“So you didn’t do anything to disabuse me of the notion that you were Mr. Bender.”
“No. Yet it seems you’ve figured it out.”
“What if I hadn’t?”
“I knew you would eventually. You’re smart, and I’m patient.” He reached out and tucked a wayward curl behind her ear, a casual gesture completely at odds with the intense look in his eyes. His fingers lingered, tracing lightly around the edge of her ear, shooting a shiver of delight down her spine. “I’m willing to wait for what I want.”
Her heart stuttered. “Don’t you ever get tired of waiting? Aren’t you ever tempted to just reach out and grab what you want?”
“Oh, yeah,” he said, his voice a soft, husky rasp that instantly brought to mind naked bodies, tangled limbs, and rumpled sheets. “I’m definitely tempted.”
His gaze wandered down to her toes and then back up, lingering for several seconds on her mouth. By the time he looked into her eyes again, she felt as if she’d been tossed into an oven set on broil.
He cupped her face in one large, callused palm and studied her with a half-heated, half-troubled expression. It was clear he wanted to kiss her, yet he made no move to do so. Jamie’s pulse revved and she parted her lips, willing him to lean down and—
“All clean and fresh smelling,” came Liz’s cheery voice from behind Jamie, causing her to practically jump out of her skin. Heat filled her face—oh, great, here came the blotches—at being caught dying to be kissed in the kitchen of a woman she’d met ten minutes ago.
Nick’s gaze lingered on hers for several seconds with a heated look she hoped meant to be continued before switching his attention to Liz and Emily.
Liz set the baby down and she immediately toddled to Nick, grabbed on to his jean-covered knees, looked up at him with an adoring grin, and said, “Up, Uncoo Nic. Up.”
Nick immediately picked her up, lifted her over his head, and lightly tossed her several inches higher and caught her. Emily laughed, then demanded, “Up!”
“Good luck with that—she’ll never want you to stop,” Liz said. She turned to Jamie. “Did you check out the pantry?”
“Not yet. I was too busy admiring your kitchen.” And ogling Nick. And hoping, waiting to be kissed, something I shouldn’t be hoping or waiting for at all. “It’s beautiful.”
“Thanks. They did a great job. Let’s take a look.”
Liz opened double doors to reveal shelves that ran from the floor to the ceiling. “This is great,” Jamie said, admiring the neat, well-stocked rows.
“Pull out whatever you need. If you’re missing something we can walk to the market—it’s just up the road. Meanwhile I’ll get Emily’s after-nap snack going.”
In one smooth motion she plucked her daughter from Nick, set her in her high chair, then waved Nick out of the kitchen. “Shoo. You’re in the way and we have girl stuff to do in here. I’ll bring you guys drinks and snacks after Emmie’s fed.”
“God knows I don’t want to get embroiled in girl stuff.” Nick shot Jamie a wink, then strode to the high chair and pretended to nibble on Emily’s tiny hand. She squealed and kicked her legs, and then he disappeared down the hallway. Seconds later she heard his deep voice mingling with Kevin’s.
“What are they working on back there?” Jamie asked, pulling the items she’d need for brownies from the pantry.
“An extension. It adds another bedroom, a playroom, and a bathroom. This house was a lot bigger before we had Emily.” Liz set a handful of Cheerios on the high chair tray and Emily immediately popped one in her bow-shaped mouth. “For a tiny person she takes up a lot of room,” she said, dropping a kiss on her daughter’s shiny curls.
“We considered buying a bigger house,” Liz continued while adding a few banana slices to Emily’s tray, “but with the economy and real estate market the way they are, we couldn’t be sure we’d be able to sell this house. Since Kevin can do the renovations himself, it just made better financial sense to add the extension. But then his accident happened, and things got crazy. It’s been a real struggle.”
Jamie set the items she’d selected from the pantry on the center island, then leaned her hips against the polished granite countertop and watched Liz feed an enthusiastic Emily spoonfuls of what looked like applesauce. The baby alternately ate, grinned at Liz and Jamie, and batted her hands on the tray, causing the few remaining Cheerios to bounce—much to her delight.
