Wait.
She adjusted her rearview mirror when she stopped at a red light and studied the car behind her. Wasn’t that the same blue Charger she’d seen at the ice cream parlor? Was someone following her?
She remembered seeing it parked in a far corner of the lot. No one had gotten out that she knew of, even though the car appeared empty. If she recalled right, Angie and Jack had the same car. It was probably them, but no matter how hard she focused she couldn’t make out the form of the driver. Not even a shadow. That was weird.
The light turned green and she continued her journey, and still the car stayed close.
Cautiously, she turned onto her street.
Dianna’s heart leapt to her throat as she passed the safe haven of her home. Of the Wheeler’s home. The car followed.
Not Angie and Jack.
Panic choked her.
Okay, think, Dianna.
Her father had always told her, if she ever felt like someone was following her, the last thing she should do was go home to an empty house. She continued driving, crying out when the car matched her every turn. “Oh God! What am I going to do?” The nearest police station was ten miles away through a very rural area of the beach communities. Main Street was probably deserted. She didn’t want to risk using her cell when she could barely see a yard in front of her and she sure as hell wasn’t going to pull over.
As usual, her thoughts went straight to Sean.
No longer caring what his problem was, or if she would even be welcomed, she pulled into his driveway, grabbed the ice cream and bolted for his door.
Within seconds she was soaked, but inside, thanks to having a copy of his key. She hit the foyer lights, sending the room into darkness, then peeked out the glass side panel bracketing the front door.
The blue Dodge drove slowly by, its image distorted under the street light right outside the house by the heavy rain. Then it sped up and headed down the street.
What if they were turning around? What if they had knives? A gun? What if it was one of her YouTube followers who didn’t like her last post? Some of them could be really mean in her comments section.
Dianna ran through the house, calling out to Sean. Through the kitchen, his study, family room. Where the hell was he? Was he even home?
Then she heard the distant singing coming from upstairs.
Outside, a car door slammed. Sneaking back to the window, she peeked outside.
Parked across the street was the blue Dodge, but the street seemed empty. Nothing moved.
They were hiding. No one trustworthy ever hid.
Oh, God! She was going to be the first ever murder victim in Seashore Cove!
With a muffled sob, she threw her purse and ice cream onto the side chair then scampered up the stairs, stumbling as she reached the top. She crawled down the hall, to Sean’s bedroom. Pulling herself to her feet when she reached his door, she bolted to the master bath and burst in, slamming the door behind her.
“What the hell?” Sean poked his head out from behind the shower curtain, and his jaw dropped. “Something I can do for you, Princess?”
Another sob escaped as she lunged forward and hugged him, shower curtain and all. “Sean…someone… following…car. Kill…me.”
“Someone’s trying to kill you?” He turned off the water, his face a reflection of concern and—was that amusement?
“Maybe. I don’t know. Yes. I did what Dad told me to do if I ever thought someone was following me. I made a right, then another right, then another—”
“Okay, okay.” His voice soothed her. “Why don’t you step outside the door and wait—”
“No! I want you behind me.”
His mouth lifted at the corners. “Oh, how I’ve longed to hear you say those words.”
She punched his arm. “Now’s not the time.”
“Ow! Fuck!” He rubbed his bicep. “Fine, but, I need to get out. I’m freezing.”
Dianna stepped back and grabbed the thick terrycloth robe hanging on a hook near the door, handing it to him. “Get out then. Hurry up.”
“I can’t with you standing there.”
“Oh, please, Sean, I’ve seen you naked before.”
“When we were four! I can assure you, a lot’s changed since then.”
“Now is not the time for modesty. Someone out there wants me dead!” Geez, since when did he care about being half-naked around her?
He snatched the robe and yanked the curtain closed. Moments later he stepped out of the tub. “Are you okay?”
“No.”
“Let’s go see if anyone’s out there.”
Dianna walked in Sean’s footsteps as he moved down the hall. He stopped and turned to her. “Do you think you could step back just a little bit? I feel like you’re about to give me a reach-around.”
“Sorry.” She gave him some space.
“Hey, if that was your intention, I’m all for it.”
“Just go!”
“Okay, Okay.” Sean continued down the stairs and over to the window. He pulled the blinds open and looked outside. “I don’t see anyone.”
“I didn’t either. I think they’re hiding.” She came up from behind him and peered over his shoulder. The Charger was gone. “There was a car right there. It was blue.”
“Maybe you were mistaken.”
“Sean David Donovan, you know me better than to panic. I’m not some jumpy female who—” A loud bam resonated through the house. With a shriek, Dianna jumped on Sean wrapping her arms and legs around him.
Sean latched his hands at her waist, stumbling backwards slightly. Righting himself, he let out a chuckle. “That, my dear, is what we call irony. Calm down, it’s only thunder.”
Returning her feet to the floor, and untangling her arms from around his neck, she let out a self-conscious laugh. “I guess I’m a little jumpy.”
