This was the moment he'd been waiting for. He'd come all the way from Connecticut to spend time with Marisa. She had been so friendly, encouraging him on the phone. So why did he feel so nervous?

Her dark hair was so pretty, the way it fell across her eyes. He took a deep breath. His heart was racing as he walked slowly up to the inn, sat down beside her. They didn't speak right away, but just looked at each other, smiling. Patrick couldn't quite believe that he was here, in this hidden little northern town, with this quiet, careful woman who had haunted him since he first saw her.

Without knowing he was going to do it, he reached over and brushed the hair behind her ear. He let his hand linger for just a minute, then dropped it to his side.

“Oh,” she said, sounding surprised.

“Your eyes are too pretty to hide,” he said.

“Thank you,” she said.

“You probably thought I disappeared,” he said.

“Well, a little,” she said.

“I wanted to give you and your sister some time to reunite,” he said.

“I appreciate that,” she said. “But I was just starting to miss you.”

He couldn't take his eyes off her, shocked by how happy her words made him. The evening was cool and clear, with every trace of mist gone from the air. Stars had started to come out, glowing in the deepening blue sky over the rippling bay.

“What have you been doing?” she asked.

“Detective work,” he said.

“For Liam?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said, and smiled. “I was on a stakeout.” He'd been hot on the trail of Lafarge, and the only thing that could have pulled him away was the idea of seeing her—too late for dinner, just for a few minutes, sitting on the steps of the Cape Hawk Inn.

“I wouldn't want to hold you back from an investigation,” she said.

He glanced over at her.

“In fact,” she continued, “I was thinking you might like some help.”

His smile widened. “Really?”

Marisa nodded. “I think my sister would sit for Jessica and Flora if you wanted me to keep you company. I can imagine that stakeouts can get really boring without someone to talk to.”

“They can,” he agreed.

“Then let me check with Sam,” Marisa said. “And I'll be right back, okay?”

“Okay,” Patrick said, hardly able to believe it as he watched her run into the inn, toward the pub. Sandra had hated when he had work to do; she had never wanted to hear about it, and she'd sure never wanted to tag along on a stakeout. Marisa probably wouldn't either, once she saw what it was like.

Flora ran over, with Jessica right behind her. Patrick petted his dog behind the ears, just the way she liked it, smiling at the little girl standing by her side.