Jamie laughed as her heart squeezed at the sight of that beautiful, happy baby, and at Liz, who practically glowed with pride and motherly love. And in a single heartbeat, Jamie realized that the internal tug pulling on her was envy. Because this lovely, cozy house contained everything she someday wanted. A loving marriage. And a child that was a product of that love.
And it also reminded her that there would soon be a new baby in her life. “My mom is expecting a baby,” Jamie said.
Liz looked up from feeding Emily and Jamie swallowed her chuckle at the surprise in her eyes. “Wow. You must have a really young mom. I was one of those ‘late in life’ babies, so that ship sailed long ago for my mother. Are you excited about it?”
“Excited and nervous—I’ve never been a big sister before, and I haven’t spent much time around a baby since my niece was one and she’s fourteen now. Seeing Emily has really upped the excitement factor.”
“She’s a lot of fun. And a lot of work. But mostly fun. And she’s an absolute angel when she’s sleeping.”
The muffled sound of an electric saw floated in from down the hallway. “How soon before the extension is finished?” she asked, engaging in a game of peek-a-boo with Emily.
“By the end of September—fingers crossed. Kevin’s accident came at an especially bad time. Summer is his busiest season. With the economic downturn, jobs are scarce and he couldn’t afford to lose any that he’d already contracted for, plus he needed to land as many future projects as possible. I seriously don’t know what we would have done without Nick’s help. He’s overseeing all the jobs, and working himself to exhaustion on them as well.”
“That’s really great of him,” Jamie murmured.
“He’s a really great guy.” Liz studied her for several seconds. “But I guess you know that.”
Jamie huffed out a breath. “I have to admit it wasn’t my first impression of him.”
Interest kindled in Liz’s eyes. “That sounds like a story. What happened?”
She related the Dead Clam/Leaky Roof Saga. When she finished, Liz wiped tears of laughter from her eyes. “I am, of course, laughing with you,” she said.
“I’m just glad I’m able to laugh about it now,” Jamie said. “Funny now—not funny then.”
“I’m sure it wasn’t. I give you a lot of credit for sticking around. And for not maiming Nick with that decapitated flamingo.”
“Believe me, not doing so required a great deal of fortitude and restraint.”
“I guess things are better now, seeing as he invited you to come here with him.” She smiled. “I’m glad he did.”
Jamie smiled in return. “Me, too. Although he only extended the invite to prove he hasn’t been off on benders.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that. He could have just told you. This is the first time he’s ever brought anyone here.”
An oddly warm sensation rippled through Jamie at that bit of news. “Well, I can’t deny that over these past weeks I’ve begun to see that he’s … not completely horrible.”
Liz laughed, then her blue eyes turned serious. “He was expecting some crusty old sailor/fisherman types to rent Paradise Lost. So you were a big surprise for him. But that’s good. He needed a jolt.”
“Paradise Lost was a jolt for me, too.”
“But you rose to the occasion. That says something about you.”
“That I’m certifiable?” Jamie suggested.
Liz chuckled and wiped Emily’s mouth. “Maybe. But in a good way. And you know what they say about two jolts—they cause sparks.”
<
br /> The words, combined with the speculation in Liz’s blue eyes, made it clear what she meant. “Nick and I are just friends,” Jamie said. Yet even as the words left her mouth, she found herself wondering how true they really were. She’d had plenty of guy friends over the years, none of whom had inspired the unsettling whirlwind of confusing emotions mixed with sexual desire Nick aroused.
“Nothing wrong with that,” Liz said. “As Kevin and I can attest, Nick’s a terrific friend.” Her gaze shifted to the brownie ingredients on the counter. “Do we have everything you need?”
“For the brownies—yes. Do you have any cream cheese in your fridge? If so, I know a recipe for a totally kick-ass frosting.”
