Page 11 of The Glass Dolphin

She knew more now—more of what she liked and what she didn’t—and Liam ticked every box with every stroke of his mouth against hers.

Finally, he said, “We better go, Jules. We don’t want to miss our reservation.”

She did, and she didn’t. “Okay,” she said, her mind as soft as her muscles. She let Liam lead her out of her own house, and the shock of cold wind woke her right back up. She hurried toward his car—until she realized it was a police cruiser.

Then her feet planted themselves on the sidewalk, wintery conditions or not. “That’s what you drove?”

He looked over to her, then back to the car. “I don’t have anything else,” he said. “I cleaned it up. There’s not an ounce of dog hair inside.”

Liam ran the only canine unit in the cove, and she’d first met him at a demonstration on Pearl Island this past fall.

She met his eye, trying to determine why riding around in a cop car unnerved her.

“I’m off-duty, sweetheart,” he said with that sloppy, lopsided smile that should be trademarked. “I’m not going to suddenly flip on the lights and go into a high-speed chase.”

She eyed him. “Knowing you, Liam? You might.” She bumped him with her hip as she passed, which made him laugh. She kept her smile to herself and waited for him to catch up to her so he could open her door.

He swept one hand along her waist while the other pulled on the door handle. “The only thing I’m chasing today, Jules, is you.” With that, he opened the door, and she slid into the seat.

The car was clean, and it smelled like he’d sprayed lemon air freshener throughout the whole thing. She smiled as he jogged around the front of the car, then panicked when she wondered what he’d seen in her—her—that he liked.

“Something,” she muttered to herself as he opened his door. “So act like it.”

“Ready?” he asked as he buckled his seatbelt.

She hastened to do the same. “Yes,” she said. “I’m absolutely ready.” Julia really had no idea what this relationship would bring. She knew she liked how he called her “Jules” and “sweetheart.” She knew she enjoyed kissing him. She’d wasted a bit of time thinking about him too.

So she’d do what her mother had taught her to do long ago: Strap in for the ride. Hold on tight. And have fun.

ChapterSix

Eloise Sherman entered the office at the inn she’d owned for a few years now, her arms full of ingredients for dips and spreads. She’d been the one to send the text to everyone that they couldn’t bring the same dishes they’d brought last year or the year before.

She and her mother had always made a buffet of dips for Christmas, and while the holiday still sat a couple of weeks away, for their Friendship Feast, she planned to do something similar.

“I got it,” Clara said as she got to her feet. She rescued the sagging bag of cream cheese before Eloise could drop it. Not that it would’ve mattered. It was boxed cream cheese. “What are you making?”

“Artichoke dip,” Eloise said, depositing the cans of artichokes on her desk. They rattled and clanked, but she smiled at her two managers. She actually had a third, but Rhonda didn’t come in until eight o’clock at night, and she made sure the inn stayed secure and running overnight.

“I’m also doing a new corn and bacon dip this year,” she said. “So Robin won’t be mad.”

“I’m glad I haven’t been to this before,” Clara said. “Then I can bring whatever I want.”

Eloise pushed her hair out of her eyes, trying to tuck it behind her ear. She’d cut it too short this last time, however, and it just sprang right back out. “What are you making?”

“My mother said she usually brings rolls—that’s what she makes every Christmas—but this year, she’s bringing some thumbprint cookies. So I made potato rolls…with her help.” Clara smiled, and she really had come to life in the past couple of months. Since she’d quit trying to take Friendship Inn from dilapidated to something someone could live in. Since she’d allowed herself to join their group of friends fully.

Clara texted back and forth with everyone now, and she’d shared her daughter’s latest achievement with everyone, complete with a picture of Lena smiling with her boss at the supermarket as she held the Employee of the Month plaque.

Eloise had really enjoyed getting to know Clara, as well as Julia, Maddy, and Tessa. Tessa was off the island right now, as her boyfriend was retiring from his family deli on Nantucket and expected to move to the cove in the New Year.

Julia sat in the other corner of the office, and Eloise sank into her chair and started pulling out groceries. “Good. I love those rolls.” She smiled at Clara and then switched her attention to Julia.

“What did you make? I’m sure it’ll be something delicious.” In her previous job managing an inn, Julia had had to cook for guests. It had been a smaller inn than what Eloise ran here, and she didn’t promise breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

She did offer cookies during afternoon check-in, but they usually ran out in the first couple of hours. Clara had asked about bringing in bagels and muffins for a casual continental breakfast in the mornings, sort of a grab-and-go option for people checking out.

Eloise had sat down to go over the budget, had found a little bit of money to do it, and they’d implemented it in the past couple of months. Because of it, Eloise had updated her website and nudged up her prices. No one had complained. The inn was still booked six months out.

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