“How am I hard again?” he mused. “This is ridiculous. I think I’ve got friction burns.”
He wasn’t the only one. We resisted the urge to touch each other, and both crawled out of bed like we were ninety years old and had drunk an entire bottle of Scotch the night before. I ran a hot bath, and we both sank into it with a sigh of pleasure, hurting too much to do anything but lounge against each other and bathe.
We waited until the last possible moment to leave. I threw on a sundress that I’d worn to several minor events at Harvard, and Seb wore khakis and a nice short-sleeve button up. Not having time for coffee, we downed two energy drinks, and drove like demons to the marina, where the Neelys’ personal parking spaces were filled with a couple of cars I didn’t recognize and Benny’s Land Rover.
“Last people here,” I bemoaned as we walked up the steps to the Neelys’ front door.
“Last in, first out,” he quipped, flashing me dimples. “Let’s getthis over with so we can get back to defiling the cottage. I’m starting to get my mojo back.”
“Keep that mojo in your pants during brunch,” I said, smiling back at him as I knocked on the door.
It opened almost immediately. I tilted my head back and looked up into Benny’s sad eyes.
“Hi.” He kissed me on the cheek in greeting.
“Hi,” I answered, kissing him back. “How are you?”
His eyes flicked from my face to Seb’s. “Not as good as the two of you, I’d wager.”
I gritted my teeth, embarrassed. But Seb slung an arm around my shoulders. “You’d wager right, my friend. I know it’s hard, but try to be happy for us.”
Benny snorted. “I’ll do my best. Did you get my text this morning?”
“Got it, but only saw it when we were on our way here, sorry,” Seb said, looking around him through the doorway to make sure we were alone. Laughter and music floated through from somewhere inside. “Were you saying what I thought you were saying?”
He nodded and pulled out his phone, and we circled around it, staring at a map of Haven Beach. A red blinking circle marked some place outside of town.
“That’s Paul,” Benny explained. “It was pure luck that I spotted that shitty Jeep of his parked at Bean’s last night. I bought the tracker last year to help with a project for class—it doesn’t matter. I sped back home and got it. Thought I’d never make it back before he left, but I got the tracker on his car just in time. He didn’t see me.”
I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. “Wait. You’ve put a tracker on Paul’s car? You can see where he goes?”
“All day, all night,” he confirmed.
“Holy shit, B,” Seb said, grinning from ear to ear. “You fucking legend, you!”
Benny pocketed his phone. “May not lead us to where he’s stashed the rings. He might’ve already handed them over to Big Burg. But it won’t hurt to keep track of him. I’m building a script to analyze his movements, but it’s going to take a little time to collect enough data. At least he won’t be able to surprise us again.”
Jazmine’s curls appeared behind Benny’s shoulders. “Did you show them the tracker? If we wanted, we could wait until he’s parked somewhere and set his fucking Jeep on fire like he threatened to do to us.”
“No car fires,” I said. “We’re not maniacs. We’re smarter. Just keeping tabs on his comings and goings is the best idea any of us have had so far.”
“Fine,” Jazmine said, pouting. Then she looked at me and Seb. “Mother of God. You two look like you’ve just been involved in a hostage trade.”
My cheeks heated, but Seb just smiled.
“New rule. Don’t show up at Heron Cottage unannounced ever again unless you want to see things you’ve only dreamed about.”
“You smug little bastard,” Benny said.
“My friend, you havenoidea—”
I covered Seb’s mouth with my hand. “Just get inside, for the love of God. This isn’t brunch conversation.”
He was all smiles as we headed through the doorway, laughing. Jazmine hugged me from the side as we walked into the entry hall. I inhaled good-food smells that instantly made me glad we’d come.
“Are you okay?” I whispered.
“Managing,” she answered as we headed into the kitchen and dining area. “Now you’re about to have to do the same with your boy. I’m sorry. I just found out when they walked in a few minutes ago.”
