“I guess I’m giving the people of Seaview Key more credit than that,” he said. “And I’m thinking we’d be discreet.”
“There’s no such thing as adequate discretion in a town this size. Somebody always finds out. I imagine half a dozen people already know exactly how much time we’ve been spending together.”
“In plain sight,” he countered. “Not even a kiss in public, although I’ve been desperate to get another taste of you, one that didn’t involve seawater. What could be more discreet behavior than that?”
She choked on a laugh. “I really did kiss you when you were giving me mouth-to-mouth, didn’t I? I was hoping I’d been wrong about that.”
“You weren’t wrong,” he said. “It got my attention, that’s for sure.”
“Then that’s what this is really about, just a crazy impulse I wasn’t even aware of,” she said earnestly. “Chemistry kicked in. Curiosity. It’s perfectly natural.”
“And none of that kicked in for you? I was the only one affected because, what? I’m a guy?”
“Okay, no. I was affected, too, but it was a heat of the moment thing. Nothing more.”
“Not like it was with you and Luke?” he asked pointedly.
“That was different,” she said at once.
“Because it was Luke?”
“Because we were kids. Adrenaline and hormones got all mixed up together. As you just pointed out, you and I are adults. We know when something is just a fluke.”
“A fluke? That’s what you’re calling it?” he asked, feeling a sudden urge to prove her wrong. Unfortunately, it was evident that she was scared to death of the truth. For whatever reason, she wanted him to be wrong about the heat simmering between them even now.
He looked at her until she met his gaze. “I think I could prove to you it wasn’t any fluke,” he said softly.
She refused to look away, but he could tell by the desire in her eyes that she was waiting for him to do just that. He was the one who broke eye contact.
“And one of these days, I will,” he told her. “Just not today.”
He stood up, bent down and pressed a brotherly peck to her forehead. “See you around, Abby. Work on that relaxation thing, okay? Your pulse seems to be racing.”
He hid his smile as he walked away yet again without claiming what he really wanted. There was time. That was one of the lessons of Seaview Key—that there wasn’t any rush. Good things happened in their own sweet time. And something told him that once he and Abby made it as far as a bed, it was going to be very, very good. After that? Well, maybe just this once he didn’t need to be looking too far into the future or examining all their differences. Maybe he needed to live in the moment.
7
Seth flinched when Luke told him that Ella Mae wanted him to come to her place right away on Monday morning.
“She’s not feeling well?” he asked Luke worriedly.
“I don’t think that’s it. She didn’t call the emergency line. She called the clinic directly and asked for you. She sounded more annoyed than sick.”
Seth relaxed and allowed himself a satisfied grin. “Oh, boy. I’ll bet I know what that’s about. Jenny was going by to see her this morning. I’m guessing my name came up.”
Luke laughed. “No question about it. I’m sure Jenny told her that you were behind this scheme to get her involved in raising money for the rescue boat. You’d better get going. You don’t want to be responsible for one of those spells of Ella Mae’s.”
“I’m supposed to be at the press conference with Abby in an hour,” Seth reminded him.
“Then you’d better hurry,” Luke advised, a glint of humor in his eyes. “Bring Ella Mae along with you. She could probably use an outing.”
“Something tells me she’s barely going to be speaking to me once she’s said her piece,” Seth said. “I doubt she’ll want to go out in public with me.”
“Only one way to find out.”
“You’re taking entirely too much pleasure in this,” he accused his friend. “Next time I’ll just keep my prescriptions restricted to medications.”
Luke’s expression sobered at once. “Don’t do that, Seth. You have good instincts. This plan of yours, no matter what Ella Mae might say to you, was exactly right.”
The praise bolstered Seth as he headed for the older woman’s two-bedroom home set on a small lot with little more than a glimpse of the water through the overgrown shrubs and trees. He couldn’t help noting how much nicer it would be if some of that were trimmed back and cleared away. Maybe next spring, when the island was quiet again, he could get a few people to help with that.
Ella Mae was waiting for him on her porch, her expression sour. “Took you long enough,” she grumbled.
“Luke said it wasn’t an emergency,” he responded, taking a seat next to her. “What’s on your mind?”
“You were the one behind Jenny’s visit this morning,” she said. “Don’t even think about denying it. She admitted as much.”
“Then you don’t need me to confirm it.”
“I thought you were a paramedic, not a meddler.”
“Sometimes the cure for what ails a person has nothing to do with medicine,” he said. “I thought you might enjoy doing a good deed, instead of sitting around here all by yourself.”
“I like being by myself,” she claimed. “I have my books.”
“And, of course, those can’t talk back,” he said.
She gave him a sharp look. “I worked hard all my life,” she told him. “You think trying to cram a little knowledge into the heads of kids who resist at every turn is easy?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Then you can understand why I think I’ve earned a little peace and quiet,” she said.
Seth leaned toward her and took her frail hand in his. Hers was trembling just a little. “There’s such a thing as too
