Sandpiper Way (Cedar Cove #8)(80)

Christie was overwhelmed. “I doubt I’ll be able to eat a single bite.”

“You can and you will.” Once more her sister sounded like a general barking orders to the troops. “Bobby’s promised to tell me everything. Now, get going. You haven’t got that long.”

“Does James know anything?”

“No…I didn’t tell him you’re going to be at the house.”

“You need to warn him!”

“No,” Teri countered. “For the moment, the less he knows, the better.”

Her sister was probably right.

Nervous though she was, Christie showered, washed her hair and borrowed Teri’s makeup, which was of a much higher quality than the bargain brands she bought for herself. Then she followed her instructions to the letter. The salmon was just about finished baking and the wine was on ice when the security alarm beeped, indicating that someone had entered the house.

Christie panicked.

Teri hadn’t given her one word of advice on what to say to James. Her impulse was to rush forward and blurt out what she’d learned—to protect him. But as Teri said, she needed to lead up to this carefully.

James must have sensed someone else was in the house, but when he stepped into the kitchen, he stopped cold. “Bobby didn’t say you were here,” he murmured. He didn’t seem pleased to see her.

Christie remained standing in the middle of the kitchen. She fiddled nervously with the top button of her blouse, then hurriedly removed the apron.

“Hello.”

James looked more than a little uncomfortable.

“Teri told me to prepare the salmon,” she explained. “Would you like to have dinner with me?”

He didn’t answer.

“I’m actually a fairly good cook.”

Still silent, he glanced at the bottle of wine, nestled in a pewter wine cooler.

When he didn’t answer right away, she decided to take action. Focusing her attention on the salad she was making, she said, “You could open that for us.”

Instead James walked out of the room and Christie was convinced he wasn’t coming back. To her relief, he returned a moment later—without his heavy winter coat.

“I know it must be a shock finding me here at the house but let me assure you there’s a perfectly logical reason.” The oven timer buzzed; using two pot holders, she opened the door and took out the salmon. The kitchen was instantly filled with the scent of fresh dill and lemon.

The wild rice mixture on the stove started to boil over, and they both moved toward it, bumping shoulders. James looked at her; she looked at him. Grinning, he calmly reached over and removed the pan from the burner.

“I’m glad you’re here,” he said.

His words almost made her cry. “I’m glad I’m here, too,” she said, and to her acute embarrassment she blushed. It was harder than ever not to tell him everything.

He raised his hand to her face and slowly ran his finger from her temple down the side of her jaw to her chin. It was the most sensual thing any man had ever done to her. The only part of his body that touched her was his fingertip, yet Christie was ready to melt in his arms. She closed her eyes and struggled against her natural inclination to sway toward him. This wasn’t the time. She swallowed and eased away.

When her eyes opened again, she found him studying her. She moistened her lips. “Are you planning to…kiss me?”

James nodded.

“Would you mind…could you do it later?”

He grinned again. “I think I do mind.” With excruciating slowness, he lowered his mouth to hers. The kisses started out soft and easy, then gained intensity.

James was the one who took control. After several minutes, he broke the contact and simply held her. His breath was ragged.

Christie leaned against him. She couldn’t believe she’d had the most sensual encounter of her life standing in her sister’s kitchen—with all her clothes on.

“James, I…I have something very important to tell you,” she said once she found her voice. Keeping this news inside suddenly became impossible.

His hands were in her hair and it seemed as if he hadn’t heard her.

“Please,” she murmured. “Let’s sit down.” Taking James by the hand, she led him to the family room and they sat on the sofa.

Christie angled her body so that their knees touched. She reached for his hands and held them in her own. For a long moment she contemplated how to begin. Finally she told him in the simplest, most direct manner she could. “I came by here earlier and there was a man at the gate looking for you.”

“Me?” he asked with a frown.

“He seemed to think I was the housekeeper and I didn’t set him straight. It turned out to be a good thing.”

“Why?” His frown deepened.

“He asked me questions about you.”

“What kind of questions?”

“About your past…How long you’d worked for Bobby, whether you ever played chess, whether you mentioned where you were from. Stuff like that.”

James avoided eye contact.

“I know, James. I know everything now, and it doesn’t matter. None of it.”

His eyes widened and he tried to jerk his hands free of hers but she wouldn’t let him. Scrambling up on the sofa, she knelt beside him. “I can’t figure out how you and Bobby kept it a secret all these years.”