Barefoot by the Sea

won’t go any further than we have. I won’t do anything that could get me a disease, a baby, or…”

“Or a broken heart.”

“Oh, he won’t break my heart,” she said confidently. “He loves me. He told me last night.”

“He could be lying to get into your pants.”

She just smiled.

Damn. He probably said it when he was already in her pants. “Oh, Ash—”

“Hey! You better not be planning to get on that thing.”

They both turned at the sound of Zoe’s voice, the sight of her plucking her way across the garden in a flowing yellow sundress ending the conversation.

“Don’t tell her, either,” Ashley whispered, a soft desperation in her voice.

Tessa closed her eyes. “Why are you trusting the person who hates secrets?”

Ashley didn’t answer as Zoe came closer, pointing to the vehicle that apparently wasn’t going to get used at all in the near future. “So, does he think your tractor’s sexy?”

“Very funny, Zoe. I’m harvesting sweet potatoes and I need to get back to it.”

“Not today, you’re not.”

“I have to,” Tessa said, pointing to the tangled vines that were fast becoming her nemesis. “Under that lies hundreds of sweets, and they aren’t going to unearth themselves.” She frowned at Zoe. “I don’t suppose you’d go change and follow the tractor with a basket, would you?”

“The only one of us who’s going to change is you. Take a shower and put on some pretty undies.” She curled her lip and gave Tessa’s overall shorts a disgusted look. “Do you have pretty undies?”

Ashley giggled. “For sweet potato harvesting?”

Zoe reached out a hand to both of them. “Come on. The gang is waiting.”

“My mom’s at the pediatrician’s,” Ashley said.

“Not anymore she’s not. She’s looking all over for you.”

Tessa shot an I-told-you-so look at the young girl.

“Does she need me?” Ashley asked.

“She wants to make sure you come with us, of course.”

Ashley’s eyes brightened. “Where are we going?”

Zoe grinned and yanked Tessa closer. “Wedding-dress shopping!”

Tessa froze. “I thought Lacey was still checking out other possible couples. This isn’t a definite thing yet.”

“We’re dress shopping for me,” Zoe said, tugging her. “I need you to be my thinner version. And if we find something you might want to wear for the faux wedding, all the better.”

With one last look at the vines, Tessa let Zoe lead her away.

The minute he could escape the restaurant, Ian grabbed his safe phone and jumped on his bike, not bothering to say good-bye to anyone. Let them look if they needed him, but he would not be found. Not until he made a call to Henry.

He revved the bike engine and peeled out of the resort lot, heading through the gated exit to the winding road that connected Barefoot Bay with the rest of Mimosa Key. A cloud drifted and let some late afternoon sunlight filter through overhanging palm fronds to warm him through his T-shirt and jeans.

But deep inside, he was as ice cold as he’d been since he’d left Tessa the night before.

Glancing to his right, he studied the cobalt expanse of the Gulf of Mexico, wondering for a moment if he should get across that body of water and start over somewhere else. He’d never been to Texas. But hey, he’d never even been to Nevada, but Tessa thought he’d lived and worked there. Bloody hell, why was this lie so hard?

He’d been living a lie for three years, since the day he’d said good-bye to his kids, taken his new identification, and Ian Browning became Sean Bern. Not a word that had come out of his mouth for the better part of those three years had been honest. He lied about his name, his life, his opinions, his language, his feelings. Until he got into it with some idiot and fucked up his cover by landing in jail; he could still be in Singapore, working, drinking, hiding from anything that resembled caring about someone other than himself.

But too much more time with Tessa Galloway and he wasn’t going to be able to keep up with the lies. He liked her. He liked her a hell of a lot. He liked everything about her, and he hated what he was doing.

There had to be a better way.

He took a curve too fast, veering so far he damn near laid the bike on the pavement, but he whipped it back, narrowly avoiding a wipeout. Which, he thought bitterly, was another option he had.

No, checking out of Barefoot Bay and the situation he’d gotten himself into wasn’t his only option. He had one more, one that had kept him awake all night, brewing and stewing. There was another way to handle this; a possibility that, once planted in his brain, wouldn’t get loose.

He could tell Tess everything.

No matter how he played out that conversation in his imagination, he knew it wouldn’t be in any way pleasurable or easy. He lifted his face to the sky for a moment, but a cloud had covered the sun again. He had to call Henry and convince him that this woman could be trusted.

There’d be some aftermath, of course. Even in this short bit of time, she’d be hurt that he’d lied. She might refuse to help him, but he doubted that. They could start over, on honest ground.

He wanted that so much he could taste it. How had that happened? How had she wormed her way into his psyche already?

It didn’t matter. She had, and he had to get out from under this anvil of lies. This time, it was different. This time, she mattered. A lot. Too much.

Far enough between the resort and town that the road was deserted, he slowed down and pulled to the side, spitting up some sand and gravel as he brought the bike to a halt. This was as good a place as any to—

An engine screamed from around the bend, and he whipped around to see a cherry-red 4x4 with the top down, music blaring almost as loud as the engine. As it got closer, he saw the passengers were all female and— shit.

At the wheel, Zoe laid on the horn as they approached, and from the back, Lacey’s daughter waved.

Tessa sat in the passenger seat, her expression unreadable as they slowed down next to his bike.

“You okay?” Zoe called out.

He nodded, grateful he hadn’t been on the phone with Henry when they came by. “Where you off to?” he asked, unable to tear his eyes from Tessa.

She responded with what appeared to be a shaky smile, lifting her shades so he got a good look at her eyes and read a mix of worry and—affection. Damn, she was feeling everything he was. Maybe more.

He had to make that call.

“Don’t ask where we’re going,” Tessa said, a note of wry humor in her voice. “I’ve been kidnapped.”

Zoe leaned over in front of Tessa. “He should know.”

“Know what?”

From the back, Ashley leaned forward. “We’re going shopping for a wedding dress!”

He blinked at that, the words hitting him harder than they should. “Really?”

“For Zoe’s dress,” Tessa corrected.

“But the love child makes it impossible to try on dresses,” Zoe added, tapping her belly. “Tessa’s my size, so she’s going to model for us.”

A slow smile pulled as an impression settled on his brain: Tessa in a long white gown. Pretty, pretty Tessa. “Not getting anything for our big event?” he asked.

Her color rose, but Zoe leaned in closer to answer. “I might let her borrow.”

Deeper. They kept getting in deeper. Now a dress was involved. Of course, this was his idea, so he should support it. “Sounds like fun.”

“What are you doing parked out here?” Tessa asked.

And here went one more lie. “Bike sounded weird, so I wanted to check it.”

“Do you need a ride somewhere?” Zoe asked.