I agreed, but Carol's phone rang before I could say it. She held up a finger while she dug the phone out of her too-tight jeans. The nail on that finger was long, obviously fake and perfectly manicured with an obnoxiously loud color. Ironically, it went well with her bad make-up job.

"What?"

It was nice to know that it wasn't just me she sounded annoyed with.

"I told you I was going to the beach," she snapped. "You forgot already, or weren't you listening in the first place?"

The boyfriend, I assumed. I winced as she let out a string of curse words and hung up. Despite her rough exterior and her gaudy fashion style, no one deserved to be treated like that. My heart went out to her. I glanced towards Michelle and Pearl, but neither of the girls were looking our way so I felt safe in assuming that they hadn't heard anything.

"I have to go," Carol announced as she shoved her phone into her pocket. "My ass of a boyfriend needs me. Like it's the freaking end of the world if I'm not there to do his laundry or some shit like that." She glanced towards Pearl.

"I can watch Pearl," I volunteered.

Carol hesitated. "You sure?"

I nodded. "She and Michelle are having so much fun, it'd be a pity to take them back early."

"You really don't mind?"

"Pearl's a sweet kid." I smiled. "I'll let them play an hour or two more, then bring them back. Give you and your boyfriend some alone time."

"Thanks," Carol said before hurrying back the way we'd come.

I found a nearby outcropping of rocks and perched myself on one, keeping my eyes on the girls as they played in the surf. They were close enough that I could hear them carrying on, but the sounds of their words were muffled by the roar of the waves. I didn't want to eavesdrop, even if their conversation was about things like books and school. Michelle had a lot going on and she deserved a little private girl talk with her new friend. And based on that phone call, it seemed like Pearl had a lot going on, too.

"Well, well, looks like we just keep running into each other."

I looked up, using my hand to shield my eyes from the sun. I still had to squint, but I already knew who it was. "Matthew."

"What are the odds?" he asked as he sat down on the sand next to my rock chair where I sat.

That was a very good question. Running into him at The Bar had been pushing coincidence. Seeing him here at the beach made me wonder what he was up to.

"I thought that was you. I didn't know you had kids." He gestured towards Michelle and Pearl.

"What makes you think that?" I struggled to keep the edge out of my voice.

"Well, it's either that or you have some other reason to be staring at those two girls."

He had a point. "I'm babysitting. The taller one's mom runs the B&B. The other one's a guest there, too," I explained. "Her mom just left."

"I saw her walking away," he said.

"Now you know what I'm doing here. What about you?"

He grinned at me, his eyes hidden behind his sunglasses. "I'm on vacation. Isn't that what the beach is for?"

I suddenly felt stupid for being suspicious. When you're on vacation in a beach town, of course you go to the beach on a day like today. If I'd met him inland, that probably would've been weirder. I was just being paranoid. It wasn't like Summerville was this huge city. People were bound to meet up more in a place like this than they would back home.

"Right." I forced a stiff laugh.

"So the lady you were with, you known her long?" There was a touch of curiosity to his voice.

I smirked. "Are you trying to figure out if she's my girlfriend?"

He ducked his head, embarrassed. "You got me. You said before you are taken, not that you have a boyfriend. I was wondering if that was your way of being discreet."

"I just met her," I said, not offering to answer the unspoken part of his question. "And she has a boyfriend, too."

"That's good," he said.

I wasn't sure what he meant by that remark, but before I could ask, he glanced back the way Carol had gone and continued. "She looks like someone I've seen before. Is she from around here?"

I shrugged. "Her name's Carol." I wasn't about to tell him she was from New York. It was one thing for me to talk to a virtual stranger, or let him walk me home. It was something else entirely for me to provide additional personal information about a third party.

"Doesn't ring a bell," he said. "Probably just looks like someone I know."

No doubt, he was just making small talk so he could flirt with me but I wasn't interested in a long-winded conversation at this point.

"So are you watching the kids all day?"

"Just a bit longer." I glanced at my watch. Carol had been gone for nearly forty-five minutes and Matthew was ignoring my signals.

"Does that mean you're free for dinner?"

I gave him a sideways look. Damn. He was persistent, I had to give him that, but I was done being subtle. "I have a boyfriend, and we're serious."

