Page 38 of The Sea-Mist Cottage Inn
Micah was like that. I was much younger and less experienced in romantic matters when we met, and he was always good to me in that way, always responsive to my limits, but he was definitely in charge, definitely seducing me, seekingout those limits. All through our marriage that was true, though I didn’t realize in how many ways he’d controlled our life until that life was over.
Roman did not seem to know the steps of the seduction dance. Even as his arms encircled me, even as he drew me tight to his body, I didn’t feel even a hint of a suggestion that he would push against any limit I set out. There was no sense that this kiss would go farther than itself. And the most exciting thing about that was how powerful, how vividly obvious, his desire for me was. He didn’t need to shove me up against the side of his truck and grind his hips on mine to let me know how much he wanted me. He didn’t need to yank my shirt up and shove his hands in to paw at my chest or down into my pants to get between my legs. His desire was obvious in the warmth of his embrace, in the soft, steady press of his lips, in the purr of his voice.
And heknewthat.
That PG-rated kiss was the sexiest moment of my life.
When it was over, he merely lifted his mouth from mine, and we stood there, embracing, quickened breaths mingling in the nook between our bodies.
“I’m glad you came home, Leo,” Roman finally said, and those few words said everything that mattered in that moment.
“So am I.”
FIFTEEN: Confrontation
The Bluster Town Hall does not deserve a name so grand. It’s the same clapboard bungalow that has housed the mayor’s office and other administrative work since Bluster was organized enough to have somebody in charge. It’s kept up well and gets a fresh coat of bright blue paint and white trim every five years or so, but as far as I know, there hasn’t been a serious push to renovate, remodel, or even replace it since central air conditioning was installed somewhere around the Eighties.
No room in that bungalow is anywhere near big enough to hold an actual town meeting, so those are held in the sanctuary of the Coastal Christian Church, the only church in downtown Bluster, sitting right across Windward Street from the town hall.
To be clear, most town meetings are not well attended. They’re held monthly, no matter what business there is to discuss, and a lot of the time, that business is not what you might call captivating. There’s a handful of diehards, mostly elderly, who show up no matter what, but aside from them, usually the only people who show are the mayor, his secretary, the other four members of the town council, and anybody with a vested interest in some item on the published agenda. Most of the time, the council members talk among themselves in an echoing church sanctuary, with maybe ten people sitting in the pews as an audience.
But occasionally, once or twice a year, some item comes up that everybody has an opinion about, or is just curious about, and then the sanctuary fills up.
That hadn’t changed while I was away.
When Roman parked his fancy electric truck in the church parking lot, he had to take a spot against the fence in the back,and the meeting wasn’t due to start for almost fifteen minutes. This meeting might end up being standing room only.
Surprised at the attendance, I pulled my phone out and found the agenda on the town website.
Roman saw what I was doing and chuckled. “It’s you, Leo. I told you, you’re on everybody’s tongue since you’ve been back.”
“That’s so weird to me.”
He turned to me, his brow in a quizzical fold. “I know you’re not surprised people are interested you’re back.”
“No, not that.” I put my phone away; the agenda was not especially interesting, and I wasn’t even on it. I meant to speak during the open forum. “I was ready, before we got here, to face down ... I don’t know, an angry mob or something. Torches and pitchforks. But I’ve been around now almost two weeks, and everybody’s been either openly nice or simply indifferent to me. I thought maybe people didn’t care so much.” Erin had been hostile, but she had good reason.
As I had that thought, I decided I needed to try to talk to her again soon.
“People care, hon. Like I told you, they want to know what you’re up to, and everybody figured you’d show up tonight.”
“I know, I know. We talked about this the other day. But it’s just weird to me that anybody thinks I’m so interesting.”
Now he smiled. “Well, I personally find you fascinating.” He let that sit for a second before he added, “But you remember what this town is like. Everybody’s in everybody’s business, and the people with lives they can’t wedge their noses into are more intriguing than any outsider. Leo, you’ve been the focus of interest around here your whole life. There’s always been some mystery around the Sea-Mist. Marilyn wasn’t exactly a joiner.”
That made me chuckle, but not with the same humor Roman had expressed. “She wasn’t a hermit, either. She ran a business,for fuck’s sake. People knew her.” I sighed. “But yeah, I get your point. She didn’t really have anybody she considered a friend.”
He nodded. “There was a lot of guesswork happening back then, and when you left that only got more intense. Marilyn opened up a little bit after you left, if only to make you out the bad guy. So be prepared, okay?”
None of this was shocking or even unexpected news, but I was about to stroll into the lion’s den. Of course my mother would tell a story about how terrible I was, how ungrateful and selfish and whatever else. I stared out the windshield, wondering if maybe I should just take Manfred’s offer and get the fuck out of here after all.
Then Roman picked up my hand. “They’re interested, not hostile. And I’m here for you. It’ll be okay.”
I folded my fingers over his. “I know. Thank you.” I took a big breath and huffed it out. “Okay. Let’s get it over with.”
I THINK ENTERING THEchurch with Roman’s hand at the small of my back might have been as exciting to the people of Bluster as my simple presence was. Certainly the people nearly filling the pews were as focused on him as they were on me.
I won’t lie; I enjoyed that a lot. Like I said, Roman’s been the town heartthrob since he was old enough to carry the title. He’d told me over dinner that he’d had a few dates in the past couple of years but hadn’t been serious with anyone since he lost Carla and Gabriel. So it felt pretty nice to have him at my side for this performance of the Return of the Braddock, or whatever people thought made me so interesting.
