Ellen flashed a smile as sweet as the cake she’d just eaten, made the symbol of the cross over her heart then held up her hand as if swearing over a bible.
After Sean’s mother left, Loraine took a seat at the island, brow raised. “Aren’t you going too?”
“I want to finish my cake. Ellen’s right. It is to die for.” Dianna savored another taste. No matter how many successes she’s had, it still shocked her when something turned out this good.
“You could always take it with you. Maybe bring a piece for Sean.” Mom brushed a strand of hair over her shoulder. “Did you two have some sort of fight?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
Dianna sighed. “I guess I share his mother’s feelings about Sonia. And I don’t think she likes me much either.”
“How could someone not like you?”
“I know, right?” She shoved her plate aside. “I’m friendly and funny. What’s her problem?”
Loraine let out a soft laugh. “My darling, she’s threatened by you.”
“I doubt it. Besides, she’s gorgeous. Why should she be threatened—” Loraine grabbed Dianna’s ear with her thumb and index finger and pinched. Pain made her cry out, “Ow, ow, ow, ow!”
“Dianna Lillian Sheldon, don’t you dare put yourself down.”
“Okay, okay! Give me my ear back before you break it.”
Her mother let go. “That’s better.”
Dianna rubbed where her mother squeezed. “Damn, woman, you could win a war with that pinch.”
“And you’ll do well to remember that. Now, what’s the deal with Sonia?”
“She knows Sean and I are just friends, but whenever I see her—which isn’t much—she never smiles, never laughs at my hilarious jokes, and I only get one-word answers when I try to strike up a conversation.”
“Then she’s the one with issues.”
“Not if it interferes with my relationship with Sean.”
Mom let out a small huff. “You know, this wouldn’t even be an issue if you were a man.”
“Well, it’s not my fault I’m a woman.” Dianna defiantly pulled her dish back and attacked her dessert.
“No it isn’t. I take full responsibility for that.” Her mother looked up when Ellen returned. “Well?”
Sean’s mother clapped her hands and did a little dance. “Ding dong, the witch is gone.”
Dianna stopped chewing. “What?”
“Well, okay, she’s not gone. But she didn’t come with him and he doesn’t look too happy about that. I’m hoping this is the beginning of the end.”
“Oh boy.” Loraine leaned close to Dianna. “Maybe you should go see if he’s okay. I need to get back to Zippy before he thinks I abandoned him.”
Fighting the hopeful glow in her stomach, Dianna went to find her friend.
Her eyes settled on him as soon as she entered the room, surprised to find him standing alone.
Dressed in casual dark gray pants and blue polo shirt, he held a beer in one hand and braced the other against the mantel of the grand marble fireplace. He scanned the room until his eyes fell on her. The usual spark of delight was absent from his blue gaze, no welcoming grin.
Confused, she walked over and tried for a sympathetic smile. “So, you decided to come after all.”
“Yup.” He looked away.
“How did you get here? Isn’t your car still in the shop?”
“Angie and Jack dropped me off.”
“That was kind of them. Are they here?”
“No.”
“Oh.” She furrowed her brow, baffled even more by his clipped answers. “Where’s Sonia?”
Sean took a swig of his beer. “Our date came to an abrupt end.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” Her confusion morphed into annoyance as her friend looked everywhere but at her. What the hell was his problem?
“No, I wanna have fun.”
Sean’s brother, Tucker, approached carrying an acoustic twelve string. “Come on, Sean. We dug up Josh’s old guitar. How about playing something?”
With his mouth set in a determined line, Sean took the instrument, settled into the chair closest to the grand piano and plucked the beginning notes to an old Billy Joel song.
“Come on, Di.” Tucker shimmied over to her. “I feel like dancing.”
Dianna placed a hand on his chest. “Touch my ass once, and I’ll whip yours.”
“A spanking?” His mouth lifted into a one-sided grin. “I look forward to that.”
Dianna went into his arms, knowing she had nothing to fear. The Donovan brothers talked a big game, but when it came down to it, she was off-limits.
Even though they looked very much alike—tall, electric blue eyes, masculine features—Tucker, with his nearly black hair, worked hard and played even harder, going through women like an heiress through money. Sean, although just as charming and flirtatious, had his limits.
After a few dances, Dianna decided to give up center stage and accompany Sean by playing the piano. And within minutes she wanted to hit him over the head with it.
Every time she started a new song, Sean cut in on the guitar by playing a choice of his own. Almost like he was punishing her.
And for what she had no idea.
Around midnight, the party broke up.
Dianna studied Sean carefully placing the guitar back in its case, and debated on whether or not to offer him a ride home, hating the sick feeling in her stomach that something was wrong.
With each person who left, he gave a sturdy handshake or tight hug and kiss on the cheek. But for her? Not even a passing grin all night.
Screw this! Why should she walk on eggshells? She didn’t do anything, so if he was mad he either had to tell her why or get over it.
Dianna squared her shoulders and walked over to him. “Do you need a ride home?”
Sean glanced at her then quickly looked away, scanning the room as if to find an escape. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“Oh really, no thanks necessary. It’s my pleasure.” Spinning on her heel, she headed over to her hosts to say goodnight, silently fuming. She should’ve just let the ass walk home.
