Rainier Drive (Cedar Cove #6)(53)

If he hadn’t figured it out, she couldn’t explain it.

“Experts have calculated that I’ve committed to memory over a hundred thousand possible chess configurations,” he said. “I look at a chessboard and within seconds I can figure out how any move my opponent makes is going to play out. I know chess, but I don’t know women. I want to know you. I like you.”

“I like you, too. In fact, I like you a lot and that frightens me.”

“Why?”

She might as well tell him the truth. “I’m not all that intelligent.”

He shrugged, apparently unconcerned. “I don’t think that’s true. But even if it is, I’m smart enough for both of us. Did you like the roses?”

“They’re beautiful.”

“May I kiss you now?”

She laughed and then realized he was serious. He watched her, anticipating her kiss. He met her eyes and extended his hand to her.

Crouching, she made her way toward him. Because of all the candy and perfume stacked next to him, she had to sit on his lap. She slid her arms around his neck, then removed his glasses, folded them and slipped them into his pocket. When she’d finished, she gave him an encouraging smile and leaned forward so their lips could meet.

As kisses went, this one was pretty tame. Bobby might know plenty of chess moves, but that was the only kind of move he knew. He sure didn’t have a lot of sexual finesse. Well…he might possess enough brains for both of them, but she had enough experience.

Bobby cleared his throat after two follow-up kisses, each lengthier and more intense than the one before.

“That was very nice,” Bobby whispered. He seemed to have difficulty speaking.

“Yes, it was. Are you ready for your haircut?”

He cleared his throat a second time and nodded.

Most of her neighbors had gone back inside when Teri emerged from the limousine. Thank goodness for tinted windows! If any of the stragglers recognized Bobby, they didn’t say anything. Bobby gave his driver instructions to return in a couple of hours and accompanied Teri into her small apartment.

Had she known she was going to have company, she would’ve cleaned the place up a bit. Bobby didn’t seem to notice that she wasn’t giving Martha Stewart any competition. In fact, he didn’t seem to notice anything but her.

“What?” she muttered, uncomfortable with the way his eyes followed her every move.

“There’s something different about you,” he commented.

“I dyed my hair black.” She pulled out a kitchen chair and gestured for him to sit. She kept a spare cape in a bottom drawer; she took it out and wrapped it around him, fastening it at the neck.

“Why did you change your hair color?” he asked. “I liked it the way you had it the last time I saw you.”

“I was in a black mood,” she said and went briefly to her bedroom to retrieve scissors and a comb.

She’d just started trimming his hair when he announced, “I want to marry you.”

Teri lowered her arms and exhaled harshly. “Stop it.”

“I mean it.”

“I’ll cut your hair, but I am not marrying you.”

“Why not?”

“You don’t even know me!”

“Is that important?”

“Yes,” she said, shocked he’d ask such a fundamental question. “Love helps, too.”

Bobby frowned. “I’m not good with emotions.”

No surprise there. “Go figure,” she teased.

Bobby smiled slightly. “Will you let me kiss you again?”

She continued to clip the sides of his hair. “Probably.”

“Tonight?”

“How much chocolate did you bring?”

“Ten pounds. Is it enough?”

“Plenty,” she assured him. Just to show him how much she appreciated good chocolate, she straddled his lap. Scissors still in her hand, she hooked her arms around his neck. With a surge of joy she didn’t bother to examine or to question, she gave Bobby Polgar, world chess champion, a kiss that could’ve won a competition of its own.

Twenty-Two

“There’s someone here to see you,” Frank Chesterfield, the bank president, told Justine late Friday afternoon. She normally worked mornings, but Frank had asked her to take care of some pending loan applications so she’d agreed to stay. She’d gone into the vault and before she could ask who it was, Frank was gone.

Most likely Warren Saget had stopped by for another chat. He was still doing that despite her lack of encouragement or welcome. He chose to ignore her wishes and persisted in visiting her far too often. It wasn’t that Justine disliked Warren. He was her friend and had proved it the day of her panic attack.

She could do without seeing him right now, though. Seth had been depressed for several days, since the official end of the arson investigation. The building, or what was left of it, had been released to them and quickly demolished. Seth had watched it all, watched the trucks hauling away the charred remains of their dream. Justine was concerned about him and resented Warren’s frequent appearances, despite his kindness to her.

She was married and she loved her husband and no friendship was worth risking her marriage over. Seth had made his feelings toward the other man plain. He didn’t want her seeing Warren, no matter how platonic the relationship. Justine had every intention of abiding by his wishes. She wouldn’t want him lunching with an old girlfriend, either.