“That isn’t an option.” He took her hand and drew her into the narrow street that ran between the bakery and the hardware store. It wound away from the main harbor area and was a shortcut to the Ocean Club.

“I might be able to help her.”

“Who?”

“Lisa. I might be able to give her business advice. I’m a management consultant. It’s what I do. It’s what I’m good at.”

They took the path that led up past the Ocean Club and turned inland. This side of the island was thickly wooded, with steep trails zigzagging through dense forest. On the other side was farmland, with rolling pastures leading down to the sea.

Shaded from sunshine, breathing in the smell of pine, Emily made a mental note to bring Lizzy here.

“It’s pretty.” And quiet. The only sound was the call of the birds and the snap of twigs under their feet. “I can see why Lisa would have chosen to live here.”

“Here—” he handed her a bottle of insect repellent “—better use this on the areas that aren’t covered. We have mosquitoes the size of small birds, and they love black. Tell me about your job.”

“My expertise was strategy and operations. I worked mostly in the consumer goods industry.”

“You know about ice cream?”

“Not specifically, but that doesn’t matter. I’m a problem solver. I look at product, pricing, positioning, supply chains—” She broke off. “This is boring. You don’t want to hear the detail.”

“All those long words are turning me on, but I confess I zoned out when you said ‘positioning.’” He grinned at her. “Clearly I have a thing for management consultants. Who knew?”

“We’re in a competitive market. Companies need to stay agile.”

He groaned. “Honey, you are killing me. Just don’t start talking about growth or I’ll be arrested.”

Because everything about him unsettled her, she chose to ignore the innuendo. “We apply lean principles—”

“That’s going to be a challenge given the amount of fat in Summer Scoop ice cream. I assume you decided to be a management consultant because it requires not a shred of emotion.”

“I like the logic and predictability of figures, that’s true, but there is emotion attached to what I do. Companies expand and contract depending on the advice my company gives.”

“But it isn’t personal.”

“No,” she conceded. “It isn’t personal. It suits the way my brain works.”

“So, what are you going to do with that brain of yours now?”

“I don’t know. I have enough money saved to support both of us for a little while, so I’m still taking it twelve hours at a time.” Sun filtered through spruce and pine, and Emily realized they’d walked quite a distance from the harbor. “I never knew it was this densely wooded.”