She tipped her head to the side. “Are you saying you want me to ditch my important work in the middle of the day and play hooky with you?”

“Yes.” He took the ends of her scarf and tugged her closer. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

Leigh’s heart felt full. She went up on tiptoes and kissed him.

“Is that a yes?”

She smiled. “I could be persuaded.”

Excerpt from Laura Griffin’s next novel

Keep reading for an excerpt from Laura Griffin’s next novel.

Coming in June 2022 from Berkley

Macey Burns drove through the drumming rain, gripping the wheel until her knuckles were white.

“Are you here yet?” Josh asked.

“I’m running late,” she told him over the phone. “I hit traffic leaving town, and then it’s been pouring the last two hours. I just crossed the bridge.”

“It’s—”

Noise drowned out his words.

“What?” she asked.

“It’s a causeway. No one calls it a bridge here.”

“I can barely hear you. Where are you?”

“At that bar I told you about, the one with the pool tables,” he said. “You’re going to love it.”

Macey tore her gaze away from the highway to check the clock. It was almost eleven, and what should have been a four-hour drive had taken more than five.

“Sounds good, but not tonight. I haven’t even found the house yet, and I still have to unpack the car.”

“That’s okay. I’m about to leave anyway. Where are you, exactly?”

“I think I may have missed the turn,” she told him. “I just passed a sign that said White Dunes Park, five miles.”

“No, it should be coming up on your right. You’ll see it.”

Josh had been on the island all week scouting locations and already knew his way around.

“You need help unloading?” he asked.

“I’m good.”

“So, hey, heads up. I just found out that Channel Six is down here.”

“Channel Six from San Antonio?” she asked.

“Yeah, Rayna and her crew. They’re reporting on that woman who went missing two weeks ago. She disappeared without a trace.”

Macey had read an article about it online. It was the type of story that normally would have captivated her attention, but she’d managed to push it out of her mind.

“We’re not here to do news,” she reminded Josh.

“No kidding. I just thought you’d want to know. In case you see them in town.”

Rayna had once been Macey’s fiercest rival, but that was months ago, before Macey walked out on her job and her life and the endless slog of the twenty-four-hour news cycle.