Harbour Falls (A Harbour Falls Mystery #1)(40)

Ducking my head, I muttered, embarrassed, “You’re right. At least one of us is thinking tonight.”

“Hey, hey.” Adam wrapped his arms around me. “We can talk about this stuff later. Why don’t we watch that movie?”

I nodded my head against his shoulder and held on, enjoying his warmth, a minute more. When we broke away, I scooted off of Adam and rose to my feet, straightening my clothes in the process.

Adam tried to be coy, but I caught him sneaking another peek as I adjusted my corset top. “What?” he asked, playing innocent oh so well.

“Nothing,” I replied, shaking my head. “I’m going to grab something to drink. Do you want anything? Beer? Coke?”

Adam cocked an eyebrow. “What are you having?”

I was done with drinking for the night, so I answered, “I think I’m switching over to Coke.”

“Coke sounds good,” he said. “I’ll have the same.”

I started toward the kitchen, and halfway there I called back, “Oh, I have food too. If you’re hungry, I can heat up a pizza.”

“Sure.” I heard Adam say. “Do you need any help?”

“No, no, I’ve got it,” I yelled back. “Go ahead and pick a movie. There are some in the TV cabinet on the bottom shelf.”

Having reached the kitchen, I grabbed two cold Cokes out of the fridge. And then I pulled the pizza out of the freezer, unwrapped it, and slid it into the oven. The back of the box indicated it would take twelve to fifteen minutes for the pizza to be ready, so I set the timer and went back into the living room.



“How long is your sister staying on the island?” I asked Adam as I handed him one of the cold sodas. He was crouched down in front of the TV cabinet, thumbing through my limited DVD collection.

“Just ’til Monday,” he replied.

He opened the soda and took a drink, while I walked back to the doorway and leaned against the jamb. I had promised myself that I’d forget about the case for this one night, but if there was ever going to be an opportunity to spend some time with Trina, this weekend could be it. So I casually inquired, “Will Trina be at the café this weekend?”

“She’s hanging out with Helena most of the day tomorrow, so, yeah, probably,” Adam said as he rose from his kneeling position, two DVDs in hand.

Perfect! I thought, but to Adam I said, “Find anything good?” I nodded to the cases he held.

Holding up both a comedy selection and a classic Hitchcock film, he asked, “Funny or suspenseful?”

The oven chimed before I could answer, and Adam walked back to the sofa. The toe of his shoe hit something on the floor, and he stopped. To my dismay I saw it was one of the DVDs I didn’t want him to see. Crap, I thought I’d pushed them both under the sofa. Adam bent to pick it up, and I froze, catching the image on the cover. Oh no, it was the romantic tearjerker. “Um, we don’t have to watch that one,” I said in a rush of words.

“Is there some reason this one is halfway hidden under the sofa?” Adam smirked as he skimmed over the back cover.

“Um, no,” I muttered.

”Hiding your chick flicks, eh?” Adam teased in return. He was enjoying this way too much.

“I must have dropped it,” I mumbled, embarrassed for the second time in one night, because we both knew that wasn’t true.

The timer buzzed, so I made a quick escape to the kitchen. I’d literally been “saved by the bell.” Or maybe not. As I was getting the pizza out of the oven, Adam came into the kitchen.



He grabbed the paper plates I’d set out on the counter, and I slid the pizza onto a large cutting board. “I bet you’d never guess,” Adam said softly, “but I’ve always wanted to see that movie.”

“The chick flick?” I looked up, shooting him a look of disbelief.

Adam tapped the paper plates against the counter and smiled. “I’ll admit, maybe it won’t make my life complete. But judging from your reaction, it seems like it would be something you’d enjoy watching.”

“It’s only one of my favorite movies, like ever,” I said under my breath as I pulled a cabinet drawer open and rummaged for the pizza slicer.

Adam’s hand stilled mine. “Then let’s watch it.”

I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe I was going to watch such a romantic movie with such a gorgeous guy. Maybe he was starting to fall for me too. A girl could only hope, right?

In the end we watched the “chick flick.” And not surprisingly I cried at all the touching and sad parts, of which there were many. And Adam was sweet, wiping my tears away and showering me with tender kisses. By the end of the movie, I was curled up with Adam on the sofa, wrapped up in his strong arms, feeling happier than I’d felt in a very long time. If only things could have remained so blissful.





Chapter 11


The next afternoon, as I hurried into the toasty warmth of the café, a cold shiver coursed down my spine. Unfortunately it wasn’t just a reaction to the icy drizzle and frigid temperatures that had blown in off the sea. Though the weather did indeed add to my uneasiness, I had this feeling I just couldn’t shake that something bad was about to happen. But I had to put my worries aside for now.