Page 62 of The Spotted Cottage By the Sea
“Baa!” Sheila added, and they burst into laughter.
Patty shushed her and said, “Good. A woman needs her stubbornness. It keeps the world from rolling her over.”
“I didn’t know there was a goat in here,” said a voice from behind.
Sheila sucked in a breath.
Russell.
She turned, and as much as she thought she was prepared for this moment, seeing him still took her breath away.
He was undeniably the best-looking person she’d ever seen close up, but it was more than that. There was something else, something she had not realized until this moment, until she felt a smolder in her chest.
“Well, if it isn’t our celebrity relief!” Patty put a hand on his chest. “Oh, that’s firm. You’re big on the exercise, aren’t you?”
He laughed and patted her hand. “I hope my being here was more helpful than distracting.”
“Of course it was,” she said. “I hope you’re not too upset at me for throwing you to the wolves.”
Russell would love nothing more than to be thrown to wolves. Sheila met his eyes and they smiled.
Eliza raised an eyebrow. “What’d you do, Granny?”
“Nothing!” she said in a high-pitched voice. “I just gave the people what they wanted.”
“She blew my cover,” Russell said, then let out a laugh. “I was happy to help.”
“Good.” Patty said, then grabbed Eliza by the arm. “I need you to come with me.”
“Why?” Eliza tried to rip her arm away, but Patty was not stopping. “Can we –”
“Come along now!” She said peppily, leading Eliza away.
Normally, Sheila would’ve felt embarrassed at this obvious ploy, but she was too busy grappling with other things, like the realization that Russell held her heart in his hands, and that she’d sent him a threatening email about a whale she hadn’t known he partially owned.
The fact that he knew neither of these things made her feel absolutely panicked.
“Hey,” he said, his beautiful blue eyes locked on her. “That performance was incredible.You’reincredible.”
Her usual instinct was to dismiss any compliments, but she stopped herself and said, “Thank you. It was honestly the best I’ve felt in ages.”
“You belong on the stage,” he said before taking a step closer to her, lowering his voice. “Can we talk? In private?”
Oh no.He knew.He knew she was the one who sent the email.
Her heart pounded against her ribs. This wasn’t how she wanted to tell him, but it was happening. She had to go with it. “Sure. In the kitchen?”
He nodded and she led the way through the door and into the cozy little space. Gold-rimmed teacups were stacked in the sink, and plates with crumbs and jam were piled on the counters.
No, she couldn’t do it. She didn’t have the words. She had to change the subject. “How was your trip off island?”
“It was good. Spent more money.” He laughed. “You probably could have guessed.”
“Yes. That tracks.” She smiled. “I finished making a budget for you.”
He winced. “Ah, a budget. How bad of shape am I in?”
This was far easier to deliver. “Pretty bad. You need to do another movie, or a product endorsement, or something.”
