Chapter Six
JAMIE STAYED UP half the night answering emails, working through issues that had come up at OneClick, and thinking about Jessica. The best thing about being a computer professional was that he could work from just about anywhere, but he was a hands-on guy when it came to his business, and he’d learned the hard way that giving too much authority away could bite him in the rear. Luckily, Mark Wiley, his attorney, had been with him since the inception of OneClick, and he was in the office daily, keeping an eye on the goings-on at the company from a legal standpoint. Jamie no longer sealed deals with a handshake, and although Mark was a bit overprotective of Jamie and his interests, warning him off of money-grubbing, ladder-climbing employees and women, they made a good team.
He read a brief email from Mark alerting him to a situation. We have a potential bug with the search engine. Checking into it. Don’t worry. Enjoy sun and fun. Will call if any further issues arise. Mark could handle just about anything. He shot off a quick note of thanks, then began his hunt for the owner of the baseball card store. It was a piece of cake tracking him down through public website records and forums, and Jamie could hardly believe that the owner, Steve Lacasse, lived in Plymouth, Massachusetts. According to the information he’d dug up, Steve sold his goods on eBay, and like many other local collectors, he worked the Wellfleet Flea Market over the summers.
Jamie arrived at the flea market Saturday morning while vendors were still setting up their booths. He traipsed up and down every aisle, stopping at every booth that had a single sports item, but had no luck finding Steve.
He climbed back in his car and drove over to Kurt Remington’s house on the bay to see Leanna.
Kurt’s house, and the separate cottage from where Leanna ran her business, were built on a dune overlooking the water. Jamie parked behind Leanna’s old Volkswagen Bus that her father had refinished and painted with colorful seaside scenes when she’d graduated from college. He didn’t bother going to the front door. Kurt was a creature of habit, and he was as methodical as Leanna was disorganized. He went for his morning run, then had coffee while he scanned the news. By nine o’clock he had his fingers on the keyboard pounding out his next bestseller. Leanna was his polar opposite. She would surely be scrambling to get to Seaside to see the girls before heading over to the flea market to set up her booth—late, as usual. At least that’s what Jamie was counting on.
He heard their voices before he reached the steps to the rear deck. Pepper bounded toward him, tongue lolling from his mouth as he tried to climb Jamie’s legs, barking for a little love. Jamie scooped him into his arms and petted his tangled white fur.
“How’s it going, Pep?”
“Jamie?” Leanna peered over the deck as he ascended the stairs. Her hair hung loose over her shoulders, and her white tee was streaked with jam. Her eyes were wide with the smile on her lips. “Want a scone? They’re fresh.”
“No, thanks. I just wanted to pimp you for a little info.” He set Pepper on the deck and hugged Leanna, then gave Kurt a brotherly pat on the back.
Kurt looked up from the news site he was reading. “Hey, man. How’s it going? I hear you’ve got a line on the new Seaside babe.”
“Hey!” Leanna leaned over his shoulder and ran her hands down his chest. “Don’t call her that. Her name’s Jessica, although she is a total babe.”
Jamie flopped into a chair. “Everyone knows? That didn’t take long.”
“Jenna called me this morning. I’m running too late to stop by there.” Leanna went inside and came out with a mug of coffee for Jamie.
“Thanks, Leanna.” One of the things Jamie loved most about his summer friends was that their doors were always open. They didn’t rely on cell phones and email to communicate. Even though he loved his work and he loved Boston, being at the Cape with his friends rejuvenated him in ways no place else, and no other friends, ever could.
“Leanna, do you know a guy named Steve Lacasse at the flea market?”
Leanna furrowed her brow and shook her head. “I don’t know the last names of people there, but I know a few Steves. What does he sell?”
“I assume baseball memorabilia, but I’m not really sure. He used to own a store called My Mom Threw Out My Baseball Cards in Orleans, and he closed it down a little over a year ago. I did some checking, and he works the flea markets, here and in Dennis, and sells his stuff on eBay too. I just want to have a conversation with him.”
“There are about three sports guys at the flea market, but I can’t remember a Steve. I’ll check it out when I’m there today.”
