📎A/N. The weekend is here... Yay!

I hope you enjoy this chapter. If you do, don't forget to vote. And if you spot any errors, don't hesitate to point them out.

Thanks for your support.

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It was with reluctance that Sydney's mind pushed her the rest of the way to consciousness. What had begun as a dull tapping was now bordering on an intolerable thumping. Her head felt like it was ready to explode from the pressure.

Sydney pressed her face into her pillow, hoping this would ease the pain. "Oh, God," she groaned, "I knew that last Margarita was a bad idea."

Memories of the previous evening flooded back as she gingerly swung her legs out of bed and winced as they hit the floor - loudly.

The banging continued and she looked around for its source. A gentle breeze was knocking the wooden ends of the curtain cords against the wall.

"Shut up will you," she mumbled as she reached over and closed the offending window.

After the bombshell, coupled with her already unsettled state-of-mind, the Margaritas and other concoctions that Stephen and Grace had put together, had been a welcome distraction. At one point in the evening, Stephen had taken it upon himself to download a cocktail app in an attempt to make every drink they had the ingredients for.

It had seemed like a good idea at the time. However, Sydney was now acutely reminded why she tended to not mix her drinks. The morning after was not worth the few hours of blissful relaxation and suspension of her problems.

Or maybe it was?

For a few short hours, she had managed to forget her father's possible resurfacing, her mother's unexpected invitation, and Ethan MacMasters imminent arrival.

Sydney sat back down on the bed and put her head in her hands. "What the hell did I do to deserve this?"

Deciding she needed coffee, she silently made her way to the kitchen. Careful not to wake the others, Sydney made an extra strong brew, grabbed some Tylenol, her iPad and padded out to the patio. She knew what she was about to do was ill advised. She knew that it would only cause more pain. However, if she didn't, it would eat at her for the remainder of the day.

Downing two pills with her coffee, she did a quick search of the news outlets. Sydney exhaled when nothing new jumped out at her. Stephen had been correct. The apparent sighting had already exceeded its news cycle, and with no new information it had been relegated to the back pages.

Her major concern, alleviated - for now, Sydney gazed out across the yard to the line of trees and willed her vision to stop moving.

"You look a bit green," remarked Stephen as he took a seat an hour later. Sydney's head was no longer pounding so loudly and she was on her third cup of coffee.

"And you are looking a bit too happy," she grumbled.

Grace chose that moment to make an appearance. "Who's looking happy?" she groaned as she cautiously made her way to a chair and slowly sat down. "Why is everything still spinning?"

Grace looked over at Stephen, who was now sipping on a large glass of orange juice. An enormous smile on his face and looking fresh and relaxed. "Why don't you look how I feel?" she asked.

"That's because you two alcoholics can't hold your liquor," he chirped.

Sydney pushed the bottle of Tylenol across the table towards Grace, "Here's breakfast."

It was almost lunch time before either Grace or Sydney could even contemplate food. After deciding they resembled as close to feeling human as they would for the day, the three packed a picnic lunch and walked the half mile to the beach. The early afternoon heat giving Stephen the only excuse he needed to shed his clothes and pay homage to the sun.

"How are you today?" Grace asked quietly as they tucked into their sandwiches.

Sydney shrugged and smiled across at her cousin. "I'm fine. You really shouldn't worry about me. Besides," she said, in an attempt to change the subject, "you should be worrying about what you're going to do with Mason when he arrives tomorrow. It will be his first night on the island, so you should do something special."

The two cousins discussed the various options the island offered. Having decided on Grace's favourite, they joined Stephen and caught the afternoon sun. Both dozing as soon as they lay down.

"I wonder if his sister will like me." Grace asked as they headed back to the cottage late that afternoon.

Sydney rolled her eyes. "It may have escaped you, but we aren't kids anymore," she chastised, "it doesn't really matter if she likes you or not. The only thing that matters is Mason's opinion. And from what I can tell," she teased, "you have no worries there."

"I know but, I want to make a good impression. She's over from London for her holidays."

Sydney began to laugh, "You're worried about what she might go back and say to mummy and daddy."

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"How do you think I look?" asked Stephen.

He was holding up a handmade tie. The material seemed coarse and stiff. Sydney was sure that the vivid green and yellow woven into the pattern would glow in the dark.

