Reese chuckled. “I have no doubt that they are. Would you like a demonstration?”
“No,” she said quickly. Cherie was helpless to stop the wave of embarrassment wash over her as a flush suffused her face. “Perhaps another time.” Reese must have sensed her uneasiness when he pushed to his feet.
“I need you to do one more thing for me before I can leave you in peace.”
She stood and stared up at him. Standing in sock-covered feet put the top of her head at his shoulders. She stood at five-three and Reese had to be at least a foot taller. “What is it?”
“Walk me to the door, and don’t forget to lock it behind me.”
“Okay.” She walked to the door. “Thank you for everything.”
He stared at her under lowered lids. “Just doing my job.”
Cherie nodded. Reese was doing his job, yet he’d hinted about going above and beyond those duties when he’d offered friendship. And she wondered if it was something he usually proposed to women he met. She remembered the woman staring adoringly up at him the day she drove to Shelby.
Forget him, Cherie. You’re only drawn to him because you’re undergoing a sexual drought.She wanted to dismiss the voice in her head, yet knew that wasn’t possible. Despite the deputy’s overall attractiveness, she knew it would be a mistake to get involved with Reese solely because he’d rescued her from a madman. After all, it was his duty to protect and serve.
Reese opened the door and stepped out onto the porch. “Close and lock it, Cherie.”
She did, shutting out his image, and it wasn’t until she heard the fading sound of his vehicle’s engine that she was able to draw a normal breath and the pent-up tension slowly left her body.
Everything about Reese Matthews was delicious and lethal, like the mimosas she’d drunk earlier that morning. She had to be careful, very careful, because whenever she overindulged, the wall she’d erected to keep everyone at a distance could be easily breached and she might divulge her innermost secrets.
Cherie climbed the staircase to the second story to let Leah and Kayana know that Reese was gone. She found them in the guest bedroom. Leah sat on the cushioned bench seat at the foot of the queen-size bed, and Kayana had selected the armchair in the room’s sitting corner. Cherie walked in and sat next to Leah.
“The interview is over.”
Kayana stared at her. “Are you certain you’re okay?”
Cherie’s eyebrows lifted questioningly. “Yes. Why are you asking?”
“I just hope Reese wasn’t too hard on you.”
A smile parted Cherie’s lips. “He wasn’t hard at all. In fact, he was quite easy with me.”
“That’s because he likes you,” Leah quipped.
Shifting slightly, she met Leah’s eyes. “What are you talking about?”
Leah patted Cherie’s back. “Remember when you used to tease me about gawking at Derrick? Well, it’s no different with Reese. I’m certain he tried to hide it behind a façade of professionalism, but I’m here to tell you that he failed miserably.”
Waving a hand, signaling dismissiveness, Cherie shook her head. “You’re mistaken.”
“You’re in denial,” Kayana said, smiling. “You’re in as much denial as I was when Derrick mentioned Graeme was interested in me. I’d told him he was crazy, but in the end, I had to admit that my brother was right.”
“Well, both of you are wrong about me and the deputy. Besides, I’m not interested in becoming involved with someone.”Even if he’s sexy as hell, she thought.
“That’s what I said after I divorced James,” Kayana countered. “Sometimes the head refuses to listen to the heart. But there was something about Graeme that was able to shatter the wall I’d put up to keep a man from getting close to me. Everything about him was subtle, unlike some men who’d come onto me like a dog in heat. It even took a while before we slept together.”
Cherie smothered a giggle. “A while, Kayana? You married the man six months after your first date.”
“That’s because we’re not kids, Cherie. Both of us are middle-aged, and there are more years behind us than ahead. We don’t have children, so there’s nothing stopping us from doing whatever we want. And the fact that Graeme is a very wealthy man means he doesn’t need my money.”
Cherie winced when Kayana mentioned that her husband was very wealthy; it was a reminder of what she’d always wanted: to be married to a wealthy man. However, the route she’d taken to secure one had backfired. “I know you have something to add, Leah.”
Leah clasped her hands together. “Now, you know Mama has to dole out advice to our young book club buddy and newest resident of Coates Island. Kayana was lucky to have married two men who didn’t have to work a couple of jobs to make ends meet. It was different with me because my family existed at the poverty line, or at times below it. And at no time growing up was I looking for a man to change my lifestyle. That was something I’d planned to do on my own, and that was only possible with a college degree. The degree would give me greater earning power, and in turn, I could help support my parents. And I had no idea who Alan Kent was before I met him.”
“You slept with the man who got you pregnant and you didn’t know who he was?” Cherie asked, her tone filled with skepticism.
