June blinked. “Oh, wow.”
“That,” Holt said dryly, “was more or less my reaction as well. Especially when I learned it was thought to have been the work of a cat burglar.”
“A cat burglar?” June spluttered, her eyes even wider in amazement. “Oh, wow. No way!”
“You sound just like my son.” Holt snorted at her reaction. “They are not something to romanticize.”
“It is quite cool, though,” June said before she could stop herself.
Holt gave her a pained look and rolled his eyes.
She grinned despite the seriousness of the subject.
“Oh, come on. How intriguing is that? A real cat burglar in Sandpiper Shores? You’d love to catch a cat burglar,” June taunted.
“I love catching criminals,” Holt reminded her. “It’s kind of my job, and the last time I looked, cat burglars were criminals. So yeah, of course I’d love to catch one.”
“You’re just no fun.” June sighed and shook her head at him. “I bet Rad said he’d love to find a cat burglar.”
“Yup. And reacted pretty much the same as you are right now.” He chuckled before reluctantly admitting. “All right. I suppose it is a little unusual and would be a unique case.”
“I knew it!” June smiled into her wine.
Then his expression grew serious again.
“But seriously, back to the jewels,” Holt continued the story from his mother. “The FBI became involved because they’d heard through a source that a few families in Sandpiper Shores were about to be targeted. There was black-market demand for rare diamonds at the time, and my family’s set was on the list. So they decided to use it as bait to catch whoever was behind the thefts. My mother and Uncle Abe agreed to help.”
June felt herself leaning in farther now, her fingers accidentally brushing his. She quickly pulled back a little.
“Sorry,” she said hastily.
Holt didn’t say anything, nor did he move. June suddenly became aware of how close they were. Their glasses near each other. The familiar angle of their bodies as they leaned in to talk. It was exactly the way they had once sat over shared meals, private jokes, and long conversations when they were married and in love.
In love.
The thought hit her so suddenly and so hard that her heart seemed to slam against her ribs.
Her eyes met Holt’s.
For one dangerous second, the whole room blurred.
Oh, no! June’s mind reeled. She had developed feelings for Holt again. She swallowed as a voice at the back of her mind whispered,No, you never stopped loving him.
The realization was so stark, so complete, that it felt less like learning something new and more like finally opening a door she’d been bracing shut for years.
Panic fluttered through her chest.
June sat back too quickly and grabbed her wine, taking a larger sip than she intended. The movement made her feel clumsy, obvious, and exposed.
“Please continue,” June said, and heard the slight hoarseness at the end of her own voice.
Holt watched her for one unreadable beat, then went on.
“The FBI had a replacement of the jewelry set made. A very good one. It was still worth a great deal of money, and was heavily insured; it had to be able to pass as real.”
“Which obviously worked as the thief took the bait,” June murmured. “Because they stole the entire set.”
“Yes.” Holt’s voice changed as he said it, darkening with old feeling. “It was during the last days when Carly had been brought back to Sandpiper Shores to be made comfortable.”
