need to kiss her got so big that he-
“Pam,” he said as some movement caught his attention.
“What?”
“Pam. She just got in her car.”
“Oh. Oh!” Gracie straightened, brushed her checks, then turned to look out the window. “We have to follow her.”
“Already on that.”
He waited until Pam had pulled out and driven down the block before going after her. He nearly caught up with her at the stop sign, then drove more slowly as she headed into town.
“She could be going anywhere,” Gracie said. “I hope she doesn’t get on the freeway. It’s already dark and I don’t think I could take losing her.”
“We won’t lose her. Pam never paid much attention when she was driving. I doubt that has changed. I’m going to stay close enough to keep her in view.”
They drove through Los Lobos, coming out on the ocean side. When Pam pulled into the parking lot of a small motel, Riley pulled up on the street in front of the low, one-story building.
“Why would she come here?” Gracie asked.
Riley just looked at her. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open.
“No,” she moaned. “Don’t even think that she’s meeting Zeke here. A motel? It’s tacky. Plus, why couldn’t he just go to her house?”
“His car would be recognized.”
“Oh, right. Because no one will notice it here?”
Gracie had a point. Still, there had to be a reason Pam had gone inside.
“We need to check it out,” he said.
Gracie nodded. They stepped out of the car and moved toward the long, skinny building. He noticed Gracie had her damn camera with her, but he knew better than to suggest she leave it behind.
They moved slowly, cautiously, staying in the shadows and stopping to listen before stepping through the carport to the main office. Pam’s car sat at the far end of the parking lot, but she couldn’t be seen.
“She’s gone into one of the rooms,” Gracie whispered. “We have to find out which one.”
Riley debated going to the manager’s office and bribing the guy into giving them the information. But with him running for mayor, he wasn’t sure that was a good idea.
“We could go look in all the windows,” Gracie said. “A lot of them have open curtains.”
“I’m guessing Pam’s in one where the curtains are closed.”
“Oh. Good point.”
Before they could make a decision, there was a loud pop and all the lights went out. Darkness descended with a suddenness that disoriented.
“Don’t move,” Riley said, instinctively reaching for Gracie’s hand. “We need to get back to the car. Stay close.”
His fingers closed around hers. He felt her other hand on his back.
“Lead on,” she said quietly. “I’ll be…” Her hand tugged his and he heard a thunk. “I’ll just be tripping behind you.”
Despite their pressing need to get out of here, Riley wanted to turn around, pull Gracie close and kiss her until she went boneless. If he hadn’t had a bad feeling about the sudden blackout, he would have given in to the urge. Instead he walked in the general direction of the car.
“It’s through here,” he said and rounded a corner.
Just then the night exploded with a brilliant flash of light. Riley instinctively raised his arm to ward off the attack, only to realize whoever had been there was gone. He heard the sound of someone running, then a car door slammed. All the lights in the complex came on just as the car raced out of the parking lot.
“What was that?” Gracie asked.
“Someone took our picture. What I want to know is who would do it and why.”
CHAPTER SIX
“IT WASN’T ME,” Gracie said quickly, waving her Polaroid.
“I know that,” Riley said with a tone of impatience that made her wonder how much she really bugged him. “The flash came from in front of us.”
He frowned, as if considering possibilities, then led the way to the car.
She wondered if he noticed they were still holding hands. She liked the way his fingers laced with hers and how warm and strong he felt. If she was interested in him, this could be a significant development and more than a little thrilling. Except she wasn’t intrigued or thrilled. She was mildly interested in how nice he was to her and occasionally thought of him as good-looking, but that was it.
They drove back to her place. Riley followed her inside without being asked, which could have been another mark in the thrilling column, but, of course, wasn’t.
“I want to know what that was,” he said as they moved into her kitchen and she put on a pot of coffee. “Were we set up? Was it some jerk out for a good time by turning off the lights and taking pictures?”
She pulled out a small cake very much like the one she’d taken to Riley earlier that day only this wasn’t decorated. “Both sound really crazy. How could we be set up?”
“Maybe Pam led us to the motel for a reason. It’s the picture. It has to be. But so what?”
He paced the length of her kitchen and came to a stop in front of the schedule she’d taped up on the wall. “What’s this?” he asked, then read aloud. “Three hundred and sixty point-two dots. Seventy gum paste roses, seventeen small, twenty-three medium, thirty large.”
“What I have to do for a cake I’m making this week.” She walked into the dining room and came back with a large portfolio, then pulled out a sketch of the cake. “It’s really simple. Just three tiers with these little dots scattered and a wreath of roses at the base of each tier. I make all the decorations in advance, even the dots.” She smiled. “To be honest, making the cake is the least of it. All the time is in the decorating.”
“Speaking of your cake,” he said with a smile as he moved toward the one she’d left on the counter. “Are you saving that for a special occasion?”
She grinned. “Knives are in that drawer.” She pointed. “Help yourself.”
She grabbed a couple of plates and two coffee mugs, then pulled out two forks.
“You seem calm,” he said when they both had dessert and coffee and were seated at the small table in the corner.
“About what happened?” she shrugged. “I’m not sure there’s anything to get upset about. The Pam thing is weird, though. Why would she go to a motel in town? I still think she could meet the guy at her house. It was dark. If he pulled into her garage and they shut the door, who would have known he was there?”
“Maybe this had nothing to do with Zeke. Pam talking to him earlier could have meant she needed insurance.”
“Try telling that to Alexis,” Gracie said with a sigh.
He took a bite, chewed, then swallowed. “Want to tell me the secret to your success?” he asked. “I’ve never tasted cake this good.”
“Sorry, no. Besides, you don’t strike me as the baking type.”
“You’re right.” He pointed at the article from People. “You didn’t tell me you were famous.”
“I’m not yet, but I’m becoming better known. That’s nice. More work, but I can handle it.” She glanced over at her schedule. “At least for now.”
“Have you thought any more about expanding?”
“I haven’t had time. I think it would be exciting to be a big company doing wedding cakes all over the world. Then I remember how much I enjoy talking to my customers, figuring out the perfect cake for them and then making it myself. Do I want to give that up? Plus are couples really interested in a cake from a big company?”
