My gut twisted at the thought.
To put it all out of my mind and stop myself from worrying,I started cleaning up the living room. Halfway through, my eyes fell upon something in the middle of a bookshelf lined with old books.
Sunshine and Smuggling: An Early History of Haven Beach.
Several books were written about our town, some better than others. I remembered thumbing through this one when I was a kid because it had a lot of historical photos of the town. It even had a section about the downtown area and early local businesses. I pulled the book off the shelf, made a pitcher of lemonade, and leisurely browsed the pages while lounging on the sofa.
By the time I heard Seb’s Bronco pulling into the driveway, I was knee-deep in a passage about downtown Haven Beach and was genuinely startled it was past noon. I rushed to grab sunglasses and my keys, and hopped to the door as I tugged on an old pair of flip-flops. When I swung the door open, Seb stood outside in shorts and a marina T-shirt, poised to knock.
“Hi there,” he said, face open and curious. His energy was high, and he anxiously tapped his fingers on the side of his leg. “Got my note about Benny’s?”
I pointed to my swimsuit strap and gave him a thumbs-up. “Ready when you are.”
“All right, then—” He started to turn around but his brow furrowed. “What’s going on with you?”
“Got a little disappointing news. I emailed my father’s real estate brokerage to try to schedule a time to meet with him and got a form email that basically told me to call the office if I needed an appointment.”
“Did you say who you were?”
I nodded. “Yep, identified myself as his former daughter. I don’t think anyone read it.”
“Ugh, sorry, Paige. I told you I’d help you track him down, and I meant it.”
“Appreciate that. I sent a second message, so I’ll wait for a response again, but yeah. Might take you up on that offer. Might need some moral support.”
“Absolutely. Count on me.”
“Thanks. Really mean that.”
“Of course.” He studied me again. “But there’s something else, isn’t there?”
“Is there?”
“Why do you look like a chipmunk with a secret? What’s that you got there?”
“Oh, you mean this... ?” I dramatically held up the local history book I’d been reading, barely able to contain my excitement. “I’ve just been reading up on a little place called Three Corners.”
He squinted. “What?”
“Downtown used to be called Three Corners in the late nineteenth century. It was ‘downtown’ by the time Wyrd Jack was in operation, but locals still called it ‘the Corners’ for decades.”
Seb’s eyes widened. “Well, shit. I didn’t know that.”
“Me either, but it’s a good direction for brainstorming about the locket clue, don’t you think?” Was I talking too fast? Out of nowhere, I suddenly felt self-conscious about our porch-swing conversation last night. Why had I asked him to stay here?Ugh.Now it felt like an invisible wall had been erected between us while I waited for his final answer. “Punkin inside or out? Or are you taking her to Benny’s? I fed her this morning, by the way.”
He frowned at his dog. “Punkin, you conned her into feeding you a second breakfast? Guess I can’t let you pass up a chance toswim in the river, so you’re coming with us. Everyone told me huskies hate water, but not this one, buddy.”
“I’m sorry! She begged me,” I argued, worried I might have made her sick, but Seb didn’t seem concerned.
“She’ll be bloated and gassy. Serves her right.” He directed her out to the Bronco, where she jumped in the back seat, after which the three of us promptly left for Benny’s.
For once, I was more than happy to listen to Seb’s gentle travel writer talk about hiking in Sweden during our drive across town. Seb and I briefly discussed what I’d found in the book, but I didn’t really have any more to share. The sun was warm, and the lake looked stunning, clear and blue. Hard to concentrate when the day was so pleasant. And then there was Seb himself, who gave me glances that I could practically feel on my skin.
But that was all he gave me.
He didn’t bring up the kiss, my offer for him to stay at the cottage, or the fact that we’d slept in each other’s arms the night before.
To be fair, I suppose he’d mentioned it in that note he left on the fridge. But I guess... that was that? I certainly wasn’t going to bring it up and come off as needy. So I just pretended everything was normal and tried to ignore the mild anxiety that was lurking in the pit of my stomach.