She burst out laughing. There was no way he would be caught dead adorning any of his carefully chosen suits with the gaudy piece of clothing. "Well, you'd certainly make an impression. Not, necessarily the one you were after," she grinned.

Stephen pretended to pout as he threw the offending item back onto the pile. "You spoil all my fun."

They continued meandering through the outdoor market, stopping at many of the stalls to investigate the wares. As it was a Sunday, and early in the season, they didn't need to fight the crowds that Sydney knew would be descending on the small island within the next few weeks. The five towns that made up the holiday destination would grow from its year-round population of seventeen thousand to nearly one-hundred thousand.

Sydney was thankful that her small cottage was enough off the beaten track to protect her from the hordes of tourists, and allowed her to work in relative peace and quiet.

"Now you're sure you're going to be alright on your own for a few days?" asked Stephen as they stopped at a fruit stand.

She swatted his hand away from the cantaloupes which he was poking a little too hard. "Stop that, you'll bruise them," she chided him, "and, I am not a child that you need to walk on eggshells around."

As far as she was concerned, Stephen was taking his role as self-proclaimed protector a little too far.

Her irritation must have been obvious when Stephen put an arm around her. "You know we love you," he said, referring to himself and Grace, "and we're just concerned about how this will affect you if - well - you know - they find him."

Sydney turned to Stephen and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. "I know," she said, "and I love you both for it. But I‑"

She was interrupted from finishing when she heard her name being called. Glancing around, in an attempt to locate the source, she was surprised to discover Mason was weaving his way through the shoppers, towards them.

A bright smile greeted her as he closed the distance. "Sydney, I thought it was you," he said.

"We weren't expecting you until this evening," she said after they had gotten the pleasantries out of the way, and she had introduced him to Stephen, "does Grace know you're here?"

Mason nodded and scanned the crowd. "Yes, she's somewhere around. She's on a mission to find a selection of local cheeses."

Sydney was astonished when a petite blond materialised by Mason's side. The woman didn't look happy. In fact, her irritation was quite obvious. "You really do need to stop racing off like that," she pouted. Her voice, while high pitched and grated on Sydney's nerves, was the cultured and refined accent of the British upper class.

It was immediately evident who the new arrival was. There was no mistaking the family resemblance. This was the sister that Grace had mentioned was staying with Mason.

Sydney's attention, however, was diverted by the third person who had quietly followed behind. His expression, neutral. His eyes hidden behind sunglasses, allowing her no indication as to his current thoughts.

Her emotional roller coaster from the past few days had her unsure of what to feel. She was swaying between anger, apprehension and panic. Deciding in the end that she would settle on indifference, Sydney refocused on the conversation. She had recovered from her previous stupor in time to realise Mason was introducing his sister to them.

She forced a smile and held out her hand. "Pleased to meet you, Pauline, I hope you enjoy your stay here."

The way Pauline looked her up and down made Sydney feel uncomfortable. "You're Grace's friend," was her only response.

"And you already know Mac," Mason said oblivious to his sisters snub.

She nodded her head stiffly in Ethan's direction as Mason continued to introduce his sister and friend to Stephen.

Grace chose that moment to find them, allowing Sydney to breathe a sigh of relief.

"I was wondering if we would bump into you," Grace said as Mason relieved her from some of her bags.

"What a happy coincidence," agreed Mason.

Sydney wasn't so sure.

"We were actually making our way down to one of the Cafés. Care to join us?" Stephen offered.

Sydney would have elbowed him in the ribs if it wouldn't make her dismay so obvious to the others.

However, Pauline took the decision out of everyone's hands. "Mason, I have to get out of this insufferable heat. I'm so dehydrated," she whined.

"Why didn't you tell me they had arrived - all of them," whispered Sydney as they made their way towards the Café.

Grace threw her a confused look. "I did," she whispered back, "I texted you."

Sydney pulled her phone from her bag, glanced at it and groaned. Sure enough, there was a message from her cousin. However, as she had muted her phone earlier that day, she hadn't heard it.

"I thought that only Mason was arriving today?" she said trying not to be heard.

Grace shrugged, "Pauline came in earlier than expected so they decided to fly up together. Why is it such a big deal?"

"Oh, it's not," muttered Sydney, hoping to sound indifferent. "I was just wondering."

