He slid open the door, stepped inside, and picked up the dog. “Sadie?Where’s your mommy, huh?” He called her name again, but she didn’t answer. Her car was in the drive, so she must’ve gone for a jog on the beach, though he couldn’t imagine her doing so in this heat and humidity.
He could use a shower anyway. He set Rio down and slipped out the door. He heard music as he neared his apartment.Frowning, he slipped inside. But the sight that met his eyes stopped him in his tracks.
Sadie danced in his dining room to an upbeat tune blaring from the phone in her pocket. She gave a little shimmy and continued the verse of “I Gotta Feeling.”
He watched as she grabbed a wheeled chair and took it for a turn around the table, conga-line style.
His lips twitched.
Right leg. Left leg. She snapped her head to the side with each little kick, doing it up real good. When she’d made a complete turn around the table, she chugged down the hall toward the foyer. Hit the floor plant in her path. “I’m so sorry!”
A laugh bubbled up. He covered his mouth.
But even as his amusement mounted, something equally pleasant but more serious swelled inside him. Sadie was wonderful. She delighted him like no one else. She was spontaneous and spirited. Kind and giving. Over the weekend his entire family had fallen in love with her. How could they help it?
She made a U-turn at the front door. His heart softened as he watched her. Had he fallen for her too? If the feelings welling up inside were any indication, he was well on his way to love.
Sadie headed back toward the living room, still in fine conga form, singing at the top of her lungs. “Aaaaah!” Her hand flew to her chest. The chair skated toward him. “Sam! Oh my gosh—you scared me to death! What are you doing home so early?” She silenced the music. Cut him a sheepish look. “And, uh, how long have you been standing there exactly?”
He chuckled. “Long enough.” He strode toward her, pushing the chair from his path. “May I cut in?”
She gave a mock scowl. “Very funny.”
When he reached her he wrapped his arms around her and gazed into her beautiful eyes, those feelings still surging through his veins like a drug. She was breathless from her passionate promenade around his house. The memory of it made him smile.
“What? Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Because you’re very cute.” He kissed her nose. “I take it by the, ah,celebrationthat you got your hundred pages done.”
A sweet blush filled her cheeks. “I was just printing them off.”
Only now did he notice the machine’s sounds. “And dancing around my house like a maniac.”
She pointed at him. “Acutemaniac.”
“A very cute maniac.”
She palmed his face and pressed her lips to his. “What are you doing home so early? Not that I’m complaining.”
Oh, that. He’d almost forgotten. He put a few inches between them and pinned her with a look. “I got a phone call. Sadie, you’re never gonna believe this.”
Her eyes lit. “What? Is it about the book? Did you find the owner?”
“As a matter of fact, I did. I got a call from the former tenant of that apartment—his name’s Michael.”
She beamed. “Was he relieved we found his ring? Has he proposed yet? Is he coming over to get it? Oh, tell me his proposal wasn’t ruined!”
He chuckled. “I will if you ever give me the chance.”
She poked his shoulder.
“First of all, Michael is not the ring’s owner.”
Her face fell. “What?”
“He was hired to make the secret compartment in the book.The ring’s owner wanted to keep the gift out of sight and asked Michael to hold on to it for him until the big day.”
“Then who’s the owner?”
