“Can we go to the beach?”

The fleeting calm left her. “Not today.” Sooner or later she was going to have to face that challenge, but not yet. Braced for an argument, she was relieved to hear the sound of a car. “That will be Ryan. He’s bringing breakfast.”

“Waffles?”

“Let’s find out.” She should probably have been pushing healthy food, but she told herself there was plenty of time for that. Reluctantly she left the tumbling tranquility of the coastal garden and walked to the front door.

Ryan stood there, one large hand holding several bags stuffed with groceries, the other holding the lead of a thoroughly overexcited dog, a spaniel with eager eyes and soft floppy ears. “Sit. Sit! Do not run into the house. Do not jump up—” He broke off as the dog sprang at Emily and planted his paws on her thighs. “Sorry. I think you can see who is in charge.” He dumped the bags on the porch, reached out and hauled the excited dog away from her, but Emily dropped to her knees, unable to resist those hopeful eyes and wagging tail.

“You’re gorgeous.” She crooned, talked nonsense, smoothed satiny soft fur with her hand and was rewarded with more affection than she could ever remember receiving in her life before. When the dog planted its paws on her lap and tried to lick her face, she put her hands on all that scrabbling warmth and laughed. “He’s yours?”

“It’s a she and, no, not mine. A dog is a responsibility, and I’m not interested in anything that dictates the way I live my life.” But his hand was gentle as he removed the wriggling animal from Emily’s lap. “Calm down. She doesn’t recognize either of those words, by the way. Her vocabulary is a work in progress. So far food is the only word she’s sure about.”

“Who does she belong to?”

“My grandmother. Unfortunately she had her hip done last winter and hasn’t fully recovered her mobility, so walking Cocoa is now my job. I try and delegate, but we’re busy at the Ocean Club today, so she had to come with me. I thought she could play in the garden while we have breakfast.”

A week ago she’d had neither dog nor child in her life. Now she had both. “We’re keeping you from your work.”

“My staff will thank you. They have more fun when I’m not there.”

Taking advantage of his lapse in concentration, the dog darted into the cottage, paws sliding on the floor, and cannoned into Lizzy who was standing in the hallway holding her bear.