Scarlett and Inca looked at each other when they were alone. “What’s this all about, Inks? What the hell is going on?”
Inca shook her head. “I don’t know, Scarlett. But somehow I don’t think it has to do with Olly. Look, I need to talk to Tommaso … could you look after the teahouse for the rest of the afternoon?”
Scarlett hugged her friend. “Of course. Go talk to your man.”
Olly stared at Knox. “You’re kidding me.”
Knox shook his head. “Nope. From now you are not permitted to go within five hundred yards of Inca Sardee or Tommaso Winter.”
“But—” Olly stood, obviously riled up. “I’m the damn police chief!’
Knox sighed. “I know. I know, buddy; it’s utterly ridiculous. But you can’t break it, or it could cost you your job. Let things simmer down.”
Olly stood and thought for a long moment. “She must have told him.”
“Told him what?”
Olly hesitated and shook his head. “No, nothing. Look, I’ll honor the restraining order, but in the meantime …” He flicked his computer on and began to type.
Kyle had a growing sense of unease “What are you doing?”
Olly looked at him, his eyes angry but determined. “Proving once and for all that I’m not the one Inca should be afraid of.”
Inca was sitting on the stairs, phone in hand, when Tommaso got back to the house. She waved at him. He held up the bag with the take-out. She gave him a thumbs up.
“Sorry, Nancy. Go on.”
Nancy sighed down the phone. “Try and listen. I’m inviting you and Tommaso to dinner tonight. It’s not difficult, is it? I’m not speaking German, am I?”
Inca snickered. “Calm down, Grandma.”
There was a silence on the end of the phone. “You are the spawn of the devil. Do you want to come to dinner or not?”
Inca was still giggling when she joined Tommaso in the kitchen. He was arranging the Chinese food on plates and smiled at her.
“Hungry?”
She hesitated. “Um …”
“Um?”
“Thing is, Nancy invited us for dinner tonight. Can we put this—and by the way, thanks for picking it up—but can we save this for tomorrow?” Her apologetic smile faded as she took in the expression on his face. Irritation.
“Tommaso, I …”
He picked up the take-out boxes and started dumping them in the trash. She darted forward to stop him, placing a hand on his arm.
“Hey, hey … we can put it in the refrigerator.”
He pulled his arm away without looking at her. “It won’t be fresh. I don’t like to eat food that’s gone bad.” His tone was clipped and remonstrative.
Inca was taken aback at the petulance in his tone. She watched helplessly as he emptied the still-steaming food into the trash can. His movements were jerky and annoyed, his shoulders stiff with anger. “Tommaso?”
“I don’t want to talk about it, Inca. Not yet. Not now. We have a dinner party to go to.”
“Look at me.”
Tommaso hesitated, then met her gaze. Inca felt desolate at the pain in his eyes. “Oh, Tommaso. I’m so sorry.”
He held up his hands. “Please, Inca … not now.”
Inca moved silently out of the kitchen and went upstairs to dress. She could still hear him banging around downstairs. She sat on the edge of the bed, realizing that she was shaking with shock at Tommaso’s overreaction to the dinner and sadness at his obvious pain. Finally, the banging around stopped and she heard him on the stairs.
She got up and pulled the closet door open, pretending to look for something. She felt him watching her as he leaned against the doorframe.
“You should wear the pink dress. The one you wore on our first date.”
His voice was softer now, seductive. He was so changeable from one moment to the next. Inca stayed silent for a while, irritated herself now. She pulled out some fresh blue jeans and a T-shirt. She glanced at him then, her expression cool.
“I have to change.”
A small smile. “Of course.”
She closed the door behind her and stripped off, pulling on the fresh jeans, then pulling her long hair through the top of the T-shirt. There was a soft knock on the door. She sighed.
“I’m coming, Tommaso.”
She glanced over at him as he drove them across the peninsula. His expression was normal and friendly. It was as if his little temper tantrum hadn’t happened. He reached for her hand and she let him take it, feeling his large fingers squeeze hers gently.
