He left Charlie with Dad and went into the kitchen.
Riley seemed to be at home, getting the coffee cups out of the cabinet and checking the fridge for milk.
Josh slid into a chair at the round wooden table in the middle of the kitchen. Dad’s house wasn’t fancy with stainless-steel appliances or marble counters. They liked the older look of the black-and-white-checkered floor and old-style fridge from the 1950s. The only modern item in the kitchen was the coffeepot.
Riley filled two cups then brought them over to the table.
Josh watched in quiet fascination as she also gathered up the milk, sugar, and spoons before she sat down. He sifted through all his memories of women he’d dated, and he could count them on one hand. Besides Marybeth, there was a woman named Eve who’d only lasted a week before he’d shipped out for SEAL training. Josh wasn’t a hermit, but he hadn’t wanted to bring anyone into his life while he was on mission after mission. He’d seen one too many of his military brothers go home in body bags. It was bad enough that Mom had worried about him.
“I hope you don’t mind that I made myself at home.” Riley’s tone was quiet, and so was the house, which gave Josh ample hearing. It helped that she was close to him too.
“For a woman who was apprehensive about staying here, I got to say, you sure settled in quickly. Not that I’m complaining.”
She giggled, a sound that did things to him he was desperate to pursue. “Honestly, I didn’t want to impose. My brother, Ross, might be mad that I did take you up on your offer.” She dumped two big spoonfuls of sugar into her coffee along with a ton of milk. “Actually, he wouldn’t. He knows you’re ex-military and a SEAL, so he would be in awe.”
It was Josh’s turn to laugh.
“Ross wanted to be a SEAL.”
Josh wanted to say there was nothing special about the job, but he would have been lying. He loved being on missions—the adrenaline rushes, the camaraderie.
Charlie came in and sat next to him.
Riley took a sip of her coffee. “Thank you for letting me stay here. As soon as the sun comes up, I’m going to go into San Fran and meet Liza at her office.”
Josh studied her lips. They were calling his name.
She waved her fingers in front of him. “Did you hear me? Or is my tone too low?”
She was sitting on Josh’s good side. “I did hear you. But just so you know, as long as you’re close to me and on my right, I can hear you. I can also read lips.”Or you can whisper in my right ear or, better yet, nibble on it.
“Your dad shouted earlier, so I wasn’t sure.”
Josh gulped down a good amount of coffee. “It depends on the background noises. Liza told me she was coming here tomorrow. Did you talk to her? Did plans change?” He didn’t want Riley to leave. In fact, he was tempted to steal her away from Liza while she was in town.
She shook her head. “We chatted while you were checking on rooms. She told me the same, but I was thinking I would surprise her.”
Liza had said to take care of Riley, which gave Josh an idea. “Why don’t I drive you in? The city can be quite intimidating with rush hour, especially on a Friday.”
She studied him. “You know I live in Boston, where traffic stinks too.”
“Yeah, but Liza would have my hide if anything happened to you. Besides, you’re a guest in our neck of the woods.”
The inn would be fine with Drake, and Josh had increased the shifts for Friday and Saturday. He also wanted to check on Liza. She’d seemed off when he’d spoken to her on the phone.
“If it’s not too much trouble,” Riley said with a hitch in her voice.
“Then it’s a date.” Maybe he could get to know Riley more, like Dad had suggested.
She blushed at the statement.
Josh took that as a good sign.
