Page 29 of Sunsets at Seaside
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 girlsawwed 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.”
