Beach House No. 9. Christie Ridgway

enmesh herself until she knew more.

      “Now, Tess,” Griffin said. “What’s this all about?”

      Just like that, the woman burst into tears. The little one she was holding immediately followed suit.

      Over the racket, Rebecca let out a gusty sigh. “Pregnant, I tell you. I’m definitely getting pregnant.”

      Her mother responded by passing over the tearful little guy. Not a bad idea, Jane decided. Birth control by baby brother.

      Griffin didn’t appear affected by the woman’s distress or the child’s. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Tess, what the hell are you doing here?”

      “I’ve left him, Griff,” she said. “I’ve finally left my husband!”

      At the outburst, he groaned, offering not an ounce of sympathy. His hands ran over his head. “Geez, Tessie. This matters to me how?”

      Tess’s sobs redoubled. Jane could only hurt for the woman. Clearly she’d come to Crescent Cove without the expectation of rejection. Jane edged farther away, thinking she’d head to her own cottage.

      Her movement caught Griffin’s eye, however, and in two strides he had her by the hand and was towing her toward the crier. “I can’t deal with this, Tess. And here’s why. I’ve got a new lover now.” He put his hands on Jane’s shoulders and pulled her back against his chest.

      His body heat transferred to Jane and pooled low at the base of her spine. She glanced over her shoulder, and his hands tightened on her. He focused on her mouth, and she felt it like a touch, her lips warming too. The company, the room itself, seemed to drop away, leaving Griffin’s intense gaze and Jane’s unsteady heartbeat.

      Then, jerking his gaze off her, he cleared his throat and pushed her forward a half step. It left inches of cooling air between them. “Meet Jane.”

      The other woman sniffed, the back of her hand against her nose. She raised lovely, tear-drenched eyes to take in Jane, and then her gaze moved on to Griffin’s face. “You’ve met someone?”

      The heartbreak in her voice told the story, Jane thought. And as someone who’d been supplanted by another woman in a man’s life, she didn’t want to play this scene again, even from the other side. “Look…”

      Griffin’s hands found her shoulders again to squeeze a warning. “Honey-pie—”

      “Chili-dog,” she said, turning to glare at him.

      “Honey-pie!” The woman—Tess—cried out. “Chili-dog! You really found someone!”

      “Isn’t that what you’re always telling me to do?”

      “When I was married,” she started, sniffling back more tears, “it seemed like a good idea. But now that we’re heading for divorce…”

      Jane couldn’t continue this way, deceiving this poor woman who’d apparently left her husband for Griffin, who in turn was exhibiting more than his usual detachment. “I’m sorry, but—”

      “Jane.” An even clearer warning.

      Breaking free of his hold, she turned to shoot him a look. “Listen—” But her next words got lost in a loud crash. The little boys had knocked over a small table by the window. The base of a lamp was on the ground, shattered against the hard wood. The shade lay crumpled beside it.

      The baby started wailing again.

      As if she’d reached the end of her rope, Tess clapped one hand over her eyes. The little boys began shoving each other anew, putting more furniture at risk. Rebecca mouthed something—likely another pregnancy threat—and jumped from the sofa to hand her smallest brother over to Griffin. As the teen stalked out of the room, he held the child at arm’s length, then turned to Jane in mute appeal.

      “Oh, for goodness’ sake.” Helpless with his own children! Surely that had to be the case, that they belonged to him, because each one had his dark hair, and at least some of them his distinctive blue eyes, not to mention his ability to be appealing and get on her nerves at the very same time. She took the baby from him and jiggled the child as she grabbed the back of one little boy’s shirt. It was a winning technique, because the other automatically followed as she led him down the hall. A small guest room had a TV and remote. She held it out to the larger of the two. “I assume you’re familiar with this device?”

      In a blink, it was snatched out of her hand. In two, they were seated on the bed, their eyes glued to the screen. Private, the Labrador, appeared from somewhere and wiggled his way between them on the mattress. The show they chose wasn’t a cartoon, and she could only hope it wasn’t X-rated—a distinct possibility, she figured, in this house—but, given the kids’ snarled domestic arrangement, maybe they’d seen it all before.

      The baby was now snuffling against her shoulder and gnawing on his fist, so she headed into the kitchen, where she found a cracker. He pounced on it with a show of great delight. As he munched away, she returned to the living room, a box of tissues under her arm.

      It appeared as if all was not resolved. Tess had collapsed on the couch cushions, her face in her hands. Griffin, the callous monster, had retreated to the glass doors, his back turned to the woman, his gaze resting on the ceaseless rumble of the surf.

      Jane could only hope Rebecca wasn’t out looking for a sperm donor.

      Without a word, she took a seat on the couch and passed over the tissues. Tess accepted them with a grateful glance. Then she dried her face. Once it was done, she inhaled a long deep breath and took the now-content baby onto her lap. “Thank you,” she said, hugging her small son to her. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, but I had to get that out of my system.”

      Then her gaze shifted to Griffin, and she raised her voice. “I want to stay here with the kids.”

      He swung around, dismay—or panic?—written all over his face. “I didn’t even invite you to stay for dinner.”

      “Griff—”

      “Tess. I told you I have a lover. I’m with Jane now.”

      Not even for the chance to get this job and regain her reputation was she going along with a lie of this magnitude a moment longer. “I’m not his anything,” she said, ignoring the fierce frown Griffin turned on her. “Believe me.”

      “Oh.” Tess looked from her to the grim-faced man in the corner. “I don’t understand.”

      “Though he said that we’re together,” Jane explained, “it’s not true.”

      Tess blinked, and now that Tess’s eyes were dry, Jane realized they were the same distinctive and bright turquoise as Griffin’s. “That’s fabulous news,” the other woman replied.

      Jane thought it was a little odd to be happy that your ex, the father of your children, had just been lying to you, but she figured Tess’s hopes of getting Griffin back had been renewed.

      “Because love’s a crock and men are beasts,” Tess continued in loud tones, and Jane could see from whom Rebecca had inherited her dramatic presence. The brunette sent a pointed look at Griffin. “Even my brother.”

      Brother?

      Oh. Oh.

      Now feeling stupid, Jane once again glared at the man in the room.

      “What?” he asked with a look of aggrieved innocence.

      But Tess snagged his attention by launching into her reasons for staying at Crescent Cove. “We need a break. The kids will love it here.”

      He shook his head right away. “There’s no available cottage. Ask Skye.”

      Tess flapped a hand. “There’s plenty of room in Beach House No. 9.”

      He definitely looked panicked now. “I need my privacy.”

      “You’ve been hiding