Somebody to Love(44)

Please, God, that was true. She nodded, not trusting her voice.

“You’re a Harvard grad, as you like to remind me. You’ll find a job. And your son loves you. That won’t change.”

She glanced at him—he was looking at her steadily, and those deep, dark eyes were kind. She gave his hand a quick squeeze. “Thanks.”

He didn’t look away.

No one looked at a person that way anymore. They checked their phones, or scanned the horizon, or glanced around. But Thing One kept looking at her. Kept holding her hand, too.

“I’m glad you’re here, James,” she admitted, and her voice was a little husky.

“Me, too.” His thumb moved over the back of her hand, and suddenly, Lady Land perked up. Those eyes…that whole face, in fact…that warm hand…

He leaned a little closer, and her heart rate tripled. She remembered what it had been like to kiss James Cahill, and her legs tingled. Remembered his hands on her, against her skin, his mouth on her neck, on her—

Then a bolt of thunder cracked right overhead, Parker jumped and Beauty leaped up and streaked for the house. The first fat drops of rain smacked down on the dock.

Moment over. Sign from God.

“Well,” Parker said, her voice breathy. “Looks like rain.” Yes. Rain tended to look like rain. She stood up, her legs still tingly, her hand feeling cold and empty. “We better hurry.”

Careful not to look at him, she grabbed a few things at random, a plate, a glass, a napkin. Then the heavens opened, and she raced up the stairs, as much a coward as Beauty.

The cold rain on her shoulders was almost a relief.

* * *

WHEN JAMES GOT UP to the house, he was soaked. And the power was out. Looked as if all of Gideon’s Cove had lost power, in fact. He put down the things Parker hadn’t managed to grab and ran his hands through his wet hair.

“James, leave everything, okay?” Parker’s voice came from down the hall. “I’ll clean up in the morning. Uh, Beauty’s scared, and she’s hiding under my bed, so I’ll stay in here. Good night.”

Beauty wasn’t the only one who was hiding. “Good night,” he said. Another bolt of thunder crackled across the sky.

He’d almost kissed her. Which was a dumb idea, no matter how much he wanted to.

It would be a long time till he fell asleep, he knew. Rather than fight it, he opened the quiet fridge and groped around for a beer, took it out onto the back patio and sat, watching the storm roll and flash over the harbor, the pine trees black in the harsh flashes of lightning, the lobster boats starkly white.

What do you think’s gonna happen, idiot? his conscience chided in the harsh voice of his father. She’s already blown you off once. Think you measure up to the Paragon? And what happens when she finds out what you did?

James took a long pull on his beer. There were plenty of women out there who’d be a lot easier than Parker, that was for sure. Leah back home would love to see more of him. It’s just that there wasn’t a lot to Leah. Sweet girl. Fun to hang out with, fun in bed. But while she tended to talk…and talk…and talk, she never seemed to say anything. Which was cute for a while, that chattering. Cute for about two hours, at which point they’d fool around, then she’d chatter some more, then he’d leave.

So no, not Leah. But surely there was someone else out there. Someone who was not Parker. For crying out loud. One time, three years ago, and he was still hung up on her, even though she’d made it very clear that he was a drunken mistake.

Stupid. Men were stupid, and he was no exception.

The storm was moving down the coast, the bulk of the thunder south of them now. He wondered if Mary Elizabeth was getting any of this weather, even though they were inland a bit. She hated storms. He fished out his phone and hit her number. “Hi, honey,” he said when she answered. “How you doing? Getting any thunder down there? Well, you have Spike with you, right? All right, then, you’re all set. He won’t let anything bad happen to you, you know that… .Because he’s an angel, that’s why.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“GOOD. YOU’RE HERE. And oh, you brought your dog.” Lavinia knelt down to pet Beauty, who ducked her head and hid behind Parker’s legs.

“She’s shy,” Parker explained. “She’ll warm up to you eventually.” She set down the coffee she’d brought for her cousin and took a sip of her own.

Vin twisted around, cracking her vertebrae. “Heard you got Dewey’s nephew working over there with you. That your family friend?”

“Mmm-hmm.” Less said the better on that subject.

“You two doing the nasty?”

Parker choked on her coffee. “Um, no. He…he works for my father. He’s just helping.”

“All right, if you say so. Seems like a waste, though, not doing that cute boy. Anyway. You know anything about flower arranging?”

“Well, I took a class once. At camp.”

Lavinia surveyed her through squinted eyes. “Did you? Well, the first rule is, you’re going to get dirty. That shirt of yours…silk?”

“Oh.” Parker glanced down. “Yes.”

“Well, it’ll get ruined. You need to dress more like me.”

Please, God, never that. Lavinia was dressed in aqua-blue stirrup pants and a green-and-red flannel shirt. “Come on, then,” her cousin said. “Let me give you the tour. This here’s the cooler. We get a delivery maybe once a week, less in the winter, when business slows down.”