“Don’t have cream cheese, but must have kick-ass frosting, so we’ll walk to the market as soon as I’m done with the imp here.”
“Kick ass,” repeated the imp with a big grin.
Jamie gasped and covered her mouth. “Oh, no—I’m so sorry,” she said through her fingers. “Clearly I’m not baby-proof.”
Liz waved off her concern. “No worries. I said it, too. Kev and I still aren’t completely used to watching every word we say, and Emily’s getting to the point where she repeats everything. I’m just thankful her first word was Dada, because her second word—which thankfully no one ever asks about—sounded suspiciously like s-h-i-t”—she spelled in an undertone—“which I let loose after I dropped a container of blueberries and those suckers scattered all over the floor like confetti.” She grinned at Emily. “Then Mama said a bad word and you said it right back.”
“Mama,” said Emily, slapping her hands on the tray.
Liz grinned at Jamie. “And just like that, we’ve moved on. So let’s grab the stroller and walk to the market and pick up what we need for the, um, yummy yum frosting.”
“Yummy yum,” said Emily.
And just like that, Jamie felt as if she’d made a new friend.
Chapter 16
The full moon hung in the evening sky, a fat, luminous pearl resting on inky velvet, the foreground to a thick scattering of brilliant diamond stars. Nick drove toward the main road for the hour-long trip back to Seaside Cove. He flicked a quick glance behind him. Godiva stretched the length of the backseat, dreaming doggie dreams. Nick then glanced at Jamie and found her looking at him. With the oddest expression. As if she’d never seen him before.
He returned his attention to the road, then to break the silence that somehow felt thick with tension, he said, “Those were some incredible brownies you made. I think Kevin wants you to move in.”
“No need. I wrote down the recipe for Liz.”
“Kev will have her baking them every day.”
“Well, you know what they say—the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”
“First—not necessary since she already has his heart, and vice versa. And second, I actually think the way to a man’s heart is about twelve inches lower than his stomach.”
She gave a husky laugh that arrowed heat twelve inches lower than his stomach. “That’s most likely true.”
“Wait a minute—did you just agree with me again? Twice in the same day?”
“I’ll alert the media.”
Silence once again swelled between them and he wracked his brain for something to say, other than the words that were lodged in his throat like dry breadcrumbs: Let’s get naked.
“I liked Kevin and Liz a lot,” she said.
Nick seized on the topic, giving himself a mental thunk on the head for not thinking to talk about the neutral topic of Kevin and Liz himself. “They’re great people. And an equally great couple.”
“How long have they been together?”
“Three years, married for two and a half of those.”
“A whirlwind courtship.”
“Very. But Kevin was a goner the minute he met Liz, and she felt the same way. Never saw anything like it.”
“Where did they meet?”
Nick’s lips twitched. “Believe it or not, they met at the Seaside Cove Clam Festival.”
“Really? I had no idea the event was such a hotbed of romantic intrigue.”
He laughed. “Kevin called me that night from the festival to tell me he’d just met the woman he was going to marry. I thought he was nuts.”
“You don’t believe in love at first sight?”
“No. Lust at first sight? Yes. But love? I think that takes more time. How about you?”
“Well, given that my parents were a classic ‘love at first sight’ story, I’d never discount it, although I think it’s really more of a ‘wow, I really click with this person’ sucker punch to the heart. And the love blooms from that initial punch.”
He considered for a moment, then nodded. “I never thought of it that way. For a long time I didn’t believe that sort of love was possible. Except for observing Kevin’s parents together during those high school summers, happy marriages weren’t part of my growing-up experience. But seeing Kevin and Liz together now, how good they are together, how happy they are, has me thinking that maybe, with the right person, it’s possible.”
“I grew up around a happy marriage, so I’ve always believed it’s possible, but the hard part is finding that right person. That’s the key to the whole program.”
“I think I just experienced a sucker punch myself because it appears we have—brace yourself—once again agreed on something.”
