“You can come to the bookstore with me if you like.” Joanna pulled into the parking area behind the store. “It won’t be easy for photographers to hide themselves in there.”

“Thanks, but I’m fine.” Ashley grabbed her bag and stepped out of the car. “I’m meeting Eden on the beach. She’s giving me a surf lesson. I’m going to catch my first wave, and if they want to photograph me making a total fool of myself in the water, they can go right ahead.”

“If you’re sure.” Joanna locked the car. “You know where I am if you need me. I’ll see you later for lunch.”

Ashley headed to the beach and spent a happy morning with Eden. By the time she walked up the steps of the Surf Café, she was starving.

Joanna was already there, seated at a table at the back of the deck.

There was no sign of Nate.

Ashley slid into the chair facing the beach. She ordered a burger and fries, and Joanna ordered a salad.

“So it turns out that learning to surf starts with standing on your board on dry land—” She bit into her burger and paused, her attention caught by the small group of people who had gathered at the base of the steps. One of the men had his camera trained right on her.

The people at the table closest to them turned to stare.

Ashley lowered the burger.

“What—?” Joanna followed her gaze and saw the cameras. “Here we go.”

One of them took the steps and would have walked right to the table but Greg appeared from nowhere and blocked their path.

Who had called him? Maybe it was Mel. Or maybe it was one of the other inhabitants of Silver Point.

Greg stood, rock steady, legs spread. “Do you have a reservation?”

The man frowned. “No, Officer, but—”

“If you call for a reservation, I’m sure the team would be glad to find you a table sometime.”

“I don’t want a table.” The man’s gaze flickered to Ashley and Joanna. “I just wanted to have a few words—”

“A person deserves to be able to eat their lunch in peace.”

Everyone was looking at them now. Food was ignored. Drinks were untouched.

Ashley felt guilty for encouraging Joanna to expose herself like this. “Let’s leave,” she muttered. “We could head out the back.”

“We are not leaving. And when we do, we’ll be using the front entrance.” Joanna put her fork down and stood up. She walked to Greg and put her hand on his arm. “Thank you. I’m sorry to disrupt the peace of Silver Point.”

“You’re not the one disrupting anything.”

“I don’t want this to take up your time or impact you in any way. You have more important things to do in your job.”