He held up his hands. "Not a date. I get it. But you're one of the few people I've met here who can carry on an intelligent conversation. I like talking to you. And that's all it would be. Two people talking over a meal with absolutely no romantic intentions. I promise."

I studied him for a moment, trying to get a read on him. He wasn't denying that he was attracted to me, which meant things could change later and I'd be stuck fighting off his advances. I would like to go to dinner, but could I trust him to keep his word? "Come on," he cajoled. "You have to eat." He glanced at Michelle, ankle deep in the water. She waved, and then ran up the sand, falling down onto the beach towel next to Pearl. "Unless you already have plans to eat at the B&B, in which case, you can take a rain check on my invitation."

Dinner at the B&B. Right. I tried not to grimace. I could only imagine what Emma had planned. I'd rather go out to dinner and take my chances with a stalker. "All right," I said. I pointed at him. "But you try to come on to me and I'll drop your ass to the ground so fast you'll be seeing stars."

"A feisty one," he said, raising his eyebrows. "Understood. I'll be nothing but a gentleman." He got to his feet, brushing the sand from his shorts. "I'll pick you up."

No way. That was treading on date territory. "Let's go to that place, The Bait House." I pointed to a little seafood restaurant a few yards down the beach. "We can meet there."

"We're going to eat fishing bait for diner?"

"It's a restaurant, seafood, just has a gimmicky name, I guess. The food is good." And it's not romantic.

"Agreed." He gave me a smile and a salute like I was in command, which was good, but there was still something in my stomach that was telling me I was making a mistake. At least I wouldn't have to deal with Emma's cooking.

I watched his back as he walked away. He was in good shape, had a good physique. I was half joking earlier when I said I could throw him like Luke had taught me, but from the looks of him, he'd be a tough one to throw down in a fight, even for a man.

"Girls." I called out as I started walking. "Get your things." It was time to head back.

Chapter Thirteen.

Dani This wasn't a date. I had to make that clear. One of the reasons I'd chosen the beach-side seafood restaurant was that it was a casual place, where even the prime-time patrons wouldn't be dressed up. That meant I fit right in when I wore a pair of comfortable jeans and a nice short-sleeved shirt. Little make-up and jewelry, just my usual wristwatch and simple stud earrings, and hair back in a ponytail. I wanted to make the statement that I hadn't made an effort to look anything more than presentable.

Matthew was already there, waiting at the hostess desk when I arrived, and I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw he was casually dressed as well. No flowers or any other gestures that could be construed as anything romantic.

"You look nice," he said as I approached.

"So do you."

Nice was a safe word to use. It could be taken so many different ways that it relied on body language and actions for context. Matthew's gaze was admiring, but didn't cross any lines. He gestured for me to walk in front of him as we were shown to our booth. I was glad he didn't try the old, "hand on the back" move. That meant we were off to a safe start.

"You've been here before." It was a statement rather than a question as the hostess told us that our waitress would be with us soon.

"It's not my first time in Summerville," I admitted. When I didn't offer any additional details, he let the matter go.

"So, Hanna, tell me about yourself." He leaned back in his seat. "The kinds of things you'd tell a friend, of course."

"Of course." I smiled. "Well, the first thing you should know about me is that I actually suck at initiating small talk."

Matthew laughed. "Now there's a conversation starter I've never heard before."

"Seriously," I said. "Do we talk about the weather?" I gestured towards the huge windows that took up most of the front wall. "Because I doubt that's going to be a long conversation."

"And the usual questions that you'd ask someone on a date don't apply here," Matthew supplied.

"Exactly," I agreed. "Which means we are severely limited in our topics."

He smiled and shifted in his seat. So he found me amusing. My remark was not meant to be a challenge. This was not some flirtatious game-not on my part, anyway.

When the waitress arrived, we gave our drink orders and then picked up our menus.

"What's good here?" Matthew asked. "I assume food is a legitimate discussion topic?" There was a teasing note in his voice and I found myself smiling in response. I realized how ridiculous I'd sounded with all of my "this is not a date" rules. I dropped my shoulders and allowed myself to relax for a while.

