Page 58 of The Sweet Life

“According to my mom, they are, and she’s still mad at them too. At least she was this afternoon. She’d planned to stop by to give me an update, but we had Alice’s thing. She’ll stop by tomorrow to give me the lay of the land.”

“Do you really think it’s a good idea having them all under the same roof?”

“I checked the weather. It’s supposed to be nice Sunday. Well, according to my sister it is. I’ll call Amos and ask him.” Willow’s grandfather was a weather whiz. “I thought we’d set up tables under the trees in the back. It will be all nice and—”

“Chillmellow?” he asked, a rumble of laughter in his voice.

“Why are you laughing?”

“You’re the least chillmellow person I…” His voice trailed off, his eyes narrowing on something behind her. Then he smiled at her—but it seemed a little forced, and she didn’t understand why.

“Don’t look over your shoulder. We—” He reached over the table, placing his hands on either side of her face, preventing her from looking behind her. “I should have told you to lookover your shoulder.” He groaned when her head automatically started turning.

“I can’t help it. I’m a curious person,” she said, her eyes straining to look behind her.

He stood and leaned across the table and kissed her, hard. She had a feeling he was putting on a performance for whoever he didn’t want her to look at, but then the kiss changed. His lips softened, and the kiss felt all too real and good and deep and hot, and she wished they weren’t sitting on the Smoke Shack’s patio with the mother and her three kids looking on. That reminder alone was enough for Sage to break the kiss, which had the added benefit of her synapses snapping into place.

“Is it Spicy Eggplant?” she whispered, so close she could count his eyelashes. She hadn’t realized how long they were.

“No. Spicy Eggplant is a seventy-year-old woman who lives in a retirement home in Iowa.”

“You talked to her?”

He nodded, his eyes on something behind her. “Just as I was leaving to pick you up to go to the funeral home. I got distracted and forgot about it until now. She’s a nice woman who’s having fun with her online persona. She loves Carmen, Eva, and Gia and didn’t realize her comments might be crossing the line or causing them concern. She promises to rein it in.” He trailed his lips across her cheek and brought his mouth to her ear. “We need to get this guy out of the vehicle so I can get a look at him. Let’s go.”

“Where are we going?”

“For a romantic walk along the beach, and you’re not going to look behind you. Right?” He laughed when her head startedturning, and he gently nipped her earlobe. “Do you ever do as you’re told?”

She held his gaze. “Rarely, but I’ve been known to make exceptions.”

He cleared his throat. “Maybe we should save that conversation for later.” He straightened, gathering up their empty containers and putting them in the bag. “What are you doing?”

“Taking a selfie.” She smiled at her phone, fluffing her hair while angling the screen to get a look at the cars lining the road. She spotted creepy guy’s vehicle two down from her BMW. “You’re right. Let’s go for a walk.”

She took off her heels when they reached the sandy path bordered by seagrass. “Can you see him?” she murmured to Jake, who was walking backward, pretending to take a photo of her.

“You need to pose or smile so this looks real,” he said quietly, laughing when she did a series of what she thought of as runway poses. “He’s getting out of the car.”

They walked across the warm white sand to the shoreline. Jake took off his shoes and rolled up his pant legs. Then he took her hand, and they walked along the water’s edge. The white foam topping the waves covered their feet as they kicked water in the air, the sun shining on the water droplets giving it a magical quality.

“That’s a great picture,” Jake said, and jogged ahead. He turned to face her, smiling at her, encouraging her to kick the waves higher, shaking his head when she got him wet.

She laughed, forgetting for a minute that this was for show. Not really surprised to discover there was a part of her that wanted it to be real. It was a silly thought. She and Jakewouldn’t work long-term. They wanted different things in life. For one, he wanted to live in Sunshine Bay, and she wanted to live in Boston.

“Did you get him in the shot?” she whispered when Jake rejoined her, reclaiming her hand.

“No, but I got a great picture of you,” he said, holding up the screen. “You look beautiful.”

She frowned, wondering if he meant it or was acting for their audience of one. She thought she had her answer when he put his arm around her shoulders, drawing her against him, resting his head on hers. He raised his phone. “Smile.”

He took several more, then let her go to look through the photos. “Gotcha. Now to figure out who you are.” He turned the screen to her. “He fits the description of the guy Alice was seen talking to. And see that right there.” He drew his finger along the man’s jaw. “He knows we’ve made him, which means he’ll either go to ground for a while or make his approach in the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours. I have the feeling it will be the latter.”

“Do you think he’s dangerous?”

“My gut says no, but I’ll have my friend run photo recognition on him and see what pops. You can send the photo to your family. Maybe someone will recognize him.” He glanced over his shoulder. “We can take off now. He’s gone.”

“Great,” she said, hoping he didn’t catch the hint of disappointment in her voice. So much for a romantic sunset walk. It really had been all for creeper guy’s benefit.

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