Page 53 of Dangerous December
His impulsive, possessive kiss rattled her more than any prospect of an intruder. She knew it meant nothing. But from the look on his face, it had taken all his willpower to step away before he kissed her again.
“Maybe you’d better go,” she whispered.
He dutifully took another step away from her. “After l check your store and apartment for intruders.”
She sighed. “Check things out if it’ll make you feel better, but then you’ll have to go.”
She unlocked the bookstore door and waited as he searched that level, then locked up and led him upstairs.
When he reached the upper floor and opened the door, he drew in a slow breath. “This is nice, Beth.”
He silently studied the subdued, stained-glass chandelier hanging over the kitchen table, which bathed the area in warm golden light.
The deep plush sofa and love seat in dark cranberry, angled toward her small fireplace.
The lush green plants sitting on windowsills and oil paintings of the Rockies adorning any wall space not filled with bookshelves.
To her, the place felt warm, cozy, and inviting, unlike the overly feminine touches at Sloane House. The male residents all seemed leery of sitting on those fragile chairs.
His gaze landed on a paper taped to the refrigerator. It was the layout for the building next to her bookstore, sketched in detail...with cross-outs and arrows, and notes pasted at all angles. Her dreams, encapsulated in that single sheet of paper.
He jerked his attention back to his mission and finished his quick tour through the apartment. “Looks safe. But don’t forget—I’ll be happy to come anytime, if you’re ever worried about something.”
She smiled. “I really appreciate your concern. But I’m a big girl now. Not the shy little thing you married all those years ago.”
“No, I guess not. About that...”
She shook her head. “Over and done with.”
She opened the door to the stairway, hesitated, then turned and brushed a quick kiss against his cheek. “Thanks, Dev. I appreciate it.”
But when she shut the door behind him, she took a piece of his heart with her.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
With Dev’s permission, Beth lent his late mother’s car to Elana, and insisted that she drive to and from her jobs at the motel and bookstore, and whenever she took Cody to school.
Dev, bless his heart, had become something of a private guardian, driving past the bookstore after dark, perhaps coming by more times than she even knew.
With both the loaner car and his reassuring presence, Elana seemed to gain confidence as the days passed.
In the process of working with the residents of Sloane House, Dev and Beth had both ended up at the house for several casual lunches with whoever happened to be home at the time.
There’d been no mention of that kiss or warm embrace, though the memory hung between them like a minefield, and they tiptoed through every encounter, polite and formal and businesslike.
But today, with the town’s Fall Harvest Festival in full swing for the entire weekend, there’d be little time for leisurely talks over sandwiches and coffee.
Beth surveyed the bookstore and smiled. “You’ve been a wonderful help, Elana. I think we’re ready, don’t you?”
Pumpkin-scented candles on candle warmers were placed strategically high, away from the reach of toddlers and the grade-school finger-dippers who wanted to play with the fragrant, melted wax.
Arrangements of fall leaves and chrysanthemums graced the larger tables. The front counter, where separate bowls of Halloween-decorated cookies and pumpkin-shaped homemade dog biscuits—unfrosted, so there’d be no confusion as to which was which—awaited the crowd of tourists who came to Agate Creek for the weekend festivities.
Elana leaned over the fall-themed display in the front bay window to look out at the booths lining the streets and the growing crowd. “It is fortunate to have such a sunny Saturday. It should be a very big day, yes?”
“I hope so. All of us are offering big sales, and the newspaper and radio ads in the Twin Cities should bring traffic our way. I hear the B&Bs and motels are all full.”
Elana leaned farther on her braced hands until her nose practically touched the glass. “There is averybig crowd in front of Dev’s store.”
