Page 75 of Hearts Aweigh
Abby wasn’t sure what she’d wanted him to say, but she was 100 percent sure it wasn’tI’m sorry.
She despised the phony laugh that left her mouth. “I guess we checked off everything on the sign. Let’s rejoin the others.” She took off down the path without waiting for him.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
What if he thought she was coming on to him again? In her defense, he’d initiated the kiss, but it might have been because he found her gawky and pitiable. Another gold digger throwing herself at a rich, handsome man.
But he was hard to resist when his mind-numbing, muscular torso was pressed tight against her own. She was only human.
Hadn’t the Shippers said they’d found a new candidate? It was time to meet someone else and get her mind off the tantalizing man who’d just kissed the sense right out of her brain. Past time. Yep. Her alarm was ringing loud and clear.
Emily twisted in her seat and studied her watch for the third time. “Where is Gerry with our update?” She kicked the rubber tip of her metal cane in disgust. It galled her that she had to rely on someone else to investigate, but she was too tired to trek back to the waterfall.
Getting old was for the birds.
She perched on a plastic chair by a table outside the convenience store. After drawing a piece of butterscotch from her purse, Emily unwrapped it and popped the candy in her mouth. Althea took a swig from a bottle of bright orangeMexican soda and dug into a plate of tacos. Daisy sat in the chair beside her. She kept an eye on Maddie, who crouched nearby, creating a tea party on the ground with sticks and leaves.
Althea raised a bulging tortilla shell, and meat spilled from the end. She turned it the opposite way and laughed when more filling dripped. “I think they gave me a left-handed taco.”
Gerry raced to the store and skidded to a stop in front of them. “Oh boy. You’ll never”—she gasped—“guess what I saw. We must be getting better at this matchmaking thing.” She sucked in a deep lungful of air.
Emily stood tall. “What is it?”
“He”—Gerry took another breath—“he kissed her! She was standing on top of Maddie’s step stool, and he laid one right on her.”
“Hallelujah!” Althea waved her taco in the air. “The romantic waterfall scheme worked. Great idea, Emily.” She slapped her on the leg. “Who knew Daisy’s smarty-pants son would fall for such guff?”
The thrill of success coursed through Emily’s arteries, but she tried to remain modest. “All it took was creating the right setting and opportunity. We couldn’t have done it without Fernando. It was providence that there was a shed with a faucet on top of the cliff.”
Gerry scowled. “The waterfall was less than impressive. I’m surprised Spencer didn’t guess someone was hiding up there with a garden hose.”
Emily paced away from the table. “It helps that you worded the legend on the sign so poetically. It must’ve given him inspiration.”
Daisy remained quiet, only the tiniest pucker between her eyebrows betraying her unsettled feelings. Was she second-guessing her decision to let them match Abby with her son?
Althea scooted her chair closer to her roommate and wound an arm around Daisy. “You okay with this, honey?”
Daisy shrugged. “I can’t deny my misgivings. But if this will bring my son happiness, then I don’t regret it.”
“What a relief.” Gerry collapsed in the chair Emily had vacated. “Now that we’re making progress with our couple, I can get to work on my story.” She pulled a notebook and pen from her bag.
“Plugging away on your romance novel?” Althea asked.
“I’m sick of romance.”
“Since when?”
Gerry took out her phone and scrolled. “After a while, it starts to feel like I’m lying to my audience. How disappointed would a prospective reader be to discover the author is a shriveled-up spinster?”
“Hogwash.” Emily pinched Gerry’s upper arm. “You live on a cruise ship and arrange love stories for complete strangers. I imagine a reader would find that fascinating. A few months ago, you even helped capture a drug smuggler.”
“Exactly.” Gerry tapped her pen on the table. “That aberration stirred my creative juices. I decided to try my hand at the suspense genre. I’ve been reading a score of murder mysteries to put me in the mood. And I’ve already picked the perfect crime.” She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Blackmail.”
“Sounds familiar,” Emily deadpanned.
“Real life is the best place to draw inspiration.” Gerry’s gaze returned to her phone. “I’ve got a great idea for an alarm system repairman who wires the indoor cameras to spy on political candidates.”
Maddie ran over with a glossy leaf in her hand, the large white petal of a flower sitting on top. “Grandma, I brought you some tea.”
