Kate hitched her bag on her shoulder and set her feet in motion, her ire rising with each step. Didn’t Lucas know she had a reputation to protect? Hadn’t he given any thought to how it would appear, him gallivanting all over the island with another woman?

She composed her features as she entered the shop, the bell jangling against the glass door. Soft music greeted her, and the air-conditioning was welcome against her heated skin. But there was no sign of Lucas or the woman on the floor.

“Nice lunch, Kate?” Ethan called from behind the mahogany desk. He adjusted his wire-rimmed glasses.

“Sure.” She hesitated on the first step. “Is Lucas around?”

“He’s in the back.” Ethan leaned over his papers.

Behind her, a customer entered the store, and Ethan stood.

Kate started up the stairs. “Thanks, I’ll just . . . talk to him later.”

Why would he take Red to the back of the store? There was nothing there but the pieces he was working on and a bunch of tools.

Her heels clicked up the wood steps. When she reached the top, she hung her bag on the coatrack and sat at her desk. Ethan hadn’t acted as if anything was amiss. He would know if something was going on between Lucas and Red. Kate was letting her imagination run wild.

Come on, Kate; back to work. She moved the computer mouse, stopping the screen saver, and the article she’d been working on before lunch appeared. She’d already condensed the letter and needed to formulate an answer for Never a Bride in Albany, whose letter smacked of desperation.

Kate wrote a reply then reread it, editing as she went. The second letter she’d chosen was already succinct, but she edited it down and typed it into the document as well, then formulated her answer. When she was finished with the article, she stood and stretched. Of their own volition, her feet carried her to the street window.

Below, in the parking slot in front of the store, was the silver car. Her heart sank. She checked her watch. It had been an hour. What were Lucas and that woman doing downstairs? What if . . . ?

What if Lucas had been dating Red before they got married? Was it possible he was seeing someone on the side? Was it possible he was in love with the woman?

A space inside her hollowed out.

What did she care? Their marriage wasn’t real. They’d be divorced in less than ten months.

But the memory of their kiss kicked to the surface of her thoughts.

There is more than a contractual agreement between us.