Page 150 of Our Little Secret

Eli said, “I’ve been looking forward to this.” The voice—a little raspier, but . . . She realized he was still holding her hand. She yanked it away. Blinked back to reality. This couldn’t be happening. It could not!

Recovering slightly, Neal finally pulled the door shut behind them. “Well, come on inside and settle in.”

No! Oh, no, no, no!He couldn’t be here!No way! No how!

“I—we have a big announcement,” Leah said, taking Eli’s hand in hers.

Brooke knew what was coming before Leah even said a word.

“Eli and I are getting married.” She pulled off the gloves and held up her left hand, fingers splayed, a bright diamond winking on her ring finger. “He asked me just last week and I said ‘yes’!” She squeezed Eli’s hand and he bussed her cheek though, Brooke noted, before he closed his eyes during the quick kiss, he shot a glance directly at her, almost mocking her.

Oh, Jesus.Stunned, Brooke couldn’t say a word.

“Wow.” Neal took a step back. “That’s fast.”

“When you know, you just know!” Leah gushed and twined her fingers in Eli’s. “Isn’t that right?” she asked her fiancé, but he was already nodding, his eyes catching Brooke’s.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “When you find the one you should never let her go.”

Leah nearly swooned against him. “I won’t,” she said.

“Me neither.” And again he cut a quick glance at Brooke. “I’ll never let go. Just like I promised.”

Brooke visibly started.

“Well—then, I guess congratulations are in order.” Though at first visibly taken aback, Neal was trying to pull himself together, while Marilee hadn’t yet said a word. She appeared as shocked as anyone.

Neal said to Brooke, “I think we have a bottle of wine here, don’t we?”

When she didn’t respond he nudged her. “Brooke?”

“Yes.” Dear God, what was she supposed to do? She couldn’t have Gideon in the house and she couldn’t allow him to marry Leah. No damned way. Her mind was racing, her heartbeat frantic.

“No worries. Of course we brought champagne to celebrate. And two of my best friends, Jim Beam and Jack Daniels just for good measure.” Leah shrugged off her coat and hung it on one of the pegs in the front hall. “This place hasn’t changed a bit. And oh! Look! You found Nana’s little Christmas tree!” She hurried to the corner where Brooke had tucked the little fake pine. “I used to love playing with the ornaments. Remember? It was sad-looking then, but now—wow. Still, Iloveit. And—wait!” She made a big production of closing her eyes and sniffing the air. “You’re making clam chowder? Manhattan, right?” Her eyes fluttered open. “Perfect.” Her blue eyes twinkling, she linked arms with Eli. “And it’s snowing outside. Gonna be a white Christmas. I take it as a good omen!”

“Really? An omen?” Brooke said, working hard to think clearly as she put the pieces together in her mind—finding the bracelet in the cupboard, discovering the camera’s eye in the shower, hearing that Leah had been on the island within the last few months, and now this—Gideon Ross posing as another man.

What the hell was happening?

Dragging her gaze from Eli, she kept telling herself over and over again that he wasnotGideon Ross; a dead ringer, yes, butnotthe man she’d left bleeding in Elliott Bay a little more than a year before.

“And another tree too!” Leah said as she stepped into the living room to survey all the decorations and the fir tree trimmed with old-fashioned ornaments. “I’ve got presents! And . . .” Again she grinned and hunched her shoulders like a mischievous little girl. “Another surprise.”

Dread crawled up Brooke’s spine as they all went into the living room. “I don’t know if I can take another one.”

Leah ignored her. “Come here, come here,” she said to Eli, motioning him into a spot in front of the stone fireplace. The embers in the grate glowed red while flames licked the chunks of blackened oak. Linking her fingers with his again, she announced, “We’re getting married here on the island.”

“No,” was Brooke’s immediate response.

“What?” Neal didn’t bother to mask his shock.

Marilee blinked and took a step backward. “Here?” she whispered. Her face had drained of all color. “You’re getting married? Really? Now? Here?”

“On New Year’s Eve.” Leah hugged Eli fiercely.

“Wait—what?” Brooke said, aghast. “This New Year’s?”

“Yes, yes! You heard me. We’re getting married here, in this cabin. I’ve already spoken with the preacher in Marwood. And the florist. And a caterer—well, she’s really just a woman who works at the restaurant—but it’s going to be small, so it shouldn’t be a problem! It’ll just be us . . . Oh, Marilee, you’ll still be here, right?”