“I would be too if someone followed me home. Do you want to call the police?”
Dianna offered a tight smile, feeling stupid. Of course no one was trying to kill her. Why would she even think that? But that car had been following her, she was sure about that. And they had stopped right across the street. More than likely, they’d simply been lost.
“No, it was probably just someone looking for directions. But thanks for taking me seriously.” She smiled, and to have him smile back at her was worth all the humiliation in the world.
Just as her panic had fizzled, another clap of thunder shook the house and Sean’s smiling face disappeared into blackness.
And just like that, her panic returned.
What if the approaching storm had nothing to do with the lights going out? What if her stalker had cut the lines?
She heard movement, but it was so dark, she couldn’t focus on anything.
“Sean?” She could barely get the word past her throat.
He didn’t answer.
Where did he go?
“Sean,” she tried again, but her voice was barely a whisper.
Moving away from the window, she carefully navigated the room. She fought for her eyes to adjust to the dark, but with no ambient light, all the fighting in the world wouldn’t help.
A black mass moved across the room, hurrying toward her making a slapping sound.
Fear froze her.
The figure stopped, the slapping sound continued.
Then a beam of light hit her in the face.
Dianna screamed.
“Geez, Princess, you scared the shit out of me!” Sean stood a few feet away, holding a flashlight.
“You bastard! Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I guess I was too fixated on getting this thing to work.”
“I almost had a heart attack!”
“I’m sorry.” He eased his arm around her shoulder. “Come help me with the candles.”
Dianna was never more than an arm’s length away from him as they set the candles into holders, happy she’d made the decision to come here. Even though they lost power
a lot in her small town, she never knew which junk drawer held her flashlight and candles. Sean, on the other hand, could probably give longitude and latitude on where he kept every item in his home.
“Hey.” He touched her arm. “Everything’s okay. You know that, right?”
“I do now.” Intense warmth grew inside her. Gratitude, security, adoration—whatever it was, made her snake her arms around his waist and hug him with her cheek to his chest. There had always been a lot of affection between them, the past few days notwithstanding, so this felt as natural to her as hugging her parents. “Thank you for always being there for me.”
A sense of peace engulfed her. After the week she’d had, she really needed to be with her best friend. His warmth, his scent, even his heartbeat—if a little fast—reassured her that everything was okay.
Until Sean thrust her away from him.
“What’s the matter with you?”
“I-I have to get dressed.”
Dianna listened to him scurry up the stairs, swallowing back a laugh when she heard a bang and a muffled ow. Despite the fear she felt earlier, she would have lived through it all over again because it brought her to Sean’s house.
Exactly where she belonged.
***
Sean hobbled the rest of the way to his bathroom, the pain shooting through his big toe only making the tension in his body worse.
He closed the door, and then with only a second’s hesitation, locked it. Hell, if he’d had a chair, he’d shove that under the doorknob too, for no other reason than to make sure Dianna couldn’t get in. If only he could do the same with the thoughts in his head.
Standing the flashlight on the counter, he tossed off his robe and hopped once again into the shower, throwing on just one of the water taps. The icy water streamed down his overheated body.
Why was this happening to him? Why now? Dianna had hugged him thousands of times, and suddenly he wanted to do more than just hug her in return? The moment she’d laid her head against his chest, his dick jumped to attention. He’d fought it, mentally trying to punch it back down to its flaccid state, but nothing had worked.
How she hadn’t felt him poking through the folds of his robe was beyond him, since he had a lot to offer. Which kind of pissed him off. But that wasn’t what really upset him. It was the urge to run his hands down her back and pull her closer until she finally did notice his arousal. That and the need to tunnel his fingers through her gorgeous hair and kiss those full lips.
Anguish engulfed him as he laid his head back against the shower wall and pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes. “Please, God,” he whispered. “Please take these feelings away. They’ll ruin everything.”
He couldn’t continue like this. Eventually, she’d find out and then all the harmless flirting, all the trust would be gone. She’d see him for what he really was.
A player who had nothing to offer but a fling.
Sean had accepted a long time ago that he could never have Dianna. Not that he’d ever had more than a fleeting thought anyway.
Until recently.
She was too precious to him, too special. If they had dated, he knew eventually he’d get bored and move on, just like he had with so many other women in his life. He would hurt her, and then she’d be gone.
Sean could deal with a lot of shit, but losing Dianna wasn’t one of them.
The desire to hide beneath the cold spray was strong, but the need to make everything right between him and his best friend was stronger.
After drying and throwing on a pair of shorts and T-shirt, he grabbed the flashlight and headed back downstairs to face his fears. Dianna stood at the bottom step, candle in hand and big smile on her face.
“Well, it’s about time!” She reached out and grabbed his wrist, leading him in the direction of the dining room. “Come on. I lit all your candles and dished out some ice cream. Let’s play cards and pig out.”
Sean smiled as she dragged him to the table. Cards and ice cream, just like old times.
She always knew exactly what he needed.
