Page 28 of Betrayal of a Billionaire

“Yeah, she’s very protective of Julia,” Luke answered.

“Okay, well, I don’t know what her deal is then because my dad is clearly not going to hurt Julia.” Sierra rolled her eyes.

Julia offered Grant a penitent glance, but it didn’t seem to help his demeanor much.

They continued their trolling around the islands off the coast, spotting dolphins and seals as Luke pointed out various landmarks and sights.

“And we’re coming up to the Seabird Point Lighthouse. Now, Maine has the most haunted lighthouses in the entire country. So, what do you think? Is this one haunted?”

Julia flicked her eyebrows up as she waited for someone to respond.

“No guess?” Luke asked. “Well, I know one person who doesn’t have to guess. Julia…Seabird Point. Haunted or not?”

“Not haunted,” she answered with a smile. “Harbor Cliff Lighthouse is the haunted one.”

“That’s right,” Luke said with a grin. “Glad you see you haven’t forgotten everything about Harbor Cove.”

The comment struck at her gut. She hadn’t forgotten anything about Harbor Cove. That’s why she hadn’t been back. She flicked her gaze to the horizon, noting Grant’s grip on the railing tightening until his knuckles whitened after the comment. He stared out at the horizon, his jaw set in a hard line, the muscles twitching as if he struggled to contain emotions she couldn’t place.

“Are you serious?” Sierra asked.

“Yep,” Luke and Julia answered at the same time. “Same as half a dozen other places around here. Where are you folks staying?”

“Umm, I forget the address.”

“The old Winslow place,” Julia answered.

“Nice,” Luke said.

“Sierra booked it without knowing I was from here. I’m just glad she didn’t book the Ravenwoods’ place by accident.”

“Why?” Sierra asked with a wrinkled nose.

“It’s haunted,” Julia and Luke answered simultaneously.

“Are you guys joking?”

“No,” Luke said as he guided the boat in a wide berth around a wooded island.

Sierra flicked her gaze from Luke to Julia with a questioning glance. “We’re not. It’s burned down five times since it was first built. I’d never stay there.”

“I can’t believe you’d give into that superstition, Julia,” Kyle said.

“You try it and see how it works out,” Luke said. “But I’d bet you’d never get Julia in there.”

“Oh, you’d never get me in there? I do remember you wouldn’t even set foot on the property that time Ethan dared you to run through the house.”

“That was a ridiculous dare anyway,” he answered. “I can’t believe the chief’s son actually asked me to trespass.”

Julia let out a belly laugh. “Oh, like you were so sensitive to less-than-legal shenanigans?”

Her amusement was tempered by the subtle sigh as Grant shifted in his seat. The tension in his jaw suggested he wasn’t happy with the situation. The pull between her past and present threatened to tear her in two, and she slouched in her seat, her heart warring between a past she hadn’t let go of and a future she hadn’t committed to.

“Now,” Luke said as he shifted their course, “I know you folks paid for the three-and-a-half-hour tour–”

“Did you know that Captain Luke made this a tour three-and-a-half-hours by adding an extra thirty minutes of cruise time just so people couldn’t sing him the Gilligan’s Island song?” Julia asked.

“Thank you, Julia, for that piece of trivia. Anyway, our tour is nearly up, but…since you have special connections to a former captain, I thought we’d make one more special stop.” His eyes glinted with mischief, making Julia’s stomach flutter, a twisted mix of anxiety and longing. What was he up to?