14
Outside Jennifer’s office building, Matt turned toward his car, but Emma caught his hand.
“Can we go for a walk?” she asked. “I need to clear my head.”
“Sure,” he said at once, worried about her pallor and the lost, desperate look in her eyes. “Anyplace in particular you want to go?”
“Around the lake,” she suggested.
Matt hesitated, wondering if she truly wanted to walk all the way around the lake to the spot where her father’s body had been discovered. As if she’d suddenly realized what she was suggesting, she lifted her gaze to capture his.
“Just halfway,” she said, indicating her awareness that reaching the north end would not improve her mood.
Matt nodded. “Sounds good to me,” he said, shortening his stride so that she could match it.
She didn’t say a word until they’d walked the two blocks to the lake and then started around the south end, where there were hot dog and ice cream vendors and rowboat rentals. Her eyes lit up when she spotted the boats.
Looking more lighthearted than she had in weeks, she gestured toward the boats. “How about it? Are you game?”
“You and me out on the lake just before sunset?” he said. “What’s not to like?”
She grinned. “I’ll get the ice cream.”
Matt paid for the rental, then watched as Emma came back with two cones, trying desperately to keep up with the melting ice cream on both of them.
“Here,” she said, shoving one in his direction. “It’s getting all over me.”
He grinned. “I could help with the cleanup.”
She shot a scolding look in his direction. “I think I can manage. That’s what napkins are for.”
“My way’s more fun,” he teased, earning a blush.
“Are we going out on the lake or not?”
He gestured toward the boat. “After you.” He helped her step into the boat and get settled, then sat across from her.
“We’re not going anywhere,” she pointed out.
He held up his ice cream. “I only have one hand. Unless you intend to help with the rowing, we have to wait.”
“I can help,” she said, reaching for an oar. “Try to keep up, so we don’t go around in circles.”
Matt laughed. “As if I’ll be the problem,” he scoffed.
They set off across the lake, their strokes working nicely in tandem. He considered it a good sign.
Eventually Emma handed him her oar. “You take over,” she said, turning her face up to the warm, fading sun and closing her eyes.
Matt took the oar, but let the boat drift, unable to take his gaze off of her. She was without question the most beautiful woman he’d ever known, even more so because she was so totally unaware of it. Though she was far too pale, the sun had managed to put a hint of pink into her cheeks and brought out the fiery highlights in her dark hair.
“Matt,” she murmured eventually.
“Hmm?”
“We’re not going anywhere.”
He’d had the same sense for weeks now, but that wasn’t what she was talking about. He decided to pretend it was. “Where do you see us going?” he asked quietly.
Her eyes snapped open. “Us?”
He grinned at her reaction. “You know, you and me.”
“Is there an us?”
“That’s what I’m asking you,” he said. “I’d like there to be. I’d like to have the right to pull you into my arms right now and kiss you till your head spins, to take you home with me and make love to you till dawn.”
Her eyes widened and the muscles in her throat worked. “You would?” she asked with a catch in her voice.
“That can’t be a huge surprise.”
“No,” she agreed. “It’s not a huge surprise. You saying it, though, is something of a shocker.”
“Years ago you intimidated the daylights out of me, or should I say your father did,” he said wryly. “Now that we’re all grown-up, I’ve decided it’s time to stop being the strong, silent type. Something tells me this could be my last chance. Once you go back to D.C., I might never get another one unless I come chasing after you.”
“I see.” She regarded him with a worried expression. “Matt, I don’t know what to say.”
“I guess that’s an answer in itself,” he said, fighting to hide his disappointment. He hadn’t really expected her to fall straight into his arms, but he’d hoped for more than speechlessness. He knew the feelings were there. He also knew she didn’t want to acknowledge them, that she did want to go back to Washington and that she most likely did not want him chasing after her.
She reached for his hand and rubbed her thumb over his knuckles. Matt’s body responded as if her touch had been far more intimate.
“I don’t want you to misunderstand. My life is in such a state of turmoil right now, you know that,” she explained. “What if we make a mistake? We could lose something really precious, our friendship.”
“What if it’s not a mistake?” he asked reasonably. “Then we’d lose something even more amazing, because we never even tried.” He risked a look directly into her eyes. “Unless you’re just not interested in me that way.”
Her gaze held his and he knew at once that that was the last thing he needed to worry about. Desire smoldered in her eyes, right along with uncertainty. He could capitalize on the desire and in all likelihood there would be no regrets, but it was the uncertainty that stopped him.
“Sorry,” he told her sincerely. “My timing sucks.”
She smiled sadly. “On the one hand, your timing does suck,” she agreed. “On the other, it couldn’t be better. When we came out here, I felt completely lost and alone.” Her eyes locked with his. “And now I don’t.”
“Then I’m glad I said something.”
“So am I.”
“The offer’s good anytime,” he told her. “I live to cheer you up.”
She laughed, just as he’d intended, and the tension lifted.
“Something tells me that sleeping with you would go a bit further than merely cheering me up,” she said.
“I certainly hope so.”