Kurt ran his hand through his thick dark hair. “There is the Steve with that yellow truck. He sells all sorts of stuff—records, books, fishing rods—but I’ve seen sports memorabilia at his booth too. He might be the guy to ask.” Kurt opened a document and perused it.
“You know, you’re right.” Leanna picked up a big, colorful bag and hoisted it over her shoulder. “He might at least know who the guy is. If you want, I can talk to him today and let you know what he says. What’s this for anyway?”
Just thinking of Jessica brought a smile to his lips. She’d been so beautiful last night, so open and honest with him, that as hard as it was to wait to become even more intimate, he was glad they were waiting. He already felt like this was the beginning of a much more meaningful relationship than those that he’d had in the past.
“It’s for Jessica. He sold a baseball on eBay that she thinks was her father’s when he was a boy, and she wants to track down the new owner.”
“Fate.” Kurt’s eyes never left the laptop. He continued typing. He was a man of few words, but this one had Jamie stumped.
“What do you mean?”
“Steve. My Mom Threw Out My Baseball Cards? I assume her father’s parents lost the ball somewhere along the way and this guy got it, maybe after it passed hands a few dozen times?” Kurt shifted his eyes to Jamie. “Think like a writer. Connect the dots.”
Until then it hadn’t struck him how ironic the name of the store was, given Jessica’s situation. “So it’s fate that he works here?”
Leanna kissed Kurt’s cheek and patted his shoulder. “I’ll see you later. I’ve got to run. I’ll talk to the Steves I know and specifically the Steve that Kurt mentioned, and I’ll text you after I do.”
“See ya, Leanna. Thanks.” Jamie turned his attention back to Kurt. He wasn’t a big believer in fate, given his parents’ untimely deaths, but he was curious about what Kurt meant.
Kurt leaned back and clasped his hands behind his head. “Fate. You know, something that’s destined to happen. The development of events beyond a person’s control. Jamie, look at me and Leanna, or Bella and Caden. Would you ever have put us together as couples? Fate, man. Jessica’s here, you’re here, Steve might be here. It’s all fate.”
Kurt went back to typing, and Jamie knew it must be nine o’clock.
Jamie thought about fate on the short drive back to Seaside. How could that be? Would fate have caused his parents’ safari vehicle to break down in the bush? Would fate have driven them into the bush without their guide that morning? Or placed the hungry lions there when his mother left the vehicle, he assumed to go to the bathroom? Would fate have put the video camera in his father’s hands as he filmed in the opposite direction and caught her screams as a backdrop to the beautiful scenery—or when the camera crashed to the ground and his father’s frantic footfalls and guttural, terrifying screams could be heard sprinting toward his dying wife? Against Vera’s pleas, Jamie had insisted on watching the video when he was in his late twenties. That video had taken the story of his parents’ deaths and made it real. He’d watched it over and over ten, twenty, maybe thirty times in a row—and then he’d buried the sights and sounds so deep he hoped they never resurfaced. But sometimes, when his mind was unoccupied, they did.
As Jamie pulled into Seaside, a painfully familiar thought pressed in on him. Had his father died saving his wife, or had he given himself over to the lions because he loved her too much to live without her?
Jamie wasn’t buying fate, no matter how well it fit his and Jessica’s lives at the moment. Fate was an invisible enemy with, in his eyes, an evil history that he didn’t care to have touch his future.
JESSICA BALANCED HER laptop on her hip and crouched at the bottom of the stairs to her apartment to pick a few wildflowers. She carried them across the quad toward Jamie’s cottage, intending to give the flowers to Vera and to ask Jamie for help finding the eBay seller again, since they got a little sidetracked last night. Deliciously sidetracked.
“Jessie, Jessie, Bo-Bessie!” Jenna waved from Amy’s deck. “Come on over and join us.”
Jessica loved that they included her. She stepped onto the deck and noticed that Bella and Amy were still in their pajamas. Bella’s nightshirt barely covered her butt, while Amy had on pink plaid pajama pants and a tank pajama top with a picture of a sexy cat with an hourglass figure, wearing a black bikini and holding a bottle of wine, and MAKE ME PURR embroidered above it. Jenna grabbed Jessica’s arm and guided her into a chair. She put her hands on her hips and looked pointedly up and down Jessica’s outfit.