Silence resonated in the car on the drive to Sean’s house. No way was she going to beg to find out what his problem was.
But when he threw off his seatbelt and practically dove from the car mere seconds after she threw it into Park, she’d had enough.
“Thanks for the lift,” he said over his shoulder.
“Donovan, hold your ass up.” She leapt out of her seat, glaring at him over the hood when he stopped and faced her. “I don’t know what your problem is tonight, but if you think I’m going to sit back and—” Dianna stopped her tirade when her brain registered a distant whining sound. “What is that?”
Sean’s expression went from confusion to panic in a heartbeat. “Oh, no.” He ran to his front door.
“Wait!” She ran after him. “Check the door before you go barging in.”
Sean put his hand against the steel and then tentatively touched the doorknob. Fumbling with his keys, he unlocked the door and pushed it open. The whining grew louder; she choked from the smoke and odor of heated metal as she followed him.
Sean ran into the kitchen and after a few mumbled curses, grabbed an oven mitt. He flipped off the gas burner as he removed the kettle from the stove and threw it into the sink.
She waved a hand in front of her face. “You left the stove on?”
“What was your first clue?”
Dianna walked over to the back door and slid it open, hoping to air out the room faster. “That was a pretty stupid thing to do.” She knew she wasn’t being very sympathetic, it could happen to anyone really, but he’d pissed her off.
Sean shot her a nasty glare but said nothing. He retrieved a dishtowel from the kitchen drawer and waved it under the smoke alarm until it stopped whining. “Thanks for the ride.”
“Okay, Sean, time to spill. What’s your problem?”<
br />
“I don’t have a problem, so you might as well leave.”
“Is it because of your fight with Sonia?”
“None of your business.”
Dianna stood as straight as an arrow, with her arms crossed in front of her and her legs braced slightly apart. What her brothers called Dianna’s Demand Stance. “What was the fight about?”
“Never mind.” Tossing the towel onto the counter, he went to the sink and turned on the water, running the kettle under the stream.
“What was the fight about?”
“It doesn’t matter!”
“What was—”?
“You, okay?” Sean slammed the kettle down. “The fight was about you.”
Dianna recoiled like she’d just been slapped. “Me?”
“Yes.” Bracing his hands on the edge of the sink, he gazed out the window.
“What did I do? Whatever it is I’ll apologize—”
“Nothing.” He dropped his chin to his chest. “You did nothing. And I’m an ass for taking it out on you.”
“I won’t argue with that, but I do want to know what her issue is with me.”
Sean slowly turned and, taking a deep breath, looked her in the eye. “She thinks you and I are too close.”
Too close. It took her a second or two to mull those words over.
“But she knows we’re just friends, right?”
“I’ve told her a hundred times.”
Dianna fought to speak over the sudden lump in her throat. “All your fights are about me—about our friendship—aren’t they?”
He shrugged. “Sonia and I argue about two things; her business ethics and you.” Leaning against the counter, he stared at his feet. “Other than that, we get along fine.”
She studied her friend. He looked so sad. She didn’t want to be the cause of his pain, even indirectly. How many of his relationships had ended because of her?
She’d always assumed Sean was just like Tucker, enjoying life—and the company of women—without the thought of settling down. When one woman left, he moved to the next one in line. But maybe they’d ended it because he had the misfortune of having a woman for a best friend.
“Maybe she’s right.” The words came out tight.
Sean’s head shot up. “What?”
“Maybe we shouldn’t spend so much time together.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I’m not. We’re almost thirty. Isn’t it time to cut the umbilical cord?”
“No.” Sean took three quick steps toward her, his eyes reflecting anger and hurt at the same time. “If she can’t handle this then to hell with her.”
“Let’s be realistic. No woman is ever going to accept our relationship, or any man I might date for that matter, and I’m not sure they should have to.”
“So, what? We should just give up on a lifelong friendship because people have issues?”
Dianna’s breath came faster. She’d never seen Sean like this, so angry and despondent over changing their status. At her words, the look of absolute despair on his face melted something inside her she didn’t know existed. A wall. A fortress. She wasn’t sure what. But with it dissolving it revealed something she’d never felt for Sean before. It scared her and made her feel things she didn’t dare say aloud.
Whatever those feelings were, they’d released a swarm of butterflies in her stomach.
She smiled, or tried to, but she was sure it looked forced. “I—”
Sean pulled her into his arms. “Princess, I don’t want to change. You have been my best friend since the day I was born. I’m not willing to give that up so easily. And I’m—I’m upset to think you could.”
Tears stung her eyes as she laid her head against his chest. All this time she’d thought their friendship meant more to her than to him. The knowledge that she’d been so wrong warmed her heart, further melting the interior barriers she’d built.
“I can’t.” She grimaced at the catch in her voice.
“Hey.” He hooked a finger under her chin, making her look at him. “We’re okay?”
She nodded.
His eyes stayed with hers, but for the merest of seconds, she swore his gaze dipped to her lips. He blinked with a slight jerk to his head.
“Sean?”
He stepped away and cleared his throat. “You really should get moving. I don’t like you going home to an empty house this late.”
