“Thank God,” Harper’s familiar voice came through the speaker, warm with relief. “I was starting to worry when I didn’t hear from you. How’s paradise treating you?”
The question should have been easy to answer with enthusiasm, but Isla found herself hesitating. When she’d left Cape Cod that morning, she’d been buzzing with excitement and possibility. Now, sitting in this beautiful but overwhelming place, she felt like she’d stepped into someone else’s life.
“It’s... complicated,” Isla admitted, sinking back against the pillows.
“Complicated how?” Harper’s tone immediately sharpened with concern. “Please tell me you haven’t already fallen for someone.”
If only it were that simple.
“Well,” Isla began, then took a breath and dove in. “Remember Gerri, the matchmaker from the bookstore? Turns out she didn’t exactly find me by accident yesterday.”
Silence stretched across the connection for so long that Isla checked her phone to make sure the call hadn’t dropped.
“Harper? You still there?”
“Oh my God, Isla.” Harper’s voice was flat with disbelief. “You were set up.”
“It’s not like that—well, okay, maybe it is a little like that.” Isla twisted a strand of auburn hair around her finger. “Gerri arranged for me to come here because the woman I’m helping with the bookstore—Evelina—asked her to find a match for her nephew. And apparently, that match is me.”
“Her nephew?” Harper’s tone could have frozen lava. “Let me guess—tall, dark, emotionally unavailable, and a walking red flag?”
Despite everything, Isla found herself smiling at Harper’s predictable response. “He’s definitely tall and dark. The emotionally unavailable part... jury’s still out.”
“What do you mean ‘jury’s still out’? Either he was interested or he wasn’t.”
Isla closed her eyes, remembering the intensity in Damon’s gaze before he’d fled. “That’s the problem. For a moment, when we first met, it was like... like everything I’ve read about in romance novels. Instant recognition, electricity, the whole ‘love at first sight’ thing. But then he just bolted. Literally walked away without explanation.”
“Isla.” Harper’s voice carried the patient tone she used when she was about to deliver hard truths. “This is exactly the kind of situation I’ve been warning you about. Some guy you don’t know, on an island that’s not even on maps, acting all mysterious. It screams trouble.”
“But what if it’s not trouble?” The words tumbled out before Isla could stop them. “What if this is exactly what I’ve been hoping for? What if the universe really did pull strings to get me here?”
“The universe didn’t pull strings. A matchmaker did. And matchmakers are in the business of making people believe in fairy tales. That’s how they get paid.”
Isla wanted to argue, but Harper’s pragmatic logic had a way of cutting through romantic fantasies with surgical precision. Still, something deep in her chest insisted this was different.
“Maybe you should just come home,” Harper continued gently. “Before you get in too deep with another guy who’s going to break your heart.”
“I can’t just leave.” Isla sat up straighter, feeling a spark of her usual determination. “I promised to help Evelina with the bookstore. And besides, I need to at least talk to him, find out why he acted the way he did.”
“Isla—”
A soft knock on the door interrupted Harper’s response. “I have to go,” Isla whispered. “Evelina’s here. I’ll call you later.”
“You better. And just be careful.”
The call ended just as Evelina entered with the kind of graceful authority that made Isla think of queens.
“I hope you’re settling in comfortably,” Evelina said, her green eyes—so similar to Damon’s—taking in Isla’s slightly frazzled state with maternal concern.
“It’s beautiful here. Thank you for having me. Truly.” Isla gestured around the room. “I was just talking to my friend Harper back home.”
“Good. It’s important to maintain connections.” Evelina moved to the window, gazing out at the gardens where twilight was beginning to paint the sky in shades of purple and coral. “I actually came to let you know that I’ve arranged for you to have dinner with Damon tonight. At his place.”
Isla’s heart skipped several beats. “His place?”
“Yes, his beach house. It’s more private, which I think will help him feel more comfortable.” Evelina turned back to faceIsla, and something in her expression suggested there were depths to this conversation they hadn’t yet explored. “I should probably be more honest with you about the situation.”
Here it comes,Isla thought, bracing herself.
