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Parker felt a pang of guilt She didn’t know ranted, and she’d definitely been keeping conversation terribly neutral But here he orking like a dog for her And when she’d gone swi, he’d been rather adorably anxious
“Want so”
His eyes were very dark Ethan’s were brown, too, but a lighter color Jah James had eyes that were so brown they were almost black A person could look into those eyes and just about get lost
“Sure,” he said, then went back to ripping off the shingles
Crappy day, huh? Well, she’d —not the tiny one in town, but the bigger one about half an hour away—and had stocked up In the sunny kitchen, she rinsed some spinach, sliced tomatoes, put the water on to boil the pasta Jaine him in there, all soapy and wet And tanned And naked And wet And naked
“Down, girl,” she said to herself, causing Beauty to flop to the floor “I wasn’t talking to you, sweetie,” Parker added The little dog had been trained by someone, it was clear She didn’t put a toenail out of line, as if afraid of being beaten, poor sweet thing “You’re such a good girl,” Parker said, giving her a strip of sala’s tail
Dinner wouldn’t be too fancy, but it smelled heavenly She opened a nice bottle of Meursault, stolen fro down to the dock and set it up, picnic-style She poured a glass of wine for herself and sat down, looking out at the water
The harbor was sainst the rocky shore, and the sun was beginning its descent, filling the horizon with gold, turning the clouds to crea the shore, stopped to peck at so, then ran some more Always in such a hurry, those little birds
The dock shifted, and Parker looked over Jaed into jeans and a white polo shirt and looked like an ad for Ralph Lauren
“Didn’t know you could cook,” he said, looking down at the spread
“Surprise I like cooking Have a seat, James” She patted the blanket, poured solass “Thanks for all your hard work today”
“You’re welcome Thanks for dinner”
“You hungry?”
“Starving”
They ate, plates in their laps, looking over the water, not talking The tide was going out, exposing a few rocks, and a line of cors to dry A few lobster boats motored in There was Billy Bottoed on a postcard; Parker hadup lunch Then caie’s brother, she’d learned The Ugly Anne ca She waved back
“So why the bad mood today?” Parker asked
“Family stuff” James set his empty plate next to him
“Do you have a lot of family around here?”
“I have three brothers and a sister, all in Maine My parents still live in the sarew up”
“Here in Gideon’s Cove?”
“No About an hour and twenty minutes west of here”
“Are you guys close?”
He paused “Some of us are”
“And Dens the bar, he’s your uncle, right?” she asked
“Yep My mother’s brother She’s one of seven My dad has three sisters”
She didn’tfamilies fascinated her She’d only had her parents and the Coven, after all “You must have a lot of cousins, then”
“Nineteen”
Parker smiled “Sounds fun”
“It was,” James said
Was Not is He didn’t explain, though “I alished I had e It wasn’t pretty”
“I remember,” he said
Ah Right At Es, when they’d done a lot more than talk Parker felt her ears heat up Could be the wine
It was getting dark; clouds had gathered off Douglas Point, and the wind kicked up a little, lifting her hair A rumble of thunder rolled in the distance
Parker’s phone cheeped She looked Oh, goody! A ent already had soels
Hey, Parker, sorry to say, they took a pass on the Ark Angels It didn’t seem to have the sa board! Don’t worry We’re all confident that you’re al will hit you Sooner is better, okay? Hope you’re having fun in Maine! Talk soon
Well, bugger Bugger and damn
“Go with the flow”? She’d been waiting for the flow for some time There was no flow And “the same sincerity”? The Holy Rollers had no sincerity! Mickey the Fire Engine, which had been rejected by both her agent and publisher all those years ago…Mickey had sincerity He was an extraordinarily sincere fire engine
“Everything okay?” James asked
“Sure Yes” She looked out at the water “Actually, no My publisher didn’t like ood”
“But you’re a big hit, aren’t you?”