“Great plan, only I have no idea where they’re stashed.”
“Can’t you call someone on your staff?” I asked.
“Everyone is off duty at this house since I insisted they clock out at dinner time. The only reason chef remained a bit later was because I made a special request for our feast.”
“Well, if I were to guess, most likely there’s candles or something in your kitchen.” Just as I spoke, his phone died and the gloom returned with a vengeance.
“Kitchen sounds like a good place to start.” I heard a rustle of movement. “I’d say follow me, but I can’t see a damned thing.”
Lightning illuminated the room in a brief flash, showing he stood but two paces from me. I shuffled forward, hands outstretched, until I touched him. Not his arm as I’d planned, but his abdomen—his rock-hard belly.
Good thing he couldn’t see my heating cheeks in the dark. “Um, how about we hold on to each other and see if we can’t stumble our way in the right direction?”
“And hopefully avoid any walls,” he said as his hand wrapped around mine.
I let him lead, one because he knew the house, two because better his toes or nose getting smashed into a wall than mine, and three, my flustered ass was overreacting to our linked fingers. What was it about this man that had my libido awakening, and more disturbing, demanding I feed it?
“I think we’re in the dining room,” Jameson murmured as he tugged me left, likely to skirt the table and chairs.
Thump. Rattle.
“Guess I’m not as close to the wall as I thought,” his sheepish explanation.
“Put your hand on the table and we can follow it around,” I suggested.
“Beautiful and smart.”
Wait, he thought my grungy ass beautiful?
We moved more quickly with my trick, leaving me little time to process his claim. Most likely he said it because I’d called him handsome.
“We’re going through the swinging door. I’ll hold it so it doesn’t hit you.”
How chivalrous, a thought that almost had me giggling for a second time. What was wrong with me?
“Okay, we’re in the kitchen,” he announced. “Where do you suggest we start? Island? Upper cupboards? Lower?”
“Pantry, actually. It’s where Lulu kept ours.”
“Pantry, that would be to our left.” He guided us in the dark, and I knew we’d entered the walk-in storage space by the fact it somehow got even darker.
“I don’t suppose you’ve ever seen the inside of your pantry?” I asked as I began groping the nearest shelf.
“Yes, but I didn’t exactly memorize its contents. I was looking for snacks.”
“Most likely the commonly used goods are on the easiest to access shelves. Since candles are rarely needed, they might have been stored on a top shelf.”
“Is that where your grandmother kept them?”
“Yup. Since you’re tall, you check it out while I see if they didn’t tuck them on the bottom.”
I crouched and reached, pursing my lips as I tried to guess what I touched. Jug that I’d guess held oil. A tall paper bag of flour. Mesh one of rice. Before I could explore some more, Jameson exclaimed, “Aha!”
“You found candles.”
“Not exactly, but I think this will be even better.”
Click.
