Playing for Love at Deep Haven Read Free Page A

that he never,
ever wanted me as much as I wanted him.
    It didn’t matter
how quickly she forced the thoughts and images from her mind—her heart would
twist all over again: with guilt over Shep , yes, but
also with the fresh pain of a brooding boy’s long-ago rejection. A sharp ache
of longing would knock the wind from her chest as almost-forgotten music
engulfed her mind. It had been nine years. Nine years since she held his slim,
pale body against hers. But she wasn’t any closer to forgetting that brooding
boy now than the day he walked—no, ran —away
from her.
    “Oh, Shep ,” she murmured, trying to force her thoughts back to her
almost-fiancé, who was taken from the world too soon. She looked out at the
dying light on the harbor, wishing away the haunting gray eyes that lingered in
her subconscious. “I’m so sorry I didn’t love you enough, Shep .
I should have let you go.”
    Violet shook her
head, wiping the stream of tears coursing down her cheeks. The sun had set
during her reverie, and in front of her, the dark water of Winter Harbor
twinkled with lights reflecting from the houses that lined the shore. It was
comforting that the bay still looked the same, that the place Shep had so loved maintained its timeless beauty, as if in
memorial.
    “Here’s to you, Shep ,” she said softly, hoping it wasn’t a mistake to
return to the place they’d spent so many enjoyable summers together. She looked
around the dark, empty porch, where fall leaves gathered and crackled in the
corners. She’d hoped the quiet and solitude would force her to write, but her
loneliness made her gasp suddenly. She hugged her body tightly in the cooling
darkness.
    It’s good to be lonely. It’ll force you to work. And
that’s why you’re here: to work, not to mull over your unlucky love life.
    Suddenly, a
bright light from behind her unexpectedly lit the entire deck like daylight,
and she squinted in surprise as an SUV pulled into the driveway. Her mind raced
through the details of the rental. Could it be Lena, joining Violet for a
getaway? Surely not. Lena Lewis had made no mention of visiting. In fact, since
their check and key exchange, Violet hadn’t seen Lena, even though the check
had been quickly cashed. She’d e-mailed Violet the name of a local maid and a
handyman who could assist her during her stay, sharing that she was headed out
of the country indefinitely and wouldn’t be available to answer any further
questions.
    That was
certainly it, then. This must be the handyman or maid coming to offer
assistance in opening the house. That must be it. She squinted, feeling herself
at a disadvantage, and wished she hadn’t left her glasses in the car. Trying
not to feel freaked out that she was out in the middle of the woods with a
stranger approaching, she took a deep breath before leaving the deck and walking
back toward the driveway.

 
 

Chapter 2

 
    Zach looked at
the enormous, dark house in front of him, whistled under his breath, and wondered
who owned the Prius he’d parked beside. Unlikely it
belonged to the handyman John Lewis had mentioned. Maybe a very environmentally
conscious maid? He shrugged, letting himself out of the car and stretched his
arms over his head. He could smell the sea, and it smelled like . . . freedom.
    “Excuse me?”
    He looked to his
left to see a shadowy figure approaching from the deck. It was hard to make out
her features in the darkness, but he could tell from her voice she was a woman.
She stopped about ten feet away from him, lingering in the shadows at a safe
distance.
    “Sir?” she asked.
    “Yeah. Hey,
there. I’m the houseguest.”
    She didn’t move
forward, so neither did he, sensing her wariness.
    “What did you
say?”
    “‘Hey, there?’”
he repeated, feeling like an idiot.
    “No. The next
part.”
    Zach always
looked for tells in people’s voices, but hers was strange: quiet and refined, like
it had been wiped clean, without a hint of an accent that