What's this?" A flicker of alarm wafted through Hannah. She exchanged a concerned look with Winston, who promptly got to his feet and crossed the small space to put his head on her knee. "You don't believe that Nick has really become Hardhearted Harte, do you?"
"I think," Lillian said carefully, "that there may have been more problems in his relationship with Amelia than he ever let on."
"I know you were never fully satisfied that they were a great match. But there is no absolutely perfect match. And it doesn't mean that Nick didn't love Amelia deeply."