Twelve Nights of Temptation

by Barbara Dunlop

  “Oh, no you don’t.” He wasn’t going there. He so wasn’t going there. “What are you going to do, Dianne? You, not me. You alone.”

  Her eyes narrowed, and he stared straight back at her.

  Then what looked like fear came over her expression. “I don’t know what to do.”

  “Get a job?” he suggested.

  The Crab Shack waitress arrived with their lunches, lobster salad for Dianne, a platter of hand-cut halibut and fries for Matt. He had developed a serious fondness for the Crab Shack’s signature sauces.

  Dianne waited for the waitress to leave. Then she leaned forward, her tone a hiss. “You want me to work? I don’t know how to work.”

  “I don’t want you to do anything.”

  “I can’t do it, Matt,” she said with conviction.

  “I’m not going to solve this for you, Dianne.” He popped a crispy fry into his mouth.

  “You’ve got loads of money.”

  “No, I don’t. I had to refinance everything to pay your settlement. And even if I did have money, you have no call on it.”

  “That’s my home.” She gazed out the window at the cliff side where his house jutted out over the ocean.

  “It was your home. Temporarily. I paid for the house. Then I paid you half its value in the divorce. Then you sucked out every nickel of my business profits.”

  “But—”

  “Enjoy your lunch, Dianne. Because it’s the last thing I’ll ever buy for you.”

  Her mouth worked, but no sounds came out.

  “Matt?” Caleb’s wife, Jules, arrived to greet him, her tone tentative. She’d obviously caught the expression on his face and Dianne’s and knew something was wrong.

  He neutralized his own expression. “Jules. How are you?”

  Her stomach was well rounded from the twins she was carrying.

  “Doing great.” She rested a hand on her belly. Then she turned to Dianne, obviously waiting for an introduction.

  “Jules, this is my ex-wife, Dianne.”

  Jules’s eyes widened. “Oh.”

  “She’s in town for a short visit.”

  “I see.” It was pretty clear Jules didn’t see. As far as Caleb or anybody else knew—including Matt—Dianne had planned to spend the rest of her life in France. “It’s nice to meet you, Dianne. Welcome to the Crab Shack.”

  Dianne didn’t respond, her face still tight with obvious anger.

  “Are you coming to the chamber of commerce gala?” Matt asked Jules, ignoring Dianne’s angry silence.

  Jules was coming up on six months pregnant, and her doctor had advised her to keep her feet up as much as possible.

  “I’ll definitely be there. I’m good for a couple of hours between rests.”

  “You look fantastic.”

  Dianne shifted restlessly in her seat, drawing Jules’s brief glance.

  “You’ll be there?” Jules asked Matt.

  “I agreed to speak.”

  “Oh, good. You’ll be so much more entertaining than the mayor, and that Neil Himmelsbach they had on Labor Day. I should let you two finish lunch.”

  Matt rose to give her a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Nice to see you, Jules.”

  She patted his shoulder. “Better go.” Her attention moved to the front entrance, where a customer had just entered the restaurant.

  Matt did a double take when he saw it was Tasha. He paused, watching, wondering what she was doing at the Crab Shack.

  “Sit down,” Dianne said to him.

  Matt didn’t want to sit down. He was waiting to see if Tasha would notice him and react in some way, maybe a wave, maybe a hello, maybe to come over and talk to him.

  But she didn’t.

  “I’ll be right back,” he said to Dianne, taking matters into his own hands.

  “But you—”

  He didn’t hear the rest.

  “Hey, Tasha,” he said as he came up to her.

  She looked at him in obvious surprise.

  “Lunch break?” he asked.

  He couldn’t help but notice she was dressed in clean jeans and wearing a silky top and her leather jacket. She didn’t dress like that for work.

  “I started early this morning.” It was obviously an explanation for her boss.

  “You don’t need to punch a time clock with me. Take as long a lunch as you want.”

  “I’m having lunch with Jules.”

  “Really?” The revelation surprised Matt. He hadn’t realized she and Jules were getting to know each other.

  “She invited me,” Tasha said.

  “That’s nice. That’s good.”

  Tasha’s gaze strayed past him, and he could tell the moment she spotted Dianne.

  “This is going to sound weird,” he said, moving in closer and lowering his voice.

  “That would be a first.”

  “Can I kiss you on the cheek? Maybe give you a hug? Just a little one.”

  Tasha stared up at him. “Are you drunk?”

  “No. It’s Dianne. It would help me if she thought you and I were... You know...”

  “I take it she wants to rekindle something?”

  “She wants money above anything else. If she believes I’m with you, it’ll stop her from thinking romancing me to get it is an option.”

  Tasha glanced around the crowded restaurant. It was clear she was checking to see if they knew anyone else here.

  “Jules will understand the score,” he assured her, assuming she didn’t want anyone to get the wrong impression. “I’m sure Caleb’s told her all about Dianne.”

  “I’m not worried about Jules.”

  “Then what?”

  Something was making her hesitate. He dared to hope she was remembering those brief moments in his bathroom when he’d felt a connection to her. Could she be worried about developing feelings for him?

