Page 55 of Lovers at Seaside
She pressed her hands to his chest. “Yes! I have so much to tell you.”
“I can’t wait to hear. I’m glad you’re okay. I was worried about you.”
“I know you were. Thank you for not coming back to rescue me. I love that you wanted to.”
“Not rescue you, baby. Be with you. Comfort you. And my sister has a big mouth.”
“I love her! I love all the girls, and, Grayson?” She grabbed his face, her eyes dancing with excitement. “I love you. So very much.”
“Now, that’s what I like to hear.” He pressed his lips to hers, and felt her melting against him, and just as quickly, she broke the connection.
“Stop kissing me for a second or I won’t be able to think.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Grayson,” she pleaded.
He put his hands behind his back. “Okay. Start at the beginning, but I’m not sure how long I can resist you.”
She went up on her tiptoes. “Me either.” She kissed him again. “Darn it. This always happens. Act unsexy or something!”
He laughed and tugged her against him. “This is as unsexy as it gets. Say your piece so I can take mine.”
“You’re so bad.” She bit her lip, and the darkening of her eyes told him she was thinking about how good it would feel to be close, just as he was.
“What was I saying?” she asked breathlessly.
“Something about an initiation that looks like it included nakedness and chocolate, you looked in the box, and you need to go to New Jersey.”
“Oh, right,” she said. “You make me forget everything.” She shook her head, completely unaware of the effect seeing her flustered over him had on every part of him. Finally she said, “Did you know the girls chunky-dunked?”
“Everyone knows they do, but usually only at night at their community pool.” His eyes narrowed. “Did you skinny-dip here?” Thank goodness they had no neighbors.
“Uh-huh. It was so much fun. I’d never done it before, but…I love them so much, Grayson. It’s like having the sisters I always dreamed of. I wasn’t going to do it, but they were having so much fun, and they could probably convince me to do anything.”
“That sounds like trouble,” he teased. “Tell me the rest, baby. The box? New Jersey?”
She grabbed the box and told him about what she’d found, what she’d read, and how she felt compelled to return the diary to Abe’s ex-wife.
“I called Helga. She did some poking around, and she found his ex-wife, Sarah. I asked Helga why she didn’t just return the diary to her directly. She said she’d never go against Abe’s wishes, but that she’d hoped I’d come to this conclusion on my own. Can you imagine? That’s loyalty.”
“She loved him, baby,” he explained. “She told me she’d been his nurse for the past seven years, and for several years before that she was his personal assistant. Unrequited love is a powerful thing.”
“Oh no. Poor Helga. She must be so sad.”
“She has family to help her through. They live in Hyannis, and she’s returning there after she ties up things here.”
“Good. I’m glad she has family.” She pressed her hands to his chest again. “I’m so glad I have you, Grayson. Will you come with me to see Sarah? I was going to mail the diary to her, but when I called and told her I had it, she broke down and could barely get a word out. I really want to be the one to hand it to her. Mail is so impersonal.”
Marveling at her generous and caring spirit, he couldn’t imagine ever loving her more than he did right then. “Of course you should be the one to give it to her.”
“She’s in Rocky Hill, New Jersey. I’m not sure where that is, but it can’t bethatfar from here.”
“That’s not far from where Matt lives. When do you want to go?”
“As soon as we can. Will you come with me? Please?”
The hope in her big blue eyes made his insides go soft. “What do you think?”