“Holy crap, you’re right. That makes three times. We’d better stop talking. Right now.”
“Nah, let’s go for a record.”
“We’ve already set one. Let’s not push our luck.”
“So we disagree.”
“Just like old times,” she said with a laugh. “Glad things are back to normal.”
More silence descended and let’s get naked once again pounded through his brain with such force he winced. And seriously doubted his ability to get through the remainder of the ride without uttering them. He glanced at her and saw she was once more looking at him with that odd, puzzled expression. Then she blinked, and it disappeared, leaving him to wonder if he was imagining it.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cuter baby than Emily,” she said.
“She took to you like a duck to water.”
“Spending time with her reminded me of how much fun I used to have with my niece, Heather.”
His mind filled with an image of Jamie playing in the backyard with Emily and Godiva while Liz grilled the steaks. He’d been installing sheetrock in the new addition, chatting with Kevin, when he’d chanced to look out the window and had seen Jamie roll a rubber ball on the grass to Emily, who picked it up and toddled away as fast as her chubby little legs would carry her, squealing in delight when Jamie gave chase, all while keeping Godiva from knocking over the baby. A feeling he couldn’t name—because he’d never felt it before—had invaded his entire body at the sight of Jamie with his goddaughter and dog. “I didn’t know you liked kids so much.”
“C’mon—who doesn’t like kids?”
“I’ve actually met quite a few people who don’t. Not really. Sure, they say they like them, but I think they mostly like the idea of kids, as opposed to the diaper-changing, give-themyour-attention, get-spit-up-on-your-clothes, don’t-get-any-sleep reality of kids.”
“As far as I’m concerned, diapers need changing, everyone needs attention, spit-up washes out, and babies do eventually sleep—so that’s when you sleep. I can’t believe that six months from now my mom will have a baby I’ll get to play with and be a big sister to.”
“Based on today, you’ll be great at it.”
“Thanks. I was only twelve when my niece was born and we’ve always been close, especially the last few years. You know, ’cause I’m her ‘cool aunt’ as opposed to her mom.”
“You see her a lot?”
“Yes. We share a standing date every Sunday morning. Sometimes we go out for breakfast, but most often we stay at my apartment and cook together. And talk. And laugh.
And discuss her literary idol, F. Scott Fitzgerald. I do my best to keep us connected. My time and attention are the best gifts I can give her, and I try to be the friend and sounding board she needs. Because there are days when she reminds me of a wilted plant everyone forgot to water. And others when teenage attitude, anger, and hurt ooze from her like an open sore.”
“She’s very lucky to have you.”
“Thanks, but I feel like the lucky one. I have to admit I was a little weirded out by the whole ‘my mom is preggers’ scenario, but I’ve gotten used to it and now I’m excited at the prospect. And as for being great at it, right back atcha. It’s obvious you adore that little girl and she adores you right back. You realize you turn into a great big gooey marshmallow when she flashes those dimples at you,” she said in a teasing tone.
Nick laughed. “Can’t deny that, although just looking at her pretty much turns me to mush.”
“I noticed. It was …”
Her voice trailed off and he found himself tensing, waiting to hear her finish.
“Really sweet,” she finally said softly. “When she fell asleep in your arms and you kissed her hair, it was just … a lovely image. It was interesting to see you play the part of uncle and friend.”
Her last sentence chilled the warmth her earlier words had suffused in him. “It’s not a part I play. It’s who I am. What’s important to me.”
His words seemed to vibrate in the air between them for several long seconds. Then she said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. I’m having trouble finding the right words to express what I want to say. I saw a side of you today that was … unexpected. And I … liked it. The kindness and generosity and loyalty you’ve shown your friends—those are qualities to be proud of. And admired.” She made a self-conscious sound. “That’s what I meant, but said very badly.”
Her words stilled him. He wished he could toss out a lighthearted, smart-ass reply, but nothing lighthearted or smart-ass came to mind. In fact, the only thing that came to mind was, “Thank you.”
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