Jessica swallowed hard. She and Jenna were both wearing cutoffs and white tanks, each with bikinis beneath. Of course Jenna was as voluptuous as Megan Fox while Jessica was less curvy, like Jennifer Aniston, but they looked like they’d coordinated their outfits, and from the look on Jenna’s face, Jessica guessed this wasn’t a good thing.
“Well, well, look at us.” Jenna narrowed her eyes and raked them down Jessica again as Amy disappeared inside the cottage.
Gulp.
“Now we’re total Seaside sisters!” Jenna leaned down and hugged Jessica. “Don’t worry. I can help you match your sandals a little better. Something blue to go with your suit would be nice.” She lifted her foot and wiggled her toes. “See? Green. Matches my suit.”
“It’s way too early for one of your OCD matchy-matchy lectures.” Bella rolled her eyes as Amy came out with a cup of coffee and set it in front of Jessica. “Sit down, Jen. Jessica, don’t let her anywhere near your apartment, or everything you own will be color-coordinated, alphabetized, and heaven only knows what else.”
Jenna flopped into a chair and stuck out her lower lip.
Amy patted Jenna’s shoulder. “We love your organizational skills. Don’t worry. Bella just didn’t get any last night, so she’s cranky.”
Bella slid her a shut up look.
“Did you get any?” Jenna asked Jessica with wide eyes.
“Me?” Jessica froze.
“Oh, come on. We know you spent the entire day with Jamie, and he’s such a doll. I mean, really. Easy on the eyes and sweet as pie.”
“Cliché,” Bella said. “Sweet as jam.”
“That’s a good one,” Amy said.
“Kurt gave me a thesaurus because I kept calling Caden hot and he got sick of hearing it.” Bella smiled and tucked her thick blond hair behind her ear. “So now I use other words, like sexy, smoldering, scorching…”
“Okay, okay, back to Jessica and Jamie.” Jenna touched Jessica’s arm.
“Jenna! She doesn’t have to kiss and tell,” Amy chided. “She’s nosy, Jessica. Sorry.” She sipped her coffee, then added, “But we are all curious. We love Jamie, and we only want him to be happy.”
“Yeah, so if you plan on using him and then tossing him aside, just forget it, because it’ll bring my claws out.” Bella blew on her fingernails with a serious, dark stare.
I wouldn’t know how to use a guy and toss him aside.
A smile spread across Bella’s lips. “We take care of our own.”
She didn’t know what to say, but her heart was galloping in her chest.
“They terrified me when I was younger,” Amy whispered to her.
Jenna playfully pushed Amy’s arm. “We did not. Bella’s all talk, Jessica. So, how was your date?”
Now she was afraid to answer, and she was pretty sure the word flying through her mind wasn’t appropriate. Wonderful. She opened her mouth, intending to say something benign, like, It was nice, or, We had a lovely time, but her voice had a mind of its own, and out came a long, dreamy sigh, followed by, “A-ma-zing.”
The girls squealed. She felt her cheeks pink up, but she had no hope of keeping to her prim and proper upbringing. The girls were just as excited as she was. She sensed she could trust them as much as she feared Bella’s threat. She had a feeling that the threatening banter, the inquisition, and the smiles they were sending her way were all part of the sisterhood they shared, and she wanted in.
“He’s so…I need that thesaurus.” She laughed.
“Oh my.” Amy raised her brows.
“We didn’t do that.” Here came the prim. “He’s warm and kind, a great listener. Interesting and generous.”
Jenna and Bella rolled their eyes.
“And?” Jenna pushed.
Forget prim; she wanted girlfriend talk. She leaned in close and lowered her voice. “And the best kisser on the planet.”
Bella and Jenna high-fived.
“You guys, she’ll never talk to you again if you do that,” Amy warned. “Jamie never dates girls up here, and he never talks about the women he dates back home. He’s like our sweet, very private brother. We’re happy for you.”
