“Lucy’s been taking care of people all her life,” Panda said. “It’s in her DNA.” He studied her in a way that made her uncomfortable. “She saved her kid sister. She got her parents together. Hell, if it hadn’t been for Lucy, it’s doubtful her mother would have become president.” He brushed a fly away. “You could say that by the time Lucy was fifteen, she’d changed the course of American history.”

His vision of her made her uncomfortable, and she got up from the table. “How about dessert?”

“There’s dessert?” Temple sounded as if she’d just heard that the Easter Bunny was real.

“Life is meant to be lived.”

Lucy returned from the kitchen with a square of dark chocolate that she broke into three small pieces. “You gave him more,” Temple grumbled. And then, “Forget I said that.”

But as Lucy and Temple nibbled at their own chocolate, Panda’s square remained untouched. He crushed his napkin and dropped it on his plate. “I’m handing in my resignation.”

The chocolate stuck in Lucy’s throat. Temple’s breakdown … The meal Lucy had just fixed … He’d found the excuse he’d been looking for to leave the island and, in the process, get away from her.

“Like hell you will.” Temple sucked a chocolate smear from her finger.

“You hired me to stop exactly this sort of thing,” he said calmly. “Cheese, chocolate, corn on the cob … I didn’t do my job.”

“Your job’s changed.”

His calmness evaporated. “Exactly how has it changed?”

She made a vague gesture. “I’ll figure that out.”

“Forget it!” He pushed himself up from the table and stormed across the yard toward his brooding place.

As he disappeared up the rocky slope, Temple looked at Lucy. “If you want to land this guy, you’ll have to work faster. Your time’s running out.”

“Land him? I don’t want to land him.”

“Now who’s hiding from the truth?” She reached for the chocolate he’d left, thought better of it, and tossed it over the bluff. “Patrick Shade adores you, despite his grumbling. He’s one of the sexiest men on the planet. He’s also ethical, caring, and just screwed up enough to be interesting. You’re in love with the guy.”

“I am not!”

“Now who needs a shrink?”

Lucy tossed her legs over the picnic bench and grabbed her plate. “This is the thanks I get for feeding you real food.”

“Unless you want to lose the best man you’ll ever meet, you’d better pick up your game.”

“I don’t have a game. And Ted Beaudine was the best man I ever met.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Lucy stormed toward the house. “You clean up. I’m going into town. And no more exercise the rest of the night!”