“Will you settle for dinner tonight?”
“Being with you is never settling,” he told her honestly. “And if you play your cards right, I’ll even help with the dishes.”
“Help?” she said. “Forget that. You’ll do the dishes.”
“Anything to keep that smile on your face.”
She gave him a wicked grin. “Then try stealing a kiss over dessert.”
“Now that would definitely be my pleasure.”
Rosa sat back and listened to Matt and Emma bickering as they prepared dinner, saw the color bloom in her daughter’s cheeks, and caught the way Matt managed to touch her every chance he got. So that’s the way it was, she thought, feeling a little wistful as she remembered when she and Don had been the same way.
“You know, you two would get a lot more work done, if you’d cooperate,” she advised them finally.
Two pairs of startled eyes turned to her, almost as if they’d forgotten she was in the room.
“We are cooperating,” Emma said.
“Oh, please,” Matt countered. “Telling me to do it your way or to get out of here is not cooperating.”
Rosa shook her head. “So do you actually expect dinner to be ready sometime tonight?”
“A half hour,” Emma predicted, just as Matt said, “Ten minutes.”
Rosa rolled her eyes. “Maybe I should take Andy and Jeff out for dinner. How’d you get Jeff over here, by the way?”
“Better not to ask any questions,” Emma advised.
“In other words, Matt pulled rank,” Rosa guessed. She looked him in the eye. “Thank you. Think you can talk him into sticking around?”
“I’ll work on it,” Matt promised.
“So, Mama, you seem to be in an especially good mood tonight,” Emma said, studying her curiously. “What happened today?”
Emma dropped her paring knife on the counter and came over to kneel in front of Rosa and take her hands. “That’s wonderful. It helped, didn’t it? I can see it on your face.”
“More than I’d ever thought it would,” Rosa agreed. “It’s not a miracle cure, but listening to the other people there made me realize that I’m really not alone.” Though she selfishly wanted this just for her own recovery, she couldn’t help wondering if Emma wouldn’t benefit from it, too. Last time she’d mentioned it, Emma hadn’t shown much enthusiasm, but maybe she’d feel differently now that Rosa had broken the ice.
“Would you like to go with me next time?” she asked.
Emma hesitated, then glanced toward Matt, before finally shaking her head. “I’m doing okay right now. If that changes, I’ll consider it.”
“Just because you’re not letting your father’s death immobilize you the way I did doesn’t mean you’re okay,” Rosa told her. “I realize now that talking really can help.”
Emma nodded, and once more looked toward Matt in a way that spoke volumes. “I know,” she said. “Matt’s been a godsend in that regard. He listens to me. More than that, he’s helping me investigate why dad did what you and I both think he did. Taking action is going a long way toward helping me get all of this into perspective.”
Matt was helping her daughter in other ways, too, Rosa suspected. She couldn’t say that her daughter looked wildly happy and in love. How could she be this soon after her father’s death? But she was coping, and Rosa had a hunch that real happiness was lurking just around the corner for her, if she’d let it happen. And there were signs that she might. Emma hadn’t mentioned Washington or her life there in days now. Maybe she was reaching a point where she’d be ready to accept the possibility that her future was right here in Winter Cove.
Maybe a blessing would come from Don’s death, after all. Emma staying here and falling in love with a fine man like Matt would certainly be one.
“It’s been two weeks since I heard from you,” Kim told Emma accusingly when she caught up with her by phone late that night. “I miss our Sunday morning get-togethers.”
“So do I,” Emma said.
“I wish I’d been able to be there for you, but getting away from work on short notice is impossible. Plus I have virtually no leave time left and my boss is a stickler for the rules.”
“I know that,” Emma told her. “Not that I don’t wish you’d been around, but I understand.”
“You doing okay?”
“I’m coping,” she said. “There’s so much I want to talk to you about, but it seems as if there’s never time to even pick up the phone. If I’m not at the diner, Matt and I are trying to make some headway in trying to figure out why my Dad died.”
“Matt, huh? You mention him a lot. Something tells me there’s a lot more going on there than an investigation.”
Emma hesitated, uncertain how to answer.
“My God, there is, isn’t there?” Kim said. “I was teasing, but I got it exactly right. You’ve got a thing going with the sexy police chief.”
“It’s not a thing,” Emma denied. “Not yet, anyway.”
“He wants it to be, or you do?”
“Both of us do, actually.”
“Oh, really? Then why hasn’t it happened?”
“I’m the holdout,” Emma admitted. “How can I start something with him when I might not be around long enough to finish it? Matt and I have been friends forever. If we do something crazy and it blows up, we could ruin that friendship.”
“In this case, I think friendship is highly overrated, when you could be having hot, steamy sex. You do think it will be hot and steamy, don’t you?”
Emma had tried hard not to think about what she’d been avoiding. That was precisely the problem. She suspected that making love with Matt would be incredible. Each time he touched her, she felt things she hadn’t felt before, wicked, wonderful sensations. And then she immediately felt guilty, because feeling so alive seemed wrong under the current circumstances. But this was Kim, and she could tell her anything.
