Page 121 of Somebody's Watching Me
“Thus, why I’m wearing this dress.”
“Yeah, that thing looks painful.”
Jamison sighed, surveying the crowd. No one was paying them any attention. Well, except for her father on the other side of the promenade. He was stuck talking to some older, bald man, but every so often, he would catch her eye and mouth,are you okay?
She nodded, letting him know she was fine.
“Ugh, I can hardly breathe in this dress.”
“Poor thing.” Abe laughed. “Suffering just so you can get laid.”
“What about you,Angel?“ she teased, knowing everyone was listening. Even Izzy. “Do you really think that outfit is going to get you into Izzy’s bed?”
“Hell, yeah it is.” Abe ran a hand down his shirt to smooth it out. “I look good.”
He always looked good. Abraham worked hard on his body, keeping his lean frame packed with muscle. Mix in his boyish smile, and women couldn’t resist. Tonight was no exception, with appreciative looks coming his way from every direction.
“If you can’t land Izzy, you’ve got options. Little Red Riding Hood over there is practically drooling.”
Abe’s brows shot up. “I should go borrow Rowan’s wolf mask.”
As she giggled, a light tap on her shoulder had her turning. “Oh, hey, Jan.”
“Hi, again!”
Eddie wasn’t with her, and from the corner of Jamison’s eye, a group of what had to be Hollingsdale PD loitered, sticking out like sore thumbs.
But that was okay. Their presence helped relax her a little.
“I had a question about the shrimp,” Jan said, biting into a chilled one from her plate. She’d lost the wig somewhere, and her long chestnut hair blew about in the increasing wind. “Do you think your environmentalist could help with something we have going on here?”
Jamison’s stomach growled as she watched Jan eat. Thirty minutes. All she had to do was stick this out for another thirty minutes, and she could go home to stuff her face. “What’s going on here?” she asked. “Another jellyfish invasion?”
Red Riding Hood scampered over to talk with Abe, arching down in a way that allowed him to see all the goodies going to Grandma’s house. Jan took the opening to move closer.
“No, it’s the turtles. We have one more round of hatchlings to go, and they’re taking their sweet time.”
Jamison frowned. That was an easy fix. “The best option is to extend lights out on the beach until the end of the month. If the hatchlings aren’t gone by November, call someone at the Port Michaelson marine park to come look at the nests.”
“I’m concerned that if we tamper with the nests, the turtles won’t return to lay their eggs.”
Other than making sure the residents at their beachfront developments kept their exterior lights off at night during hatchingseason, the comings and goings of sea turtles had nothing to do with Fairweather Holdings. However, there were always activist groups who would make a stink, and tarnish Fairweather’s already murky image. Shrimp, turtles, and then there was that flock of endangered whooping cranes early in her career. Jamison had no idea Mother Nature would become her greatest adversary in this field.
“Again, the best we can do is call in an expert at the marine park.”
“Did you know that sea turtles will mate for life?” Jan asked, popping the last of her shrimp in her mouth. “It’s really beautiful.”
Living close to the beach and participating in plenty of school field trips to estuaries, Jamison shook her head. “Not true. Female sea turtles are monogamous, but a male sea turtle will screw any female who stays still long enough.”
“I meant seahorses.” Jan teetered to the side. With a little food, she was steadier, but still wobbly. “But what I’m trying to say is, I think it’s great that the wedding is back on.”
Perhaps it was time to invest in a small sign. Something she could post over her heart that said insert knife here whenever anyone brought up the wedding. This way, people would know exactly how to put her out of her misery. “The wedding isn’t back on.”
Jan’s eyes sharpened, suddenly less hazy. “Oh, I’m sorry. After the whole make-out session back there, I just assumed you two were a thing again.”
“Not exactly.”
That answer made Jan happy. “So, there might be another seahorse out there for you.”
