“Then you would think wrong,” Vic snapped, then caught herself. “I’m sorry. That was . . . well, worthy of another apology, but I assume you don’t want it.”

“I’d rather have an explanation.”

“Why? For you or your character?”

Sophia’s eyes softened. “What about for you?”

A lump formed in her throat before she had time to put her walls back up. She managed to swallow it, but her voice still sounded a little strangled as she said, “Neither of us has time.”

She turned to go, but Sophia touched her arm, freezing her in her tracks. God, if this woman didn’t learn some physical boundaries, Vic might not survive the next two months.

“I can make time. It’s one of the benefits of being rich and famous.”

Vic smiled in spite of herself. “Then it turns out, I am neither of those things, but if I remember correctly, I’ve already made this point.”

Sophia’s fingers tightened around Victoria’s forearm as she opened her mouth to speak, but before the words came out, Talia jogged into the room.

“Hey Soph—” she said before she registered the tension surrounding them and skidded to a stop.

“Talia,” Vic said politely as Sophia dropped her hand. “How lovely to see you again. I was beginning to suspect Emma and Brogan kidnapped you, or perhaps they’d just shown you enough of their lovely little village to make you want to stay there forever.”

Talia glanced from one of them to the other, clearly not fully sold by the quick conversation opener Vic was currently clinging to.

“Oh, yes, um, Amberwick really is as pretty as Emma made it out to be.”

“Indeed. And I won’t even ask what you thought of Brogan, as anyone who doesn’t immediately like her must be lacking in some way. So how was your sailing voyage?”

Talia’s cheeks flushed, either with pleasure or confusion or both, but the longer Vic kept making conversation, the more in control she felt, and the less chance Sophia had to pull them back onto uncomfortable topics.

“The sailing and Brogan were both wonderful, but I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“Not at all.” Vic waved a hand. “Ms. LeBlanc and I were finished.”

Sophia pressed her lips together as if she disagreed but didn’t say so.

“Please.” Vic stepped back and motioned for Talia to take her place. “The show must go on, and I must check on a few things of my own.”

Then she turned and fled as calmly and deliberately as possible.

••••