Tyler opened the door to them with a warm smile.
“Welcome, welcome.” He hugged Inca and shook Tommaso’s hand. “I hope our invitation wasn’t too last minute.”
“Not at all. It was our pleasure. In fact, I insisted, didn’t I, Inca?” Tommaso clapped the older man on the back.
Inca gaped at him as the two men moved through to the living room, chatting. Nancy poked her head out of the kitchen.
“Hey, small fry. Come give an old lady a hand, huh?”
Inca could feel Nancy watching her. She avoided the older woman’s eye, but knew what she was thinking. She could feel the question hanging in the air.
Tommaso’s hand was on her thigh. Openly. Possessively. It was an overtly sexual move that was completely inappropriate in front of her parents. She tried to shift her leg away from him, but as they sat around the dining table, any movement would have been an obvious slight.
Tyler and Tommaso were talking about … what were they talking about? Inca realized she had tuned them out a while back. Her irritation at Tommaso hadn’t subsided. What was he up to? He’d been all charm, none of his early mood on display, talking to Tyler about his police career and about the property market. She, meanwhile, had been distracted, answering Nancy’s questions in monosyllables.
“That’s a beautiful ruby.” Nancy was talking to her now. Inca touched the jewel at her throat and tried to smile. It had been a gift from Tommaso a few weeks ago—back when she hadn’t slept with his twin brother.
God.
Inca felt sick.
“A gift. From my mother, indirectly.” Tommaso interrupted as Inca was about to answer her. He stroked Inca’s cheek with the back of his hand. “Made for her, isn’t it?”
Nancy nodded, but her eyebrows knitted together slightly. “You okay?”
Inca looked at her blankly for a second, then nodded. “Sorry, yes. I—”
“She’s had a pretty rough few days.” Tommaso stopped her with a hand on the back of her neck. She looked at him sharply but he ignored her, telling them about the situation with Olly.
“He’s unstable,” Tommaso continued. “And I’m concerned for her.” Tyler shook his head, but it was Inca who spoke finally, weariness in her voice.
“I can speak for myself. Olly would never hurt me.”
Tommaso gave a sharp bark of laughter. “Because he’s displayed such appropriate behavior so far.” He leaned over and nuzzled at her neck, but she pulled away from him and stood, gathering up the empty plates, not looking at him. As she walked into the kitchen, she heard him speak in a low tone.
“It’s okay; she’s just stressed.”
Inca banged the plates down on the counter. Who’s acting like a child now? She sighed, rubbing her hands over her eyes. She felt someone come in behind her and turned. With relief, she saw Nancy, balancing serving plates and narrowing her eyes at her.
“What’s up with you?” Nancy put the plates down.
Inca sighed and hesitated for a long moment.
“Nothing. It’s complicated. It’s between me and Tommaso.”
Nancy searched her face. “You need some time alone.”
Inca nodded. “Maybe I do.”
They went back into the living room. Tyler and Tommaso were seated at the table, photo albums spread across the table. Inca could see they were pictures of her childhood, aged six in the children’s home, at the beach with Tyler and Nancy at nine, h
anging by the knees from the branch of the tree in the back yard, laughing wildly at Olly swinging beside her. Inca’s heart thudded with sadness. Tommaso smiled up at her.
“You were such a beautiful child.” He got up and hugged her, whispering in her ear, “And our children will be just as beautiful.”
“You misheard.” Tommaso’s tone was light. He smiled at her before turning his eyes back to the road. Inca gritted her teeth.
“So now I’m deaf too? I know what you said, Tommaso.”
He was silent for a moment. “Is it such a terrible idea?” His voice was apologetic, and she heard something else in his words. Hurt.
She looked away and out of the window, not answering him. The cold front had brought heavier freezing rain and it pounded against the car now, the headlights barely cutting through the maelstrom. For a few minutes, Inca was disoriented, not recognizing which road they were on, then realized they were on the east coast road. For some reason, she had automatically expected they would go back through Main Street. This road was poorly lit, and she saw only sporadic flashes of light as they passed the few houses that were visible in the trees that lined the road. Soon she saw the lights from the high school, as the road curved around the top of the peninsula.
