“Okay, shoot.”
“You lost your wife at such a young age.I know it must have been hard in the beginning, but didn’t you ever think of getting married again?”
Dan smiled warmly.“I only had two wonderful years with Annie.You know, we eloped after knowing each other for only a few weeks.”Grace smiled and nodded.“And you’re right, it was very tough at first—I thought we’d grow old together, but fate threw us a nasty curveball.Thankfully, I had family and friends who made sure I didn’t bury myself right along with her.I was still in my late twenties then.Before she died, Annie made me promise that someday I’d date again.”
Leaning against the counter, Grace raised her brow.“And did you?”
He shrugged, fiddling with a display of fishing lures he kept in stock for the local anglers.“Here and there, starting a few years after I lost her.I just never found anyone special.Why do you ask?”
“I don’t know—just curious, I guess.”She was suddenly hesitant to ask about his and Bonnie’s relationship, so she changed the direction of her questioning.“When you first met Annie, when did you know she was ‘the one,’ and how?”
“Now that’s easy.”His face lit up.“The moment I saw her face the day we met, I knew.Not sure how I knew, but it was almost like my guardian angel was sitting on my shoulder saying, ‘That’s your future wife, in case you were wondering.’”
Grace laughed.“Really?”
“Really.Now, who’s caught those pretty, hazel eyes of yours, hmm?”
“Nobody!”But she answered too fast and too vehemently to convince the old man, and he just raised his eyebrows at her.She felt her cheeks redden.“That obvious, huh?”
Dan nodded and tilted his head.“It wouldn’t happen to be my nephew by chance?”
She didn’t even have to ask which nephew he was referring to.“At first, I just thought it was my teenage crush coming back…”
“But you’re no longer a teenager,” he finished for her.
“Exactly.Please don’t say anything to Sean… or Aunt Bonnie, for that matter.I’m not sure what’s going on between us just yet.I mean, we’ve had a good time this past week, but it’s not like we’re dating.”
“Well, I won’t say anything to Sean, but your aunt already figured out something was going on between the two of you,” Dan informed her.When Grace’s eyes widened at his statement, he laughed.“Come on, we might be old, but we’re not blind.”
Grace chuckled.“No, I guess you’re not.”She gave him another peck on the cheek.“And the two of you are not old, just much wiser than the rest of us.”
By the time Sean and Suki arrived a little after five thirty, Grace already had the grill warmed up and three potatoes wrapped in foil cooking on it.As the profiler was in her bedroom changing out of her business attire, Sean stood in the kitchen with Grace.She loved how he looked in his suit with his tie loosened and the top button on his shirt undone.Leaning against the counter next to her, he looked like a male model on the cover ofGQmagazine.With those bedroom eyes, the dimple on his left cheek, and those oh-so-kissable lips, ladies of the world, eat your hearts out!
“Thanks for going to the store for me,” he said, stealing a slice of cucumber from the cutting board in front of her and popping it into his mouth.
She smiled and continued to cut the vegetables she’d bought for a salad.“No problem.I had plenty of time to do it—you would have been in a rush.”
He hesitated momentarily, then put his arm around Grace’s waist, pulling her closer.When she didn’t resist, he lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers.The electricity between them sparked to life again, only this time it was stronger and not a surprise like their first kiss.This time they both knew it was coming and craved it.Grace dropped the knife she was using to cut tomatoes and ran her flat palms up Sean’s chest and shoulders.God, how she loved the feel of him!
Grace felt her body start to hum from head to toe and everywhere in between.She’d been hoping for a chance to kiss him again, and here it was.He tasted sweet, like the pinot grigio he had sipped, but with something else that was all Sean.He probed her lips with his tongue, silently begging her to open them and allow him access to her mouth.Grace was just about to do that when they heard, “Whoops, don’t mind me.”
They jumped apart at the sound of Suki’s voice.She laughed and walked over to where the wine and a clean glass awaited her.“I said, ‘Don’t mind me.’Feel free to continue.I’m just grabbing a glass of wine and going into the living room.You two lovebirds just forget I’m here.”
Blushing, Sean and Grace looked at each other and chuckled.They’d both forgotten there was someone else in the house, and if they hadn’t been interrupted, things might have heated up very quickly.
Sean leaned forward and gave her a swift kiss on the lips.“I’m going to take a quick shower and change.Be right back.”
“I’ll be here,” she responded with a sexy grin.
Grace finished the salad and heated some broccoli as Suki set the table.The large flat-screen TV above the fireplace was on channel four, and the evening news would start in about fifteen minutes.
“You know, Sean is really smitten with you,” Suki said while she gathered up silverware from one of the kitchen drawers.
“The feeling is mutual.”Her blush returned at the admission.
“I’ve known him a while and have never seen him this taken with a woman.I’m happy for both of you, but I’m also a little protective of him, so if you break his heart, I’ll have to break your legs.”
Grace’s head whipped up to look at the other woman.She relaxed when she realized Suki was grinning.
