Murder by the Seaside
Page 27
I didn’t think.
“Actually, when I’m mayor, I was hoping to make you first lady, but let’s start with dinner.”
“Uh-oh.” Claire looked across the sand.
“Wow. This guy has impeccable timing.” Adrian stood to shake Sebastian’s hand as he arrived in black board shorts and Ray-Bans. “Mr. Bond,” Adrian taunted.
“Hello, Fugitive.” Sebastian accepted Adrian’s hand.
“That’s soon to be Mayor Fugitive,” I pointed out.
“Oh yeah? Congratulations.” Sebastian’s expression was flat and guarded. I could only imagine what was going on inside Adrian’s head.
Sebastian had rented a room at the bed-and-breakfast on my street while I recovered in the hospital. Half his stuff was in a storage unit near the marsh. Widow Moore gave him a rate he couldn’t pass up when he’d promised her several months of occupancy while he looked for something permanent. I told him to check for peepholes in the shower.
“Adrian rented the art studio downstairs for his campaign office. Right when I planned to rent it for my new office,” I tattled.
“I don’t think you need an office. I think this is your office.” Sebastian tipped his chin skyward.
“Patience?” Melinda Crown approached me with a warm smile. A gaggle of children at her feet, she stopped in her tracks to look at my friends.
“Hi, Melinda. You know Adrian. This is my friend Claire.” They exchanged hellos.
Claire stood and brushed sand from her legs. “This is Sebastian Clark, the next special agent to be schooled in my volleyball smackdown.”
Sebastian shook her hand. Sun glistened off his perfect bronze skin. His washboard stomach put ideas in my head. I pulled my eyes up to meet his.
When he noticed, he knelt beside me and whispered in my ear. “After your appointment, I’d like to buy you dinner.”
My toes curled into the sand.
Every sound on the beach stopped for a moment. Then he was gone. Righted. Clapping Adrian on the back and looking at Claire.
“You ready?”
“To teach you how it’s done? Darn skippy.” Claire pulled a volleyball from her beach bag and smiled at me. “See you in a few.”
Adrian watched the pair walk away. “I don’t like that guy.”
“Shocker.”
“See you around.” He winked, and a posse of butterflies took off in my stomach. I needed a pill for that.
He slipped out of his suit jacket and threw it over one shoulder before making his way back through the sand.
Melinda had set up her umbrella and beach chairs around a number of towels and buckets. Her children splashed in the water ten feet away.
“How’s summer break going?” I asked.
She handed me a juice box and melded into her chair. “I can’t wait for school to start. Does that make me an awful mother?”
“That—” I watched the children push and shove in the surf, “—sounds very human.”
Relaxing into an easy pattern of conversation and encouragement, I embraced my new identity: Patience Price, Counselor at Large.
* * * * *
About the Author
Julie Anne Lindsey is a mother of three, wife to a sane person and ringmaster at the Lindsey Circus. She lives with her husband and three small children in rural Ohio where she was born and raised. You can find her online day or night, amped up on coffee and wielding a book.
Find more information about Julie at julieannelindsey.com.
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ISBN-13: 9781426896460
MURDER BY THE SEASIDE
Copyright © 2013 by Julie Anne Lindsey
Edited by Elizabeth Bass
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