She drew in a long breath, trying to ease the ball of tension in her chest. She risked a look over to Tommaso. He sensed her glance and turn to smile at her. She could read no malice and no anger in his face. He patted her knee but immediately drew his hand away.
“Tommaso … we need to talk. About us, about … Raffaelo.”
Tommaso steered the car to the side of the road and stopped it. For a moment, he just stared out of the window then he turned to her. “I know.”
“I’m so sorry, Tommaso, I have no excuse. It just happened.”
“Yes.” He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “But perhaps it was inevitable.”
“Why do you say that?”
He touched her face. “Quid pro quo, mio caro. I once did the same to Raffaelo.”
That stung. No, she thought, it wasn’t revenge. That’s not why Raffaelo … but she felt sick. How could she have been so stupid? Tommaso was watching her.
“You are not to blame, bella. Neither is Raff. I got what I deserved.”
Inca felt the guilt weighing her down. “Tommaso, I want you to know … I love you. I’m so … confused about both of you.”
Tommaso gave her a strange smile. “Do you think it is impossible to love two people at once?”
Inca stared at him. “I guess not.”
“No. It is entirely possible. Which is why we must wait for Raffaelo to come home before we decide what to do. And that is your choice entirely, my darling. Me … Raff … or both of us. It is for you to decide.”
He leaned over and kissed her. “Now, shall we go home?”
Later, after they had made love and Inca was asleep, Tommaso slid out of bed and went downstairs to call Raffaelo. When his brother picked up, all Tommaso said was, “I know.”
Raffaelo sighed. “Tommaso …”
“Don’t apologize. It’s okay. I could see it coming. The only thing now is that we have to decide what happens next. I want you to think about that before you come home.”
He hung up, feeling wretched. Whatever he had said to Inca, the hurt from her betrayal was beginning to hit him now and he felt like he was losing her. He could not bear that, and even if it meant sharing her love with his brother, that would be okay with him.
But if Inca chose Raffaelo over him? Tommaso didn’t yet know what his reaction would be, but he knew—none of them would come out of it unscathed.
Olly ignored the terms of the restraining order without hesitation. He marched over to the Sakura as soon as they opened and got Inca on her own.
She looked tired and stressed out and all the fight went out of him. “Are you okay?”
She shook her head and started to cry. Olly went to her and pulled her into a bear hug.
Nancy watched them from outside the Sakura, her face set and hard. Jesus, would they ever learn?
Last night, after seeing Winter acting so bizarrely at dinner, she’d confessed her fears to a concerned Tyler. They had both tried calling Inca, only to get her voicemail, and were about to go get in the car when she called them. She told them she had discussed things with Tommaso but wouldn’t say anymore. Her voice had been tired, almost flat, and she had turned down their offer to come over. But they both had stayed up until the early hours, wracked with concern.
“We can’t interfere,” she’d told Tyler. “Last thing she needs is babying. We need to give her space.”
But Tyler had lain awake all night next to her; Nancy knew because she had too. Now, watching Inca hug Olly, she felt an irrational anger towards her defacto daughter. She stalked into the coffee house, slamming her bag onto the counter. Inca and Olly leaped apart, both flushing guiltily.
“Well, isn’t this nice?” Nancy’s voice was like ice. Olly coughed.
“I better …” he turned to leave, but Nancy stopped him.
“No, you both need to hear what I have to say. What the hell are you doing? You,” she nodded at Olly, “are still under a restraining order. And you—” she broke off, her anger too much for her. She shook her head at Inca, who quailed under her gaze. “Are you trying to drive yourself crazy again?”
“Olly, just go,” Inca said softly. “I need to talk to Nancy.”
When they were alone, Inca held up her hands. “Look, we’re just trying to find our way back to friendship, is all. I was feeling down and he hugged me. Like a friend.”