“Thanks. Honestly, I’m happy for me.” Just thinking about Jamie made her smile.
“So were you going over to pretend that you needed computer help?” Jenna pointed to her laptop.
“Pretend? My computer hates me. I’m like the anti-geek. Give me a cello and I’m right at home. Give me a phone or computer? It might as well have dropped into my lap from Mars. But Jamie’s helping me. I’m trying to track down a baseball my dad had as a kid.”
“I knew you were some kind of musician. You were watching Vera with stars in your eyes the other night,” Amy said.
“She was looking at Jamie, goofus,” Bella added.
“Both, probably,” Jessica admitted.
“Speaking of Mr. Amazing Kisser.” Bella nodded toward Jamie’s car as it came up the gravel road and pulled into his driveway.
Jessica’s pulse ratcheted up a notch. “Please don’t say anything to him about what I said.”
All three of them pretended to lock their mouths and toss away the keys.
Jamie crossed the road, a lustful look in his eyes as they connected with Jessica’s.
“Hi, handsome,” Bella said.
“Want some coffee?” Amy asked.
He walked right past them, making a beeline for Jessica. “No, thanks.” He leaned down and pressed a tender kiss to her lips. “Hi, beautiful. Did you sleep okay?”
I can’t breathe. Heat swirled between them so thick she was sure it would sear the deck around their feet.
“Yeah,” she finally managed.
He placed a hand on her shoulder and eyed the girls’ wide-eyed gazes, the smirks on their pretty faces. His lips curled up.
“Did you get the scoop? Am I all that?”
Oh no…
“You’ve been all that since you were a kid.” Amy smiled at Jessica. “Now you’re all that with an awesome girlfriend who refuses to kiss and tell.”
She wanted to run over and hug Amy. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
“But we love her anyway.” Bella winked at Jessica.
She looked up at Jamie, standing behind her, his hands on her shoulders, that easy smile she adored on his lips. “I brought Vera flowers, and I was hoping you might help me with tracking down the baseball guy.”
He leaned down and whispered, “Already done. Come on. I’ll explain.”
When he kissed her cheek, all the girls awwed in unison. She must be getting used to them, because she didn’t feel her cheeks pink up this time. Thank goodness. It was embarrassing to be a blushing twenty-seven-year old.
Jessica thanked Amy for the coffee and followed Jamie across the gravel road to his cottage.
“His store was in Orleans, but he closed it a while ago. He lives in Plymouth, and you won’t believe this, but he works the bigger flea markets around the Cape in the summers, and of course sells his stuff on eBay.”
“How do you know all of this?”
“Bread crumbs. Geeks know how to follow them. Anyway, I went to the flea market, and he wasn’t there, so I went to see Leanna. She’s going to talk to the Steves that are at the flea market today and figure out if one of them is the right guy. Kurt seemed to think one of them was. Anyway, she’ll text his info if he’s the right guy so we can call him.”
They were standing on his deck. Jessica hooked her finger into the front pocket of his shorts. “You did all of that for me?”
He smiled with a casual shrug.
“Thank you so much.” She went up on her tiptoes and kissed him just as the glass door slid open. Jessica stumbled back on her heels, and he caught her by the hip as Vera stepped outside carrying a beach tote.
“I’m sorry to have startled you. Please, continue.” She waved her hands with a conspiratorial grin and sat in one of the deck chairs.
As Jamie ran his hand down Jessica’s arm, his gaze lingered on her, warming her all over.
“Good morning, Gram. Want some coffee?”
“No, thank you, dear. I had some already. Did you two have fun last night?” Vera took a paperback out of her tote.
“We did,” Jamie answered.
The way the corner of his mouth kicked up combined with the heat Jessica saw in his eyes brought back the memory of being with him. Feeling his weight on her, the passion in every heated kiss. Oh, gosh, I am breathing hard again.
He squeezed her arm. She saw the recognition of her heady state in his eyes and had to look away. She handed Vera the wildflowers to distract herself from thinking of Jamie.
“I picked these for you.”
“Aren’t they lovely. Thank you, Jessica.”