***
Jack wiped the rain from his eyes and then cupped his hands against Sean’s front window.
“Does she look okay?” Angie peered over his shoulder, hoping to catch a glimpse.
“I think so. I can’t really see her too well.”
She placed her hand over her heart, still so upset. “The poor thing, she must’ve been petrified, thinking someone was following her.”
“I didn’t mean to scare her. I just didn’t want to lose her.”
She patted his shoulder. “It’s not such a bad thing. When you think about it, it worked out pretty well. The two of them together, in a romantic setting.”
He stood and pushed the wet hair from his forehead. “Oh, sure, they’re sitting inside playing cards and eating ice cream while we stand in the rain and watch them.”
“We can’t go inside and risk knocking something over again.”
“Oh, you mean like Dianna’s pencil holder?”
“You heard what she said. I panicked.”
“Well, we can’t stay out here.” He peeled the wet T-shirt from his skin. “I’m soaked.”
“It’s not like you can catch a cold.”
“Oh, ha, ha. We still can’t hear or see anything. Let’s go in, just be careful.”
“Okay, okay.”
Together, they walked through the wall into Sean’s foyer. Angie sauntered into the large living room, wishing she could get a better view of the décor. The warm glow of candlelight lit the area enough to reveal the masculine wood furniture, but not enough to make out any color scheme.
“Angie, we’re visible!” Jack’s harsh whisper from across the room startled her.
“How can you—” She followed his gaze and gasped at their reflection in the mirror above the fireplace. If they were in corporeal form, that also meant—
“Did you hear that?” Dianna’s whispered voice held alarm.
The scraping of a chair being pushed across a tile floor made Angie freeze.
“Yeah, I did. Princess, you stay right there. Don’t move.”
Jack’s reflection faded. Angie tried to follow suit, but couldn’t focus. Panicked, she dove behind the sofa just as Sean entered the room holding a long, heavy flashlight in a defensive pose.
He walked slowly, the beam from the flashlight swinging from left to right on the walls opposite where she hid.
Then it landed just above her head. Oh, God. He was going to find her crouching behind his couch and she would have two choices. Come up with an excuse he’d believe or disappear right in front of him.
At the moment, she could do neither.
Angie willed herself to do the latter waiting for that floaty feeling she associated with her body switching to ethereal form. She felt nothing, and Sean inched closer.
The wind howled, loud and clear, like eerie moans.
Snickering, Sean lowered the flashlight as he headed back to the dining room. “It was just the wind.”
Thank God for bad weather. Maybe she wasn’t far-off with her prayer. Had they saved her from messing up her assignment by making the wind gust at that exact moment?
As she peeked around the arm of the sofa, she nearly jumped out of her skin when she met with Jack squatting on the other side. He covered her mouth with his hand just as she was about to cry out.
Gazes locked, she wrapped her fingers around his wrist and slowly lowered his hand. He was so close she could feel his breath against her cheek—and her breath hitched. “I couldn’t disappear.”
“At least now we know we can walk through walls while solid.”
“But that knowledge almost cost us our job.”
“It’s okay, honey. He didn’t see you.” Jack studied her hand still gripping him. His warm fingers stroked her skin moments before his eyes met hers again. “But I’m glad I can.”
Oh, my. Angie’s heart fluttered. Jack sure could be charming when he wanted to
be.
Had he always been like that? Had he always made her feel the way she did now when he acted kind, gentle? She wanted to ask him if he’d ever tried to woo her before. If he remembered.
Then the lights flickered back on.
“You need to go invisible. Now.”
With his encouragement, this time Angie had no problem finding that floaty feeling. Thank Goodness. For a moment she’d thought she’d lost control over the ability, but now she realized it was because she’d panicked. They really needed to discover a way to remind themselves if they could be seen or not, but right now, all she wanted to do was be near Jack.
Together they entered the dining room just as Dianna was about to blow out the last candle. Great, instead of a romantic setting, it looked more like two pals playing a game of Old Maid.
“Man, I could go for some ice cream right now,” Jack said.
“Chocolate chip, if I remember correctly.”
“Nice that you remember some things.”
She grinned still feeling too warm and cozy for the usual sadness that accompanied her selective memory.
Just for a moment, he stared at her lips, before he looked away, clearing his throat. “Maybe we can go get some later.”
“We could sneak away for a few minutes.”
“Good, it’s a date then.”
“Yes. A date.” Even though she knew it was just a phrase, she felt like a giggling teenager at his choice of words.
Jack circled the table, studying their charges. “I liked it better when the lights were out.”
“I agree, but there’s not much we can do about that now.”
“I wonder.” He directed his gaze to the fixture hanging above the table, staring at it, unblinking.
“Why are you glaring at the lights like they owe you money?”
“Shush, I’m concentrating.”
Catching on to what he was trying to do, Angie focused as well, expecting any moment for room to go dark again.
Angels in Seashore Cove (Love and Laugh in Seashore Cove Book 2) Page 10