Bonnie gave a small wave across the room to one of her regular customers before returning her attention to her dinner companion.“Are you all right, Gracie?You’re awfully quiet, and you’ve barely touched your dinner.”
She stopped moving her penne ala vodka around the plate and sighed.“I’m fine, Aunt Bonnie.Guess I wasn’t that hungry after all.”
She couldn’t tell her aunt she was upset because the night after he’d kissed the stuffing out of her, she saw Sean out on a date with another woman.It felt like Mary Jo Schreiber and the prom all over again—only worse.“I’ll take it home for lunch tomorrow.”
Bonnie was a smart cookie.She knew something was bothering her niece, but Grace could be as stubborn as a mule.The older woman would wait until Grace was willing to open up about it.Instead of pushing her to talk, Bonnie waved down their waitress and requested a container of the cook’s delicious chicken and rice soup to go.
Grace drove Bonnie back to Main Street, where she would deliver the soup to Dan’s apartment, above his hardware store, before going home.After making sure her aunt got inside okay, Grace steered her car west.As she passed Sassy’s, she slowed the vehicle down, looking for Sean’s Mustang.She didn’t know if she was disappointed or not when she didn’t see it.
Shaking her head, she told herself it shouldn’t bother her that he was out with another woman.They’d shared a few meals together since they’d both returned to Whisper, but those hadn’t actually been dates—just spur of the moment get-togethers.It wasn’t as if she had any claim on the man.The kiss they’d shared had obviously meant more to her than it did him.
Well, she wasn’t the type of woman who liked to share.If Sean wanted to date other women, that was his choice, but Grace wouldn’t sit around waiting for him.Once her business was up and running, she would find a way to meet new people.For now, she’d have to be content with the few she knew in the area.
“Maybe tomorrow I’ll go to the shelter and adopt a kitten.At least that would be something I could cuddle up with,” she said out loud, trying to convince herself that would be enough.
Entering her silent condo finalized her decision.She was going to get a cat.She’d had one when she was little and missed having a furry companion to come home to—someone, or in this case, something to talk to at night when she was alone.
Turning on the lights, she dropped her bag, hung up her coat, and slid her shoes off.The remaining portion of her dinner went into the refrigerator, and then she strode to her bedroom to put on her pajamas.After getting comfortable on the couch, with a few magazines Bonnie had given her, she turned on the television and waited for the ten o’clock news to come on.
Sean showed Suki to her bedroom in the beach house, then went into his own room to change out of his suit as she got herself situated.A few minutes later, he walked out to the living room and glanced at his watch.It was a quarter to ten, but he knew they would be up for a few more hours going through the case reports.
He’d already read the printouts from Philadelphia but would do it again to see if he’d missed anything.Plopping down on the couch, he wondered if it was too late to call Grace.They would have been home earlier, but he’d forgotten to bring his laptop, and they’d returned to the station, where it was locked in the conference room.
Standing, he grabbed his cell phone from the dining table and found Grace’s number in his contacts.She’d given it to him the night before as they sat on the couch talking.Leaning against the door jamb between the living room and kitchen, he pressed send and hoped he wasn’t about to wake her up.It rang a few times before going to voicemail, and he disconnected the call before leaving a message because he wasn’t sure what he wanted to say.
“Got a girlfriend you haven’t told me about?”Suki teased as she walked into the room wearing a T-shirt and sweatpants.She strode over to the porch door where she’d left her briefcase on the floor when they first entered the cottage.Grabbing the leather handles, she carried it to the loveseat, which faced the windows overlooking the ocean, and sat down.
Sean shrugged and tossed his phone on the couch.“To tell you the truth, I’m not sure.”
“Want to talk about it?”Sean had mentioned Grace several times over dinner, and it was obvious to Suki the woman had caught his interest.
“No, thanks.”He honestly didn’t because he wouldn’t know where to start, so he changed the subject.“We’re going to be up for a while, aren’t we?”
“I know I am, why?”
Sean smiled and rubbed his hands together.“I’ve been looking for an excuse to start a fire in the fireplace.What do you say?”He pointed at the stack of dry wood set neatly to the right of the brick hearth.Although the days had been warm, the nights were still chilly, especially on the beach.
“Great.I’d love it.”She stood and stepped toward the kitchen.“You wouldn’t happen to have some hot chocolate in here, would you?Can’t have a fire without some cocoa.”
“Look in the cabinet next to the fridge.”He began putting some logs and crumpled newspaper into the fireplace.“There should be some for the Keurig machine.Make mine a cappuccino, please.”
“Sure thing.By the way,” she said, turning around to face him from the doorway, “you never told me you were working with a bunch of hunky guys on this.You could have warned me, you know.”
Sean rolled his eyes.“Sorry, but checking out guys for you is not my thing.”He paused and peered at her over his shoulder.“Which one caught your eye?”He didn’t really want to know, but curiosity got the best of him.
“I’m not sure yet, but when I figure it out, you’ll be the second one to know.”Suki raised her eyebrows several times in rapid succession and chuckled.“Maybe the third.”
Sean laughed and shook his head at the profiler—she was a hoot.Ten minutes later, the fire was roaring, and they were sipping their drinks.Both were immersed in their individual files—Sean on the sofa, Suki on the loveseat.She continued to make notes on her pad, and Sean knew her well enough not to interrupt her as she created the profile.He’d have to wait until morning and hear her analysis along with everyone else.
Around midnight, his eyes were blurry and watery from so much reading.Standing, he shuffled over to the hearth and secured a metal cover to the front of the fireplace.The fire had faded down to glowing embers because he’d been too engrossed in his reading to stoke it.
He sat back down and stretched out, leaning his head on the back of the couch, thinking of Grace.He wanted to ask her out on an official date since they hadn’t been on one yet.Maybe he should talk to Uncle Dan and see if he thought it was a good idea.Sean hadn’t asked the older man for advice on women since he was a teenager, but Grace was special.It was something he felt in his gut.The woman wasdamnspecial.
Closing his eyes, he thought about those wicked, hazel eyes and her blonde hair.He loved it when she took down her ponytail as she had the night before.Her hair was long and straight, making him want to wrap it around his hand and wrist and pull her to him.She had been dressed in jeans or sweats the few times he had seen her, and he wondered what they were hiding.If he invited her to the Cranberry Inn, maybe she’d wear a dress or a skirt.He’d bet everything he owned her legs were fucking knockouts.
His mind wandered as he imagined those legs wrapped around him as he entered her, kissing and nuzzling her neck and shoulders as he eased himself further into her hot, wet pussy.He could almost feel the weight of her breasts as he kneaded them with his hands—her skin silky and soft.God, she was fucking beautiful.He heard her murmur in his ear, “Hey, hot stuff, wake up.”
Huh?Something wasn’t right.Cracking his eyes open, he found himself lying on his side on the couch, a blanket over the lower half of his body, and Suki standing over him, drinking a cup of coffee.She was dressed in a brown suit with a pale blue blouse.“Wake up, sleepyhead, it’s almost seven.”