“I’ll get a vase.” Jamie went inside the cottage and Jessica sat across from Vera.
“It’s going to be a beautiful day. Do you and Jamie have plans?” Vera asked.
“No, we don’t.” She just realized this was true, and yet it felt like a given that they’d do something together.
Jamie brought out a vase full of water and arranged the flowers in it. “There you go. What do you want to do today, Gram?”
“I’m still a little tired, so I’m going to sit and read for a while. Why don’t the two of you go do something fun?” She smiled up at Jessica.
Jessica recognized the matchmaking Jamie had mentioned, and when she glanced at Jamie she knew he felt it, too.
He touched her shoulder. “Do you like to bike?”
“Bike? Gosh, I haven’t been on a bicycle since I was little.” She honestly couldn’t remember how long it had been, but she had a vague memory of riding a bike before the cello took up all her free time.
“Oh, Jamie. Good idea. Jessica can use one of ours.” Vera patted Jessica’s leg. “It’s like reading music. It’ll come right back to you.”
“Sounds perfect.”
Jamie loaded the bikes on the rack on the back of his car, and they drove down to Salt Pond Visitor Center in Eastham. The glass and brick building was built just off of Route 6, with a large amphitheater off to the side.
“Have you been here before?” Jamie took her hand as she stepped from the car.
“No. Other than one weekend trip as a teenager, this is the only time I’ve been to the Cape.” The air smelled like wet earth and sulfur. “What’s that smell?”
“Nauset Marsh. It’s behind the building. Let’s go inside before we ride. This is something you shouldn’t miss. I come every year, even though I’ve seen everything a million times.”
His hands were big and slightly calloused, manly and strong, like him. She loved how her hand felt in his. He had on a pair of army-green cargo shorts and a white tee, and he looked like every one of the words Bella had used to describe Caden. Only better.
“Did the girls grill you this morning?” he asked.
“A little, but it was obvious that they were just looking out for you. Especially Bella.”
He held open the door to the visitor center. “Bella’s protective of everyone, but her bark is worse than her bite.”
The atrium of the visitor center was spacious and busy with people milling about, talking to the forest rangers behind the information desk and hovering over a diorama of the Gulf of Maine ecosystem in the center of the room. The glass back wall offered a spectacular view of Nauset Marsh. Jamie led Jessica through the atrium and down a hallway.
“There’s a bookstore we can check out afterward.” He nodded to a small bookstore as they passed, but continued walking through a set of heavy wooden double doors. “This is my favorite exhibit.”
They walked into a small museum, with stuffed birds and other animals perched around the room. There were articles and artifacts detailing the changes in boating, industry, and other aspects of the Cape’s seafaring heritage. It was fascinating, and Jamie didn’t rush her through, even though he’d seen it many times. He stood patiently beside her while she looked at each exhibit, and when they finally made it to the bookstore, which also served as a gift shop, he bought his and hers key rings engraved with their names on one side and an outline of the lower Cape on the other. He gave Jessica the one that said Jamie.
“Now you’re branded.” He kissed her softly.
She loved that he’d given her something so simple and so meaningful.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I am, too.” He put the one with her name on his key ring and then ran his finger down her cheek. “I figured that since you grew up under an iron thumb, you probably never had much time for these types of boyfriend/girlfriend things.”
“I never even had a real boyfriend in high school.” She’d been too busy practicing.
“Well, I know it’s silly, but every girl should experience things that let them know how special they are. Even if it’s about ten years later than what’s typical.”
She reached into her purse and handed him her keys, and he slipped the silver ring that said Jamie onto her key ring. He was right. She did feel special.
They walked around for a while longer, and then they unloaded the bikes and hid her purse in the trunk.
“Why don’t you ride around the parking lot first to make sure you’re comfortable?” He took care of everything, just as he had earlier that morning with tracking down the eBay seller.
“I feel so silly needing to practice,” she admitted.
“Well, you look smokin’ hot, so if that’s what silly looks like, I’m all for it.” He patted the bike seat. “Come on. I want to make sure you’re comfortable.”