  But then her answer was brisk. “Nothing. I’m not worried about anything. Kiss on the cheek. Quick hug. No problem.”

  Though he was disappointed, Matt smiled his appreciation. “You’re the best.”

  “You gave me a twenty percent raise. It’s the least I can do.”

  So much for his musings about her feelings for him.

  “This is above and beyond,” he whispered as he moved in for the cheek kiss.

  She smelled amazing. She tasted fantastic. It was brutal for him to have to pull back.

  “You know it is,” she said with a thread of laughter.

  He gave her an equally quick hug. “I owe you.”

  He squeezed her hands, wishing with all his heart the crowd would disappear from around them and he could be alone with her.

  Then he turned away, heading back across the restaurant to where Dianne was glaring at him.

  Five

  As always, Tasha was impressed with the Crab Shack. During lunch, it was bright and airy, with wooden tables, a casual ambiance and sweeping views of the ocean and cliffs. Then for dinner, they set out white tablecloths, candles and linen, bringing up the outdoor lighting, making it both elegant and cozy. It was no surprise that its popularity was growing fast.

  Back in Boston, expensive restaurants had been the norm for her on weekends. She’d been forced to stop whatever it was she was doing far too early in the afternoon, clean up, dress up and go on parade to impress her parents’ associates with their three perfect daughters.

  She had wasted so much valuable time primping and engaging in inconsequential conversation. To top it off, the food had been absurdly fancy, not at all filling. There were many nights that she’d gone home and made herself a sandwich after dining at a five-star restaurant.

  But the Crab Shack wasn’t like that. The food was
good and the atmosphere comfortable. It was refreshing to be in a place that was high quality without the pretention.

  “It’s this way,” Jules told her, leading a weaving pattern through the tables.

  Tasha gave in to temptation and took a final glance at Matt’s handsome profile before following.

  Jules led her into an office next to the kitchen. “It’s a bit crowded in here,” she apologized.

  “Not a problem.”

  The square room held a desk with a computer and stacks of papers, a small meeting table with three chairs, and a couple of filing cabinets. It wasn’t as bright as the restaurant, but there was a window that faced toward the marina and Caleb’s partially built Neo restaurant.

  Jules gestured to the table. “I hope you don’t mind, I ordered us a bunch of appetizers.”

  “That sounds great.” Tasha wasn’t fussy.

  “I do better with small things.” Jules gave a self-conscious laugh. “That sounds silly. What I mean, is I tend to graze my way through the day rather than attempting a big meal.”

  “I can imagine your stomach is a bit crowded in there.”

  Jules was glowing with pregnancy.

  “Between the three of us, we do fight for space,” Jules said.

  Tasha smiled.

  Jules opened a laptop on the table. “We have security video files going back three weeks.”

  “I really appreciate this,” Tasha said.

  “Caleb has ordered more security cameras, better security cameras with higher resolution. The ones we have now don’t show a lot of detail at a distance.”

  “Anything will help.”

  Jules moved the mouse and opened the first file.

  To say it was boring was an understatement. They set it on a fast speed and sat back to watch.

  “Matt’s not normally an affectionate guy,” Jules mentioned in an overly casual tone.

  The observation took Tasha by surprise. It also put her on edge.

  “He hugged you,” Jules continued, turning her attention from the screen to Tasha. “And he kissed you.”

  “On the cheek,” Tasha said, keeping her own attention on the view of the marina.

  The camera angle showed the gate, part of the path and the first thirty feet of the pier. The yachts rocked in fast motion, while people zipped back and forth along the pier and the sun moved toward the horizon.

  “It’s still odd for him.”

  “It was for Dianne’s benefit,” Tasha said. “He wants her to think we’re dating.”

  “They’re divorced.”

  Tasha gave a shrug. “It could be ego, I suppose.”

  “That doesn’t sound like Matt.”

  Tasha agreed. “Dianne seems to need money. Matt’s worried she’ll try to latch back onto him.”

  “Now, that sounds like the Dianne I’ve heard about.”

  On the video, the lights came up as the sun sank away.

  That had been Tasha’s impression, as well. “I only met her briefly last night, but—”

  “Last night?” The interest in Jules’s tone perked up.

  “We were coming back from the Edge, and she was waiting for him.”

  “A date?”

  “No.” Tasha was careful not to protest too strongly. “A coincidence. I was there talking to the mechanics in the area. I wanted to know if anyone else was having weird engine failures.”

  “That’s a good idea.”

  “I thought so. Wait, what’s that?” Tasha pointed at the screen. The picture was dark and shadowy, but it looked like someone was scaling the fence. She checked the date and time stamp. “That’s the night before Orca’s Run went out.”

  “So, it was sabotage.”

  “Maybe.”

  They watched the figure move along the pier. It went out of the frame before coming to the slip for Orca’s Run.

  “That has to be it,” Jules said.

  Tasha wasn’t as ready to draw a concrete conclusion. “It didn’t look like he was carrying anything, no fuel, no water.”

  “But he broke in. Whoever it was, was up to no good.”