“Oh, yeah,” she admitted. “I imagine it would be incredible.”
“Then I really don’t see what’s stopping you,” Kim said. “It’s not as if you’re making a lifetime commitment to the man.”
Emma remained silent.
“Oh, sweetie, that’s it, isn’t it? You’re afraid you’ll fall in love with him and wind up spending the rest of your life in Winter Cove.”
“Me being here is temporary,” Emma said flatly. “I’m coming back to Washington as soon as everything settles down.”
“And you can’t make yourself think of Matt as some sort of fling?”
“Having a fling with Matt would be wrong,” Emma told her. “He wants more.”
“Has he said that?”
She thought of the crush he’d been unsuccessfully hiding for years. “No, not in so many words, but—”
“But nothing. Go for it. He’s a big boy. I’m sure he can handle it, if things don’t work out.”
“And me? How am I supposed to handle it, if it turns out that the two of us are better than I ever dreamed of?”
“You’ll follow your heart,” Kim said confidently.
“Even if that means staying here?” Emma said, not happy with the obvious choice.
“Even then,” Kim said. “You’ll be so deliriously happy, you won’t even notice where you’re living.”
“Trust me, I’ll notice.”
“Only if he’s not doing something right,” Kim said. “And something tells me that’s not going to be a problem. Sweetie, people can fit into more than one place, but true love is not something to toss aside lightly.”
“Who said anything about true love?” Emma asked defensively.
“You didn’t have to say the words for me to hear it in your voice. This Matt is special.”
“Yeah, he is,” she said. “Okay, enough about me. What’s going on in your life? Anyone made it past the second date yet?”
Kim sighed heavily. “I haven’t even met someone worthy of a second date lately. I’m thinking of giving total celibacy a try.”
Emma started to laugh, but the laughter died when she realized that Kim was serious. “Why don’t you come down here for a few days, even if it can only be for a weekend? It sounds to me like you need a break someplace where there’s no pressure.”
“And I could get a firsthand look at Matt,” Kim said thoughtfully, her voice brightening. “I’ll do it. As soon as I’ve made the arrangements, I’ll be in touch, that is, if you’re really serious, Emma. You sure this isn’t a bad time for company?”
“I’m serious and it’s never a bad time for you,” Emma said. It wasn’t that she was especially eager for Kim to cross paths with Matt, but her friend could provide a nice little buffer between them. That would keep Emma from having to make the decision that was seeming more and more inevitable with every day that passed.
Matt was half-asleep when the dispatcher called him at home.
“I’ve got a woman on the line who says she’ll only talk to you. Want me to patch her through or tell her to call back in the morning?”
“Patch her through,” he said at once.
“Matt?”
The voice sounded familiar, but whoever it was was so clearly shaken he couldn’t be sure he was hearing right. “This is Matt,” he said quietly. “Who’s this?”
“Jennifer.”
He sat up in bed. “What’s the problem?”
“I think someone’s been following me.”
“Where are you?” he asked, already reaching for his jeans.
“I’m home now, but I think they’re outside. I don’t want to overreact. This could be my imagination playing tricks on me.”
“They?”
; “I’m pretty sure there are two men,” she said. “Could you come by and check it out? I would have asked for a squad car, but I didn’t want to look foolish, if it’s nothing. I’m sorry if I woke you.”
“Not a problem,” he reassured her. “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
And if it turned out to be the two men who’d immediately popped into mind, he was going to hang them both without benefit of a trial.
He made it to Jennifer’s street in less than seven minutes, then cut his lights as he turned onto the block. He noted that halfway down, one house had every light on, inside and out. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Jennifer wanted to scare off the prowlers. Unfortunately, he figured if he was right, Gabe and Harley were too dense to take the hint.
He circled the block slowly. Sure enough, directly behind Jennifer’s, he spotted Gabe’s car. It was empty, which meant the two old coots were probably creeping around her yard. He was surprised they hadn’t been spotted and reported by half the neighborhood.
He parked his car so he was blocking Gabe’s, then went to look for them. He could hear them bickering before he reached the edge of the lawn.
“I’m telling you somebody was driving around with their lights off,” Harley told Gabe. “We need to get out of here. There’s nothing going on here, anyway.”
“I say we stay,” Gabe insisted. “She’s bound to do something to give herself away.”
“Such as?” Harley scoffed. “You think she’s going to toss her diary down so we can read it?”
“There you go,” Gabe said. “Maybe she has one of those fancy date book things. We get our hands on that, we can see what she’s been up to.”
“How the hell do you propose we do that?” Harley asked, sounding disgusted. “You plan to break in while she’s got every light in the place on and, more than likely, a shotgun laying across her lap?”
“If we have to,” Gabe said stubbornly.
Matt sighed heavily and stepped out of the bushes. “Don’t even think about it,” he warned. Both men jumped as if he’d pulled a gun on them.
“Dammit, Matt, are you deliberately trying to give us a heart attack?” Gabe demanded.
Flamingo Diner Page 18