She climbed on the bike, and after a minute of wobbling and finding her balance, the muscle memory returned, and she sailed across the parking lot feeling free and light and incredibly happy.
They followed the paved bike trail as it wound through woods and behind several businesses all the way to the Orleans Rotary, where they passed several bikers coming in the opposite direction. For the first time in as long as she could recall, Jessica felt normal. How she’d longed to experience life the way others did, without every hour spoken for, without always being properly attired, aware of giving appropriate answers. Here, she was meeting friends, laughing, and enjoying herself more than she ever had, and she never realized how wonderful a relationship could be until she met Jamie. No matter what they were doing, it felt natural to be with him. He looked out for her, and he treated her well, not to mention those heart-stopping kisses he doled out like candy.
The trail was cool beneath the umbrella of tall trees. They rode side by side where the path was wide enough, and when Jamie was forced to pull ahead, he looked back often to check on Jessica. They were surrounded by woods, with the smell of the sea in the air; it was like they’d entered their own private paradise. The path widened and the trees became sparse as they entered reality again and came into town. They followed the bike path behind a bike rental shop, and a few feet ahead, the path crossed Main Street. Jamie looked handsome with his windblown hair and glistening skin as he came to a stop beside her and grabbed hold of Jessica’s handlebars, then leaned in for a kiss.
“I want to show you something.” He nodded up Main Street toward the traffic light.
“The Chocolate Sparrow?” she asked hopefully. The Chocolate Sparrow was a chocolate specialty store across the street. She’d seen it in the tourist magazines, and now, as the scent of chocolate hung in the air, she could practically taste it.
“Sure, but I had something else in mind.”
She followed him to a stoplight, where they crossed the street and turned down the main road. They came to what looked like an abandoned office complex and parked their bikes by the empty parking lot.
“What is this place?” She took in the cedar-sided offices. The windows were filmy, the offices void of all signs of life.
“I’ll show you.” He took her hand and led her up a set of stairs between two buildings, to the entrance of an office. Above the door was a sign painted to look like a baseball and the words MY MOM THREW OUT MY BASEBALL CARDS written in black.
“Oh.” Her breath left her in a rush of hot air. “Jamie, how did you find this?” She ran her hand along the flat metal door.
“Bread crumbs.” He pulled his phone from the pocket of his shorts and checked his text messages. “Leanna said the owner, Steve, isn’t at the flea market, but she got his phone number from the flea market admin staff.” He smiled at her and handed her his phone. “You can call him.”
“Jamie, you did this. I can’t believe you did all of this for me.”
They sat on the top step. “I like puzzles.”
The way his eyes darkened and his voice softened told her that wasn’t the only reason he’d done it.
“Thanks for helping me try to solve mine.” In so many more ways than one.
“Are you going to call?”
“Yeah, in a second.” She reached for his hand. “I don’t have a lot of friends outside of work, and I want you to know that I really appreciate what you’ve done. It means a lot to me. I’m a little nervous about calling, though. When I came to the Cape it was with the intention of figuring out how to be normal, and finding my dad’s ball was supposed to be something for me to focus on so I didn’t think about playing the cello day and night.”
“What are you worried about? That if you find the baseball you’ll suddenly begin practicing for hours on end?” He gathered her hair in his hands and laid it over her shoulder, then kissed her cheek. “What’s so bad about that?”
“What’s so bad? I’d lose this. You. The ability to be normal.” Her stomach twisted.
“Babe, there are twenty-four hours in a day. Two, three, four, or even five hours of practice? That’s nothing.” He touched his forehead to hers. “Besides, I’ve just found you. There’s no chance I’m going to let you get away that easy.”
“You don’t get it. Practicing is just a piece of my life. I work crazy hours. Maintaining friendships outside of other musicians is nearly impossible, and musicians can be cliquey, like any other industry, I guess, but they can be whiny and complainy. Ugh. It’s a whole different world.”
“That doesn’t sound very different from any other industry. Maybe you just think your life is really different because it’s the only one you know. I work at night all the time, and every office has cliques and complainers. You just rise above it, work around it, ignore it as best you can and move on.” He pressed his leg against hers. “What else?”