  “It’s evidence of that,” Tasha agreed. She’d hate to assume something and potentially be led in the wrong direction. “We should watch the rest of the video. I can do it myself if you’re busy.”

  “No way. This is the most interesting thing I’ve done lately. And I’m supposed to sit down every couple of hours.” Jules made a show of putting her feet up on the third chair.

  There was a light rap on the door, and a waitress pushed it open, arriving with a tray of appetizers and two icy soft drinks.

  “I hope you’re hungry,” Jules said as the server set everything down on the table.

  “I’m starving.”

  “Make sure you try the crab puffs. They’re my secret recipe.”

  “I’m in.” Tasha spread a napkin in her lap and helped herself to a crab puff.

  “I’ve been going nuts over smoked salmon,” Jules said, going for a decorative morsel on a flat pastry shell. “I don’t know why, but my taste buds are big into salt.”

  Tasha took a bite of the crab puff. It was heavenly. “Mmm,” she said around the bite.

  Jules’s eyes lit up. “See what I mean?”

  “You’re a genius.”

  “They’re the most popular item on the menu. Caleb wants to steal them for Neo, but I won’t let him.”

  “Stick to your guns,” Tasha said before popping the second half of the crab puff into her mouth.

  “Oh, I will. We’re each half owner of the other’s restaurant now, but it’s still a competition.”

  “I hope you’re winning. Wait. Take a look.” Tasha drew Jules’s attention to the laptop screen.

  The figure returned to the gate and seemed to toss something over the fence beside it. The two women watched as he climbed the fence, then appeared to look for the object. But then something seemed to startle him, and he ducked away, out of camera range.

  “He was up to something,” Jules said.

  “That was definitely odd,” Tasha said. “It could have been tools. I wish we had a better view.”

  The video got boring again, nothing but yachts bobbing on the midnight tide. Jules took a drink and went for another crab puff.

  The office door opened and Caleb appeared.

  “How’s it going in here?” he asked.

  Jules stretched her back as she spoke. “We saw a guy climb over the fence onto the pier and sneak back out again.”

  Caleb moved past Tasha. He stood behind Jules’s chair and began rubbing her shoulders.

  “What did he do?” Caleb asked.

  “He threw something over the fence,” Jules said. “Tasha thinks it might have been tools.”

  “We couldn’t tell for sure,” Tasha put in, not wanting to jump to conclusions. “And the frame’s not wide enough to see what he did while he was on the pier. It could have been nothing.”

  The door opened again, and Matt joined them.

  “I’ll bet it was something,” Jules said.

  “You’ll bet what was something?” Matt asked, glancing around at all three of them.

  Tasha couldn’t stop herself from reacting to his presence. She imagined his hands on her shoulders, the way Caleb was rubbing Jules’s.

  “There was a guy,” Jules said.

  “It might have been something,” Tasha jumped in, shaking off the fantasy. “A guy climbing the fence and leaving again. But we couldn’t see enough to be sure. There’s a lot more video to watch.”

  “Dianne gone?” Jules asked Matt.

  “Hopefully.”

  “What happened?” Caleb asked. “I didn’t expect to see her back in Whiskey Bay...well,
ever.”

  “Neither did I,” Matt said. “It turns out her French finance tycoon wasn’t all he claimed to be.”

  “Uh-oh,” Caleb said.

  “All that money she got in the divorce...”

  “No way,” Caleb said.

  Tasha kept her attention fixed on the screen and away from Matt.

  “All gone,” he said.

  “How is that possible?” Jules asked. “You gave her a fortune.”

  “The court gave her a fortune,” Matt said.

  “You didn’t fight it.”

  “I wanted my freedom.”

  “And she’s back anyway,” Caleb said. “That didn’t work out so well.”

  “You’re not giving her any more money,” Jules said.

  Tasha wanted to echo the advice, but she didn’t feel that it was her business to jump in. Matt and Caleb had been good friends for years. She knew Matt thought of him as a brother.

  “I told her to get a job.”

  “Good advice.”

  “Let’s see if she takes it.” Matt didn’t sound convinced she would.

  Then his hand did come down on Tasha’s shoulder. The warmth of his palm surged into her, leaving a tingle behind.

  “Anything else going on?”

  It was daylight on the video now and people were moving back and forth along the pier: crew, customers, delivery companies and Matt. She watched Matt stride confidently through the frame, and her chest tightened.

  She had to struggle to find her voice. “Nothing out of the ordinary. It would be nice to have a wider view.”

  “You’ve looked through your own footage?” Caleb asked Matt.

  “We have,” Matt answered. “But the camera showing the main part of the pier had malfunctioned.”

  “Malfunctioned?” The skepticism was clear in Caleb’s tone.

  “We had a technician look at it. The case was cracked. Salt spray got in and caused corrosion. It might be wear and tear, but it could have been pried open on purpose.”

  “Who would do that?” Caleb asked. “Why would they do that?”

  “I wish I knew,” Matt said. “I hate to suspect staff, but there are a couple of new hires on the dock. We’re checking into their histories.”

  “Why would staff have to climb the fence?” Caleb asked.