Not to mention, the emotional charge in the house was more than Quinn could bear. It was going to be a long way back to the hotel. For once, she hoped that Ethan didn’t call her to check in that night. She needed more time to figure out just how much to tell him so that she could keep what he’d tell her back at a minimum.

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

The next morning Quinn pulled the brim of her hat lower to block the sun from her eyes. She was tired, having spent the night fighting off stress-filled dreams starring an indignant Ethan. Now the waves crashed gently against the beach, a monotonous yet intoxicating sound. Still on East Coast time, she’d woken before dawn, but waited until the sun rose to come down and take a corner table at the outside restaurant.

She thought of the breakfast that Maria was probably getting prepped and ready to serve. Though she couldn’t accept the offer, she also couldn’t stop thinking about the cozy-looking guesthouse. Quinn spent her life running around hotels, and there weren’t enough amenities in the world to make it feel comfortable on her time off. She just wanted to forget her real life for a while, and the familiar hotel environment wasn’t making it easy.

She also felt uncomfortable being there solo, as though each couple or family who walked up wondered who she was and why she was alone. She ordered a bagel and side of fruit, then tossed it down and finished it off with a cup of orange juice before signing the bill and heading toward the beach. At the beach, she pulled a resort chair to a secluded spot on the sand.

Now her skin tingled from the sun, but the breeze caressed her, lulling her into laziness.

Her first thought that morning was to call the Realtor and give him a piece of her mind. If he’d really done the walk-through he’d lied about, he would’ve known Maria and her family were still there. Quinn had actually picked up the phone and begun dialing.

But remembering Maria’s stricken face stopped her. The Realtor would most likely insist on involving the authorities.

She hit the “End” button on her phone.

Hopefully, they could get everything straightened out without causing the woman further trouble. Ethan would tell Quinn she was letting them walk all over her, but she just couldn’t kick the woman when she was already down.

Now Quinn’s phone lay abandoned in the room, thrown there in a fit of frustration. No messages or missed calls from Ethan. Quinn wasn’t happy about it either. She would not dial his number again. It was his turn.