Summer in Eclipse Bay

trying to do a little matchmaking himself."
    "Interesting." Lillian pondered that briefly. "Of course, in all fairness, Carson has never had much opportunity to get to know any of Nick's other girlfriends."
    "That's because Nick has always gone out of his way to keep that part of his life compartmentalized and separate from his life with Carson. This time it's different. That's my big point here. The very fact that Nick has allowed Carson to develop a personal relationship of his own with Octavia is a very strong indicator that this is not business as usual. Don't you agree?"
    "Maybe. Depends."
    "On what?"
    "Well, it could be that Nick isn't deliberately allowing Carson to get to know Octavia. It may just be the circumstances. Eclipse Bay isn't a big city. There's no way Nick could have a clandestine affair here. It's impossible to keep one's private life private in this town."
    "And nobody knows that better than Nick. Yet he made the decision to spend the summer here and it looks to me as if he has actively encouraged Carson to form an attachment to Octavia. I swear, they find an excuse to stop by her gallery every single day when they go into town to pick up the mail or shop for groceries."
    "All right, I agree that isn't Nick's usual M.O. when it comes to women and his personal life," Lillian said thoughtfully. "Could be significant. You're sure he hasn't had The Talk with her?"
    "Almost positive. It may mean that he's finally ready to move beyond the loss of Amelia."
    "About time," Lillian said.
    "Hey, he's a Harte. When Hartes fall in love, they fall hard."
    "Mmm."
    "What's this?" A flicker of alarm wafted through Hannah. She exchanged a concerned look with Winston, who promptly got to his feet and crossed the small space to put his head on her knee. "You don't believe that Nick has really become Hardhearted Harte, do you?"
    "I think," Lillian said carefully, "that there may have been more problems in his relationship with Amelia than he ever let on."
    "I know you were never fully satisfied that they were a great match. But there is no absolutely perfect match. And it doesn't mean that Nick didn't love Amelia deeply."
    "No. It doesn't mean that," Lillian agreed. "But I've always wondered if it was Nick's decision to leave Harte Investments that exposed the underlying weaknesses in that marriage. If Amelia had lived, they might have worked things out. For Carson's sake, if nothing else. She loved him as much as Nick does."
    "Yes. Amelia was a good mother." Hannah touched her still-flat stomach. She had not yet grown accustomed to the sense of wonder that accompanied the realization of the small miracle that was taking place inside her. "No one would ever say otherwise. Especially not in front of Nick."
    "True. But if I'm right and there were some serious problems in that marriage, it might explain why Nick has been so careful to avoid a serious relationship in the years since Amelia's death."
    "Protecting himself? You think he's afraid of making another mistake?"
    "He's a Harte. We're not supposed to screw up when it comes to love and marriage, remember? We're supposed to get it right every time."
    "If he didn't get it right last time, he might be doubly cautious this time."
    "Yes, and with good reason. After all, it isn't just himself he has to protect this time around. He's got Carson to consider, too."
    Hannah hesitated a moment. "Speaking of children…"
    Okay, so she'd over overreacted.
    So
sue me
, Octavia thought.
    She pulled into the parking lot at the end of the row of shops and switched off the engine. A woman had a right to be angry when she surfaced after a bout of mind-bending sex and discovered that the man with whom she had just shared said mind-bending sex was heading for the door.
    The least he could have done was make a bigger show of regretting the unseemly haste of his departure. And how dare he accuse her of giving him The Talk? All right, she had mentioned leaving town at the end of the summer once or twice. That was different.
    She got out of the car, dropped the keys into her purse, and slammed the door shut. She was feeling short of both temper and patience, and more than willing to blame everything on Nick this morning. Her emotions were so mixed up and so unstable today that she knew she could not begin to sort them out.
    One thing was indisputable, however. She was well aware that she had no one to blame but herself for this untenable situation and that, of course, only made the mess