The two women, seeing they had fallen behind the group, rushed to catch up.

"And what do you do?" Mason asked Stephen after they had placed their orders. Pauline, insisting on carbonated water, ignored the majority of the group and split her attention between her phone and Ethan.

Stephen leaned back in his chair and gave the group his most disarming smile. "Amongst other things, I run my own boutique Literary Agency."

"Oh, so you and Sydney are in the same industry?" said Ethan.

From the corner of her eye, Sydney could see that Mason's sister wasn't thrilled with Ethan's attention being diverted away from her.

Stephen nodded. "Yes, we met when Sydney was doing some editing work for a agency I was at."

"Being small, I suppose you don't really get to represent real authors," piped in Mason's sister.

Sydney could hear Grace's sharp intake of breath at Pauline's barely disguised insult. Ready to pounce to her friend's defense, she was saved from throttling Mason's sister when Stephen cut her off.

"It all depends on your definition of real authors," smirked Stephen as he rattled off a few names that had hit the New York Times best seller list.

Pauline had the decency to look appropriately embarrassed at the high calibre stable of authors that Stephen's agency managed.

Sydney was grateful that her friend had skipped his largest client from the list he had reeled off. She made the mistake of glancing in Ethan's direction. He was looking directly at her as if attempting to make sense of something.

"So how does Sydney's employer feel about her relationship with you? Isn't that a conflict of interest?" Ethan's voice carried across the table. As his sunglasses had now been removed, she was very aware of his piercing grey eyes. Right now they were looking in her direction.

"Actually, since Stephen also represents my employer, there is no conflict," Sydney said, not once breaking eye contact with Ethan.

Pauline frowned, clearly not happy with the direction of the conversation. "And whom do you work for?"

Sydney didn't know whether to laugh or be insulted when Pauline was supplied the answer. Within a matter of a heartbeat, she began to monopolise Stephen's attention. It now appeared that Stephen had been raised a level in Pauline's estimation and was now worthy of conversing with.

To make matters worse, when their order arrived, Pauline had demanded, in the most polite of terms that she change places with Sydney. She complained that the sun was shining too brightly in her direction, and that her delicate complexion wasn't used to the harsh sun. And, as Sydney obviously didn't concern herself in that direction, wouldn't mind swapping.

Sydney held her temper in check. Rather than argue with the woman, she swapped chairs. The grateful expression from Grace was well worth her holding her tongue. However, this now put her directly next to Ethan.

"She is a bit of a handful," muttered Ethan as she sat. His voice had been so low she had almost missed it.

She snapped her head around to him, unused to not being at the end of an accusation from him. "Pardon?"

"Pauline," he said indicating Mason sister, who was now almost fawning over her friend, "she's been a bit indulged."

Sydney snorted. "A bit?"

The chuckle from beside her spread an uncomfortable warmth across her body. "Thanks for not making a scene. I know it was an effort not to put her in her place," he paused, "although, it would have been nice to see her react to your sharp tongue."

"And why would you care?" she asked, not sure if he had just insulted her or not.

Ethan glanced across at Mason and Grace, who were quietly talking together. "Because Mason is my friend. And I would hate to see his holiday ruined."

"But I thought that would work to your advantage," she quipped bitterly, "You could blame it on me, and your friend would have been protected from any plans I had to fleece him."

Ethan sent her a piercing look that she couldn't interpret. The air remained charged as they continued to lock gazes. Her expression defiant. His unreadable.

After what seemed like a lifetime she heard him exhale loudly. He reached for his coffee and stared at it before speaking. "I think your love for Grace exceeds any bad intentions you have towards Mason. I don't think you would jeopardise her happiness for your own design," he said honestly.

"Gee thanks for the vote of confidence," she snapped sarcastically.

Ethan raised an eyebrow and indicated towards Pauline, "However," he began, "I'm not sure about Pauline's design on your boyfriend."

Sydney was about to utter a denial as to their status when she stopped short. An uncomfortable feeling descended over her. Something wasn't right.

Why is he being so - nice?

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📎A/N. So why do you think Ethan all of a sudden is being civil?

... And isn't Pauline peachy ;-)

Next chapter out by the end of the weekend.

All comments and feedback welcome :-)

Till then take care and don't forget to vote.

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