She let out a small laugh. “You’re worse than my brothers. I’ll be fine.”
“Humor me.” Sean walked her to her car. “We’re still on for tomorrow, right? Hitting the beach at 9 a.m. sharp.”
“I should hope so since I’m the one who demanded it. I’ve already packed up the activity bag, so I’m good to go.”
He kissed her cheek. “Call me when you get home.”
Dianna rolled her eyes and slid behind the wheel. “Yes, Dear.”
***
Sean waited until she drove away before he headed back into the house and up to his room. As he undressed, his mind was a swirl of confusion. Forget about the fight they’d had, or the way Dianna had looked at him when he’d practically bit her head off for even thinking she could get rid of him that easily. Those things he could handle.
It was the sudden urge to kiss those full lips and the stirring in his jeans it conjured that nearly knocked him on his ass.
What. The hell. Was that?
He’d hugged Dianna a thousand times. Looked into her eyes even more. So, why then did he suddenly have the urge to kiss her?
Maybe it was the fear of losing what they had. There was no one in the world, not his parents, not even his brother, he trusted more than Dianna. To lose her would be like losing a limb.
Sitting on the edge of his bed, he rubbed his face. He couldn’t think about this right now. It was probably nothing, anyway. Just his body’s messed up reaction to the fear of losing her as a friend.
Slipping naked beneath the cool sheets, he waited for Dianna’s call. Before the phone could finish its first ring, he hit the accept button. “Hi.”
“I’m home and I’m safe.”
“Good, now I can sleep soundly.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t have called. It would serve you right after the way you treated me earlier.”
Sean brushed his hand over his short hair. God, what an ass he’d been. “I’m sorry about that.”
She let out a loud yawn causing her voice to go into a husky whisper. “I know.”
He gripped the phone, the sexy timbre on the other end of the line doing strange things to his body. He gulped and forced a smile, hoping it wouldn’t show in his own voice. “Of course you do. You know everything.”
One friendly quip turned into two, then four. It was going on three a.m. before they finally said goodnight.
Sean punched the pillow, arranging it into a perfect ball and snuggled up against it. He still had no idea why he’d reacted the way he did earlier with Dianna, but he wasn’t worried about losing sleep over it. He’d see her tomorrow and everything would be exactly as it had been.
Like it should be.
***
“Angie? What are you doing?” Jack’s harsh whisper pierced Dianna’s quiet yard.
“I’m looking through the window.”
“Are you sure you’re not visible? You had to be when we went into 7-Eleven for that chocolate and beef jerky.”
Angie planted her hands on her hips, thinking back to when they’d been in the popular twenty-four hour convenience store. Great, now she wasn’t sure. This was ridiculous, standing outside Dianna’s house looking for ways to enter unnoticed and unheard. They were angels, not cat burglars.
But after the horrible fight she and Sean had, Angie wanted to make sure Dianna was okay. They seemed to be when they were at Sean’s house. They even hugged.
Which was odd. Not that they’d hugged, but that Sean had pulled Dianna into his arms seconds after Angie had turned to Jack and said, “I wish he’d just shut up a
nd hug her already.”
Had he heard her and unconsciously took her suggestion to heart?
It was possible. A few minutes later, Jack answered by saying, “He should skip the hug and just go for the kiss,” and just then Sean’s eyes had lowered to Dianna’s lips.
But he hadn’t taken that suggestion.
Angie straightened to her full five foot ten and glared. “We were invisible in the car. Remember that driver who screamed when he couldn’t see us?”
“Yes, but didn’t we make ourselves visible after that?”
With a click of her teeth, she paced the front yard. Geez, the man was paranoid, although he did have a point. How was she supposed to test if anyone could see her or not? While she pondered, the hum of a car sounded seconds before headlights turned onto the street. Angie hurried over the curb and waved her arms, enough for the driver to see her, but hopefully not enough to startle him. She needn’t have worried. The car continued on as if nothing unusual happened.
“See?” Satisfied, she turned and faced Jack with a smug grin, but she lost it when she saw him sitting on the front lawn, his hand clutching his chest.
“Jack!” She hurried over and squatted beside him. “Are you okay?”
“Don’t ever do that again!”
“He couldn’t have hurt me, silly.”
“Do you think I can get used to these new tricks first before you start jumping in front of cars? Or have you forgotten how we died?”
His words slapped her. For a split second, she felt the pain of intense and unyielding guilt before it disappeared again. How had they died? A car accident. Yes, she knew that. But that’s all she knew. Try as she might, she could not remember any more than that.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
With a loud gulp of air, he nodded. “It’s okay. I don’t remember much about that day, but—well, we’re still learning.” He rose to his feet and offered her a hand up. “Now, let’s get back to finding a way into Dianna’s house.”
They searched all the doors and windows, but found them all securely locked. Angie was thankful that the young woman was so cautious, but at the moment, she couldn’t help but feel frustrated. At Sean’s house, Dianna had pulled the back door open to let out the smoke from the burning teakettle. Easy enough to slip in unnoticed.
Angels in Seashore Cove (Love and Laugh in Seashore Cove Book 2) Page 6