I was just thinking we’d better cool it when Dallas stopped kissing me. His face hovered above mine with a question.
I answered it before he could ask. “Um, now would probably be a good time to let you know that I won’t ever invite you to stay over.”
He hesitated, and his eyes softened. “I can respect that.”
Relief flooded through me. I’d made decisions long ago about my future, and even though sometimes it was hard, I still knew that I wanted to wait until marriage to share the most intimate part of me. Some of my boyfriends had called me old-fashioned and prudish, but my headstrong nature had taken that as a challenge and made it easier to keep my promise to myself. Once I became a wedding planner, it seemed even more important for me to have the perfect wedding, and that included saving myself for the wedding night. I felt my face flush thinking about how close I was to Dallas at the moment.
His face was almost touching mine, and he cleared his throat. “I care about you too much to do otherwise.” He nuzzled my cheek. “But I’ll admit, kissing you is like nothing I’ve ever felt before.” He kissed me once more, and for a moment as his mouth moved against mine, I wondered if he realized how serious I was about no sleepovers. He sucked on my lower lip and then broke contact. He pulled me to a sitting position beside him and stood up. I felt surprised that part of me wanted to keep kissing him, but I let him pull me to a standing position beside him.
“Thanks for coming,” I murmured. I walked toward the front door. We stared at each other for a moment, and I leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “And thanks for that fine kissing.”
“Have a good night, Adri.” His mouth curved into a smile that seemed irresistible, but his hand was already on the door knob, so I resisted the urge to kiss him again.
“Good night.” I lifted my fingers in a wave. Then I closed the door, locked it, and hurried to get ready for bed before the feelings of euphoria were replaced with cold dread and diamonds.
Chapter 16
Garden Party Centerpiece
Fill a Mason jar half to three-quarters full of water. Add slices of lemon and a bouquet of your favorite flowers—try white lilacs, daisies, freesia, or daffodils for a great contrast.
Courtesy of www.mashedpotatoesandcrafts.com.
Over breakfast, I considered my options for communicating with the diamond smuggler. My mother’s delicious homemade bread and a soft-boiled egg were one of my favorite meals, and it irked me that my worry over the diamonds was still giving me indigestion.
I pulled out my favorite lunch bag and frowned. On a sticky note, I wrote:
I don’t have any diamonds. What are you talking about? If you’re the one who stole my dresses, the police will find you.
It was the best I could do, and I didn’t even want to think of what Tony would say to me when he found out. I tucked the note in the bag and zipped it shut. The list of things I needed to do buzzed like a ticker tape through my brain as I got ready for the day. At fifteen minutes to seven, I grabbed my purse and lunch bag on the way out the door. The ping of my phone and Dallas’s name next to a text made me smile.
I’m in the mood for more kissing. Can we do lunch?
His newfound confidence surprised me. Part of me wondered—was the shyness all an act to get me to fall for him? He seemed plenty forward now. It was okay with me, though. My toes were still tingling after last night’s makeout session. I sent a reply before I dashed out the door.
Wish I could. I may need resuscitation by the day’s end, though. :)
Roxy’s grocery store was less than ten minutes from my condo. The store was well loved by the tourists and locals alike for its wide selection of organic food, but it definitely wasn’t a location I would’ve picked for a diamond drop-off. I guessed that was why the thief had selected it. Trying to appear inconspicuous, I pulled into the parking lot and walked around to the back of the store. I saw a delivery van parked there, and a man pushed a cart stacked with crates of whole-grain bread toward the store. I nodded at him and made a beeline for the dumpster.
Please don’t shoot me, I thought as I pulled the lunch bag from my shoulder and surveyed the area for anyone who might be a diamond-smuggler-turned- murderer. I didn’t see or hear anything out of the ordinary, so I dropped the bag behind the dark green trash bin and hurried away.
My heart pounded, and my breakfast was thinking of making a reappearance by the time I reached my vehicle. I was the girl who couldn’t deliver Secret Santa treats to the neighbors without having a panic attack. How had I gotten myself into this mess?
The parking lot didn’t have any silver Toyota Camrys in residence, and I felt pretty certain that if he had any kind of criminal training, the man would have switched vehicles by now. The inside of my cheek was sore from clenching my teeth on it.
I reached for the door handle of my Mountaineer but jumped back when I noticed Colton reflected in the window. I whirled around and watched as he jogged toward the store. He was in uniform, but he didn’t have any packages to deliver. Hurrying after him, I caught a glimpse of him as he passed by the carts and headed through the produce section empty-handed to the back of the
