Amy looked at Olivia now, waiting.
“All right,” she said. “I’m thinking that I might maybe—”
“I knew it,” Amy said, grabbing her arm. “You can’t, Olivia. Think about what you’re doing.”
“I have thought about it,” Olivia said, shaking free of her sister’s grasp.
“Look at her. Do you want a kid with those genes? And she’s probably been stoned for half this pregnancy. Have you done drug testing? Genetic testing? For all you know, strange things run in her family. Have you thought about anything?
Beyond Amy, in the distance, Olivia watched Ruby, who was sitting beside the young man painting.
“I want that baby,” Olivia said, keeping her eyes fixed on Ruby.
“I think you’ve lost it, Olivia,” Amy said. “I really think you’ve lost it.”
Ruby saw Olivia watching her, and she waved. Something filled Olivia. She wanted to jump up and down, foolishly. She wanted to run through this crowd, across the street, to the beach, and jump into the water. Maybe Amy was right. Maybe she had lost it. But the girl was important to her. She was changing Olivia’s life.
Olivia lifted her arm and returned Ruby’s wave with a large sweeping one of her own.
“And another thing,” Amy was saying. “Why won’t you return Jake Maxwell’s calls? He’s driving me crazy asking about you.”
“What do you know about that?” Olivia asked sharply.
Surprised, Amy took a step back. “You didn’t.”
“You seem to be forgetting,” Olivia said, “that I’m the big sister. I ask you questions. I give you advice.”
“He’s a nice guy, Olivia. And you are irrational.”
The nice guy was walking toward them. Shit, Olivia thought. Shit, shit, shit. She hated these little towns where you so easily walked into your indiscretions. In New York, she would never have to see Jake Maxwell again.
“If it isn’t the elusive milliner,” Jake said. His jaw muscles twitched from being clenched so tightly. Possessive.
Amy put her hand on Jake’s arm. “Stay away from her. She’s acting irrational.”
Jake raised his eyebrows. “Is that right?”
Olivia adjusted her hat. It was an old one, a favorite, from the series she’d named after old movie stars. This one was Gene Tierney.
“Doing crazy things, huh?” he said. “Like sleepwalking?”
“I’ve got to be somewhere,” Olivia said.
She didn’t like the way Jake Maxwell made her feel: she wanted him to shut up and undress. She wanted to climb on top of him the way she had that night. She wanted too much from him.
“I think we have some unfinished business,” Jake said.
Olivia cleared her throat. “I think we’re finished,” she said. “In fact, I’m certain of it. Positive.”
“Those papers?”
“Oh. The papers. Right,” Olivia said. “I’ll call you. I’ll make an appointment.”
She walked away fast, bumping into a table that held small models of lighthouses. She heard Amy saying, “Someone’s got to help that girl.”
Olivia made the appointment through Jake’s secretary and showed up exactly on time with Ruby.
“I don’t know why,” Ruby said as they waited in the waiting room, “but every time you mention this guy, your voice gets funny.”
“I doubt it,” Olivia said.
Jake opened the door to his office and motioned them inside. He had on khaki pants, a blue-and-white pinstriped shirt, and a Nicole Miller tie of various animals running.
Good, Olivia thought, studying all the rats and rabbits racing diagonally across the tie, he’s probably in PETA or something. A radical. An asshole.
“Now I know why,” Ruby whispered. “He’s cute.”
“Really?” Olivia said. “Not my type.”
“No whispering,” Jake told them, closing the door. He got them chairs, offered coffee, water, iced tea. Then finally, he sat at his desk and opened a folder.
“Well,” he said, and Olivia smiled—that awful tic: well, well, well.
“Nice tie,” Ruby told him. “Does it mean something?”
Jake shrugged. “A gift,” he said, and Olivia felt as if he was saying it directly to her.
“Oh,” Ruby said, “a gift. You’ve got a girlfriend.”
“One of those on-again, off-again girlfriends,” he said, looking at Olivia. “Which isn’t to my liking. I much prefer monogamy. I like to get to know someone, spend time with her. Call me crazy, but I’m not really into one-night stands. Or playing games. Or bullshit.”
“Jeez,” Ruby muttered. “I only asked about the tie.
“I think we’re here to settle that unfinished business?” Olivia said. Despite the air conditioning, she was hot and sweating.