It was surprisingly easy after that to fall into conversation. We started with the food and danced around to other topics we hadn't covered the other night at the bar. Favorite movies, books, music. While those may have been things people shared on dates, we stayed away from stuff like hopes and dreams, the topics that would require revealing deeper parts of ourselves. Only Luke was allowed to know me like that, delving into my soul. So I was grateful when anytime one of us strayed too close to the line, Matthew would make a joke and steer the conversation back to safe ground.

As the waitress cleared our empty plates, I looked forward, anticipating my usual evening routine at the Bed and Breakfast. I loathed the hours between dinner and when I went to bed. Those were the hours I was the most likely to mope around and worry since I couldn't do more than send a text or two to Luke making sure everything was okay. I could stay up and watch television with Emma, but to be honest, we didn't exactly have the same taste in genres and there were only so many hours of reality shows I could tolerate. It was still early enough and I didn't want to go back to the Bed and Breakfast just yet.

"You want to go to The Bar and get a drink?" Matthew asked. "I saw on their sign out front that they have a live band playing tonight."

"That sounds good," I said. "But no dancing."

"Wouldn't dream of it." He winked at me and I glared at him in return.

"Don't push it," I warned.

"Got it." He gave me that salute again with an appropriate amount of space between the two of us to keep me happy. We left the restaurant and headed towards The Bar.

I was tempted to get something a bit stronger than beer, but then I thought better of it. I tended to get talkative when I was drunk. Not a good idea considering I was keeping secrets that could get me arrested or killed.

Matthew ordered a beer as well, and we settled at the bar rather than at one of the tables. We started on sports teams as we drank and things were quite relaxed until the sound of an unwelcome voice pierced me from behind. My body stiffened as I heard him speak.

"Hanna. Well, isn't this deja vu?"

I half-turned, even though I didn't need to look to know it was Brian. "Piss off." I turned back toward the bar and stared a hole in the wall above a shelf of empty beer glasses.

He laughed and positioned himself between Matthew and me. "Come on, Hanna. Don't be like that."

"Can't you hear?" Matthew said, forcing Brian to look at him. "She said to piss off."

"Got yourself a new boy-toy?" Brian took a step back, sizing him up, to determine his next move.

When Matthew stood, I turned to watch what I hoped would be seeing Mathew put the asshole in his place. Brian's eyes widened. I didn't blame him. Without the smile, Matthew's expression was hard as stone. Not the kind of guy anyone would want to mess with. Brian pinned me with his glare and then walked away, heading for the pool table like he'd been planning on going there all along.

"What was that about?" Matthew asked as he sat back down.

I turned back to my beer and took a drink before answering. "Emma, the woman who owns the Bed and Breakfast where I've been staying, that's her ex."

"Seems like there's more to the story than that," he pressed. "He acted like he knew you."

"Yeah, well, we've had a couple run-ins." I scowled at the memories. "Long story short, he's an abusive bastard and I'm back in town to testify against him."

Matthew turned to give Brian another look. "Oh, that's a tall order. Why isn't he in jail?"

"He's out on bail." I took a longer drink this time. "Managed to hire some hot-shot lawyer even though he can't manage to pay his child support."

"How'd he do that?"

We were getting too close to my own story, so I kept it vague. "Some guy in New York's paying the bills. At least, that's what Emma said. I didn't ask for details." I was so tired of all of this. The anxiety of the upcoming trial was draining me. I emptied my beer and slumped down on my barstool. "You know, I'm thinking I want to call it a night."

"Sure." Matthew drained his beer and tossed a couple bills on the counter.

"I can pay for my own," I protested.

"You paid for dinner because it wasn't a date," he said. "Let me pay for the beers." He gave me a consoling smile and since I didn't feel like arguing, I let it go.

I nodded and we started for the door. Brian, of course, had picked the table closest to the doors, which meant we'd have to walk by him to leave. I kept my eyes straight ahead, hoping to avoid a confrontation. Brian, however, had other ideas.

"When you're done with that one, give me a call, Hanna-girl. I want to be next in line to take you for a ride."

Matthew turned so suddenly that I'd taken another couple of steps before I realized he wasn't next to me.

"You're going to steer clear of Hanna, got it?" Matthew's voice was low enough that I could barely hear it as I turned.

"And if I don't?" Brian's false bravado was shaky at best.