Page 35 of Saltwater Promises
No. They were the only non-couple on the tour. Mike could be clueless sometimes, but he couldn’t be that clueless.
Lynn wasn’t going to waste her time trying to guess what he was thinking. After the tour, when they were invited outside for a picnic and the wine tasting, she started asking some questions.
“What are you doing here, Mike?”
He was laid out on the blanket, a placid expression on his face. “Waiting for them to bring the cheese, I guess. I’ll be interested to see what sort of pairing they recommend with that blueberry wine.”
Of course he’d taken her literally. “No, I don’t mean that. I mean in general.”
He let out a sigh and sat up. “I promise that when it’s all done, I’ll tell you about it.”
“When what’s all done?”
“My investigation.”
“No, I’m not talking about that.” Lynn shook her head. “That’s a different problem.”
“There’s a problem?”
She let out a sigh and focused her eyes on the mountain. It was such a beautiful place. Did she really want to spoil the moment?
Without honesty, though, the moment was already spoiled. “I think there is a problem.”
He leaned in closer. “What’s wrong?”
“I find myself in a similar situation to one I was in years ago.”
“Did something happen?”
She folded her arms across her chest. Did he even remember kissing her? He’d probably kissed lots of women since then. “Yes. It did.”
“What is it? Maybe I can help.”
Lynn laughed. Could he really be so clueless?
“What?” he asked again.
“It’syou, Mike.”
His gaze fell, brow furrowed. “I’m not sure I know what you mean.”
“Don’t play dumb.”
He put his hands up. “I’m not!”
Lynn let out a sigh. “Fine. Why did you bring me here? This is quite obviously a very…” She dropped her voice to a whisper. “Romantic sort of place. Don’t you agree?”
He looked around and scratched the back of his neck. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
She studied him for a moment before speaking again. “Why did I suddenly find you in my life again?”
“Honestly, it was an accident. But a happy one, I thought.”
“Right.” She’d always regretted never flat-out asking him how he felt before, but now she remembered why she didn’t do it. He could be so maddening!
“You don’t believe me? Lynn, I’d never lie to you. It was a coincidence that I saw you on the island. This wasn’t some covert scheme to find you and seduce you.”
Oh, there it was. He definitely said that he wasn’t trying to seduce her. She felt like a fool. Of course he wasn’t interested in her – and he never had been! The only thing that Mike Grady cared about was the job. How could she still be asking herself the same questions all these years later?