“Maybe you’re right. I don’t know. As you said, playing with an orchestra is really all I know. All I’ve ever known. I could go on and on, but it’s not that I hate what I do. I love it. There are times when I crave it like addicts crave a fix. But there are aspects that make it difficult. There’s a lot of travel, some international. It can be exhausting, and…lonely.” She hadn’t realized that until just now, but after spending time with Jamie, she knew what she was missing out on. “Listen to me. I have a job millions would give their eyeteeth to have, and I’m complaining like a child. I just want a little break from it, and the baseball was supposed to distract me from playing, because I really am drawn to it like it’s my drug of choice.”
“Okay, so what I’m hearing is that you love playing, you get lonely, and you want this vacation to be about something other than playing. So if you find your dad’s baseball, you need another distraction until you figure out what you really want to do with your career, right?” He had a serious look in his eyes.
She rolled her eyes. “Ridiculous, right?”
He folded her into his arms and touched his lips to hers. “Not at all. I’d say it’s my lucky summer, because I’m really good at being distracting and even better at keeping you company.” He took her in a deep, passionate kiss that made her tingle all over.
“You are incredibly good at that,” she said against his lips.
“Here, let me distract you again.”
She melted against his lips, her whole body warm and wanting. He was so much more than a distraction. He was becoming the air she needed to breathe.
She made the phone call, hardly able to believe she was getting that much closer to finding her father’s baseball. Her father didn’t even know she was looking for it. She’d struck it lucky when she found what she was sure was his baseball on eBay, and she’d only found eBay because a fellow musician said she was selling her violin on eBay and they got to talking about the website. She’d shown her how to find the site on her phone and how to bid. Luck had been on her side—even if she hadn’t won the baseball, she’d met Jamie, and that made it all worthwhile.
Steve didn’t answer. She left a message with her name and phone number and gave Jamie back his phone.
“Now we wait, I guess.” She told herself not to be too hopeful, but she couldn’t help it. Hope swelled within her.
“Hardly. Now we go enjoy life a little.” He drew her up to her feet and took her in another delectable kiss. “You’ll be sick of me by the end of the day.”
“Not a chance in the world.”
“This is our second date, you know.” He dragged his eyes down her body lasciviously as they descended the stairs.
She felt naked under his heated gaze, and she could hardly believe how much she wished she was.
They ate lunch on the lawn of the Orleans Windmill, overlooking the water, and soaked in the sun before heading across the street to the Bird Watcher’s General Store. By the time they got back to the car at the Salt Pond Visitor Center, it was nearly six o’clock.
“Do you mind if I call Vera and make sure she’s okay?”
“Not at all. I’m going to use the ladies’ room.” Inside the ladies’ room, the fluorescent lights were bright and unforgiving, and as she patted her face dry, she assessed herself in the mirror. Even in the harsh lighting, she noticed a difference in her looks. Her eyes were brighter, and despite being up half the night thinking about Jamie, the fine lines she’d seen around her eyes for the past few months were gone. Not only did she feel happier and more at ease, she was pleased to see that she looked less stressed as well. Before coming to the Cape she’d begun to feel twice her age, and she wondered how much of what she was seeing was caused by Jamie and how much was a result of taking a break from the orchestra.
When she came out of the restroom, Jamie was waiting for her.
“How’s Vera?” she asked, feeling a little guilty for monopolizing his day.
“She’s fine. She spent a few hours at the pool, and she’s already eaten dinner.” He wrapped his arms around her waist. “How do you feel about wine tasting?”
She glanced down at her clothes. “I should probably shower and change first, but it sounds fun.”
“You’re such a tease. You really need to stop talking about showering together.” His eyes darkened.
Her mouth went dry at the idea of being naked beside him. “I…I never used the word together.”
“Maybe I made that part up in my fantasies.”
His lips met hers in a succulent kiss that turned her mind to mush. His hands slid to her lower back as their hips came together, and her entire body flushed at the feel of him. He was so hot. Everything he said and did was hot, sensual, sexy. No wonder her brain melted every time she was near him. If this kept up, he’d have to pour her into bed by the end of their third date.