have a lot of stuff to do, too. How 'bout I come by later? We could have dinner tonight.'
Dumbfounded, she stared at him. 'No.'
He smiled at that. 'C'mon, Grace. Don't be that way. You know we're meant for each other. If you'd just let me-'
'Leave!'
'Okay, but I'll be back. We have a lot of things to talk about.' He turned around and headed across her porch.
Her heart hammering, Grace shut and locked the door.
'I'm going to kill you, Luanne,' she said as she made her way to the kitchen. As she passed through the living room, a shape in her window caught her attention.
It was Rodney.
Aghast, Grace picked up the phone and called the police.
It was almost an hour later before they came. Rodney stayed outside the entire time, moving from window to window to watch her through the closed slits of her blinds, and it wasn't until he saw the police car pulling into the driveway that he ran across her backyard and vanished.
Grace took a deep breath to calm her raw nerves, then went to let the officers in.
They stayed only long enough to tell her there was nothing they could do to keep Rodney permanently away from her. The best she could do would be to swear out a restraining order, but since she was required to treat Rodney until Luanne returned, that was useless.
'I'm sorry,' the officer said in the doorway as she showed them out. 'But he didn't break any laws that would allow us to really get him out of your hair. You could swear out a warrant for trespassing, but unless he has priors, there's not a whole lot they're going to do to him.'
The young officer gave her a sympathetic look. 'I know it's not much comfort. We can try to patrol the area a little more, but the summer is a really busy time of year for us. Personally, I'd advise you to stay with a friend for a while.'
'All right, thanks.' As soon as they were gone, she rushed through the house making sure all the doors and windows were locked tight.
Apprehensive, Grace looked around the house, half expecting Rodney to enter through a crack in the wall like a cockroach.
If only she knew whether or not Rodney was dangerous. His report from the state hospital mentioned his routine deviant behavior of butting into women's lives, but he'd never harmed anyone physically. He'd just terrified his victims with his blind persistence, which was why he'd been sent to the hospital for evaluation to begin with.
The psychologist in Grace said there was nothing particularly dangerous about Rodney, but the woman in her was scared anyway.
The last thing she wanted was to become a statistic.
No, she couldn't stay here waiting for him to come back and find her alone.
Rushing upstairs, she went to pack.
Chapter 11
Selena watched as Julian paced back and forth in front of her stand while she gave a reading to a tourist. Ooo boy, she could watch that man walk all day long. He had such an eye-popping gait that it made her yearn to rush home to Bill and do some wicked things to him.
Over and over, women approached Julian, and he kept sending them away. It was actually funny to watch women strut around him while he remained oblivious to their machinations. She'd never known such a man existed.
But then, even she could get sick of chocolate if she ate too much of it.
Judging by the way women responded to Julian, she was sure he had quite a bellyache from overindulgence. Worse, he looked terribly troubled.
And she felt awful for what she had done to both of them. Her idea had seemed flawless at first. If only she'd thought it through a little more.
How was she to know who Julian had been? If only his name had rung a bell. But her specialty was Bronze Age Greece which had been ancient history even in Julian's time.
Even worse, she hadn't really thought about the man in the book as being a real person. She'd thought he was some kind of genie-like creature without a past or feelings.
Boy, when she screwed up, she always managed to do it in a big way.
Shaking her head, Selena watched while he turned down yet another offer from an attractive redhead. The man was a serious estrogen magnet.
She finished the reading.
Julian waited a few minutes before heading back to her table. 'Take me to Grace.'
It wasn't a request. He said it in a tone of voice she was sure he'd once used to order his troops into battle formation. 'She said-'
'I don't care what she said. I need to see her.'
Selena wrapped her cards in her black silk scarf. What the hell? She didn't need a best friend anyway. 'It's your funeral.'
'I wish,' he said in a tone so low she wasn't sure she heard it correctly.
He helped her close up her stand and wheel her cart to the small shed she rented to house it.
In no time, they were headed to Grace's.
They pulled into the drive at the same time Grace was packing her car.
'Hey, Grade,' Selena called. 'Where you going?'
Grace glared at Julian. 'Away for a few days.'
'Where?' Selena asked.
She didn't answer.
Julian left the car and headed straight for Grace. He was going to set this right, no matter What it took.
She tossed a bag in the trunk of the car and started away from him.
Julian grabbed her arm. 'You didn't answer her question.'
Grace shrugged his hand off. 'What are you going to do, manhandle me if I don't answer?' Her eyes narrowed on him.
He winced at her rancor. 'And you wonder why I want to leave?'
Then he saw it, the tears she was trying so hard to hide. Her eyes were bright and shiny.
Pain cut him deeply. 'I'm sorry, Grace,' he whispered, cupping her cheek in his hand. 'I didn't mean to hurt you.'
Grace watched the regret and longing war on his face. His touch was so warm and gentle. For a moment, she could almost believe he did care for her.
'I'm sorry, too,' she whispered. 'I know it's not your fault.'
He gave a bitter half-laugh. 'Actually, everything about this is my fault.'
'Hey? Are you two kosher?' Selena asked.
Julian's gaze burned into Grace's, making her tremble from its intensity.
'Do you want me to leave?' he asked.
No, she didn't. That was the whole problem. She never wanted him to leave her again. Ever.
She took his hands into hers, then lowered them from her face. 'It's okay, Selena.'
'In that case, I'll be heading home. Later.'
Grace barely heard her drive away. Julian commanded all her attention.
'Now, where were you going?' he asked.
For the first time since the police had left, she actually felt as if she could breathe again. With Julian's