Nancy scoffed. “You are hell-bent on self-destruction.”
Inca smiled, and Nancy was taken aback by the steel in her voice when she spoke next. “Quite the opposite,” she said. “I’m finally realizing something. I’m not looking for Olly or Tommaso or anyone else to rescue me. I realized I have to be my own white knight. And that means taking control of my life without—and I say this with love—without anyone telling me what I’m supposed to do or who I’m supposed see. That goes for you, Tyler, Tommaso and anyone else.”
Nancy watched Inca with narrowed eyes as she moved around the teahouse wiping down tables, turning on the lamps. Outside it had started to rain, the headache gray sky packed with dark clouds—an ice storm was coming. Inca’s face was drawn and she looked older, changed, broken. When Inca had finished cleaning the tables, Nancy stopped her with hand on her back, making her look at her. Inca’s eyes were haunted and Nancy felt a twist of terror in her stomach. She smoothed a hand down her daughter’s hair.
“Inca … what did he do to you?”
“He didn’t do anything to me, Mom,” she said, her voice breaking. “I did something to him, and it’s unforgivable.”
Nancy tried, but Inca would not tell her more. She went home to Tyler and told him what she’d said. “I think she’s reaching a breaking point. I really do.”
Knox was waiting for Olly when he came back from patrol. Evening had settled over the island and the ice had started to stick to everyone and everything. Olly walked into the office, casting a glance over to his friend, seated, waiting patiently for him to hang his coat up. Olly sat at his desk, knowing something bad was coming. Knox cleared his throat.
“Olly, I need to talk to you about something. Earlier I got a call from the powers that be. You were seen going into the Sakura this morning and talking to Inca, in violation of the restraining order.”
Olly nodded, resigned. “Yeah. So?” His mind was still on Nancy’s words from that morning.
Knox drew in a deep breath. “Olly, they have temporarily promoted me to Chief. An investigation will be pending.”
Olly blinked, his mind shocked back into the present. “What?”
Knox felt his shoulders tense. “I’m saying, Olly … I’m suspending you. Go home; get your shit together. I’ll need your badge and gun.”
Tommaso called Inca as she worked the late shift. “Darling, I might be a few minut
es late picking you up.”
Inca tried to smile at the love in his voice. “I can drive myself, Tommaso. My car is right here.”
He hesitated. “You will come home, though?” It made her chest hurt.
“Of course, my love. Of course, I’m coming home to you.”
She thought about the call, frowning. Why had he seemed so strange? She shrugged and went to serve a customer.
Olly slumped back into his sister’s couch and raised a beer bottle to her. “Here’s to some time off.”
Luna sighed, shaking her head. “This is ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.”
Olly shrugged. “Honestly, sis, I’m past caring now. Tommaso Winter is an asshole who thinks Inca is his property.”
Luna made a noise. “Seriously, what is it with you people? She’s just a normal woman. Why do you all go gaga over her?”
Olly looked surprised at the venom in his sister’s voice. “Calm down … it’s not Inca’s fault.”
“Isn’t it? Don’t you think she loves that attention, Olly?”
“You know she’s not like that.”
Luna looked away from him, her face red with anger. “She didn’t used to be.”
Olly patted his sister’s shoulder. “Sis …”
“Don’t you think everyone’s life would be easier if she wasn’t around? Take her out of the equation and problem solved.”
“Don’t talk like that,” he reprimanded his sister. “Kevin Harnett nearly killed her. Do you think she deserved that?”
But Luna did not answer him.
At ten o’clock, Inca went to lock the front door of the Sakura. Before she could, Scarlett came racing in, startling Inca.
Inca pulled her in out of the rain. “What are you doing here this late?”
“I was with Knox and he got called out.”
“That explains the lack of coat. Look, why don’t I give you a ride home? I’ll just be a minute.”
Scarlett shook her wet hair. “Can I help?”
“I just have to finish in here and take the trash out.”
Winter Page 13