Page 76 of The House Beyond the Dunes

“You were already up on the deck headed toward the ocean. You looked lost in thought.”

“I was admiring the view.” I had no idea he’d been watching me. Who else had noticed my arrival?

He presses the spatula into a burger, squeezing blood out the top and sides. “You looked lost in thought, worried even.”

“I can be pensive. Kyle didn’t love that trait. Said he could see my mind drifting to a far-off place.”

“Don’t we all at times. I’m not judging.”

“If you do judge, you can join a large, esteemed group of people. I doubt Kyle’s business partner approved of me. I’m not exactly in their league. Detective Becker doesn’t like me. And Devon is nice, but she sees me as an outsider.”

He laughs. “Everyone is an outsider to Devon. And what league is the best kind? The hoity-toity crew?”

“Educated. Multiple degrees from the right universities. Major life plans already in play. Not me. Up until now, I’ve barely been able to see one step in front of me.”

“You have no big plans?”

“I’ve got plans. But they won’t make me rich. Social workers don’t generally hit the high net worth lists.”

“Who knows? Nothing says you won’t make it big one day.”

“Fingers crossed. I’m not sure I’d know how to live with lots of extra money in my pocket. It’s a good month when I make the rent on time.”

“Back at you.”

“Whatever Kyle and I were is already fading into the shadows. There aren’t even pictures that proveweexisted. Maybe if we’d been together longer, I’d feel this loss deeper.”

His eyes linger on me. Brutal honesty rarely sits well with most people. He raises the beer to his lips, watching me, and then he sets the bottle down carefully on the grill’s side table.

“No pictures?” he asks.

“I thought I had a few on my phone, but they’re gone. No evidence that we existed.”

His gaze fills with questions and something else. What am I seeing now? Longing? Yearning? On too many levels I hope it’s desire. My thoughts shift to his lips. They won’t taste like champagne, but maybe salty hints of beer? Even before I speculate, I halt this line of thought. What the hell is happening to me? I did not return to the beach house for this.

Reece moves behind the grill and drops his head. He removes the burgers from the grill and places them on a clean plate. “Let’s get you back inside. You look half-frozen.”

My skin feels hot, not cold. “Sorry. Too much information.”

“Naw. I’ve heard a lot worse.”

I follow him inside, and the heat in the house eases the bunched tension activated by the cold. He sets two barstools in front of the large kitchen island. “Not super fancy.”

“Works for me,” I say.

He plates the burgers and sets one in front of me. He opens a large bag of sour cream and onion potato chips. “Another beer?”

I finish my first one. I don’t drink much, but right now I want to take the edge off this restless energy humming inside me. “Sure.”

He sets two fresh beers on the island, and we eat in silence. The burger is good and is complemented by the salty chips.

“Thanks for dinner,” I say. “You didn’t have to do this.”

“I like the company. I know it gets lonely up here sometimes.”

I glance at his hands wrapped around the beer bottle. I imagine them running over my skin. Human contact. I’ve been craving it for months, and then when Kyle kissed me on the bed, I freaked. Was it him or some other weirdness about me?

What would it be like if I touch Reece now? Just a brush of my fingertips over his hand? A hug? A kiss? Would I melt into it or run screaming from the house?

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