Page 17 of New Day at the Beach House

He chuckled and came closer, taking her in his arms. “I do enjoy when you get your back up. Why is that so sexy?”

“You’re terrible.” She did her best not to smile as she drifted into his embrace.

“I really am. I need a good woman in my life to straighten me out, don’t you think?”

“You do.” She nodded but he kissed her right in the middle of it. She hadn’t gotten used to the kissing. It still felt fresh and new and set all sorts of things alight in her.

When he broke away, he touched her cheek. “What do you think about going over to see the Clarkes and their house? I could call them.”

“I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“I’ll set it up for tomorrow then. How’s that?”

She’d be a fool not to. Getting a deal on a house in this market would be something. And being near Conrad was a bonus she hadn’t expected. “All right. Tomorrow. But please let them know I’m not quite ready to buy. That I have to sell my own place and figure all of the moving logistics out.”

“I will.”

Behind her, the coffeemaker sputtered out a few more drops. She patted his chest. “Coffee is ready. We should get our cake and get back to work.”

“We should. We have that book signing coming up after all.”

She rolled her eyes as she turned to get the carafe. Girlfriend. She repeated the word in her mind a few times. Was that what she was now? It sounded so strange. She’d been someone’s wife for a good portion of her life. She’d been a widow for about as long.

“Girlfriend” wasn’t a label she’d ever thought she’d wear again. It felt like something that belonged on a younger person. Someone with more years left.

But she was going to wear it all the same, because if Conrad the former Marine could be her boyfriend, then she could return the favor and be his girlfriend.

They took their coffee and cake to the kitchen table and used their break to talk about the next chapter of the book, the red herring they were setting up, and how they saw it playing out based on the clues they’d laid.

With every word, Margo’s confidence that they’d finish the book grew. She knew there was still a possibility that it might not happen, but they were both determined. And that meant a great deal.

Not only that, but the more she talked with Conrad, the more time she spent with him, the more she was convinced there wasn’t anything he couldn’t do.

After all, he’d gotten her back into the world. Gotten her to write a book. And now she was going to move to a different city, in part because of her daughter and granddaughter, but she’d be lying if she said Conrad hadn’t influenced that decision.

Finishing the book with him ought to be a piece of cake.

If Trina had laid down for more than two minutes, she would have fallen asleep. As it was, she was thinking about crashing on the couch right where she was. Making decisions, big decisions like the ones she’d been making all day, was exhausting. She still had things to print out and file in her binder, but she didn’t have a printer.

They really needed to sort out some stuff if they were staying here in Diamond Beach. There were things back at the house in Port St. Rosa that she needed. Although their printer wasn’t so hot. It didn’t work more often than it did.

She sighed, her brain aching from all the hard thinking she’d done. There was so much to remember. Good thing she had her lists and her binder.

“What’s wrong?” her grandmother asked from her chair. She was paging through a gossip magazine. “You sound like something’s wrong.”

Trina shook her head. “Everything’s great. Just a little worn out, is all. If we didn’t have that play tonight, I’d probably take a nap.”

Her grandmother looked at the time. “You still could. A little one.”

Trina laughed. “I’m afraid if I lay down, I won’t get back up until it’s time to go to bed for real.” Then she held up a finger. “But we do need to have a little chat about what we’re doing.”

“In what way?”

“In the way that we’re staying here. How are we going to get our stuff moved? Are we selling the other house? Ma’s car is still back in Port St. Rosa. She’s going to need that.”

Her mother was currently at the pool, swimming laps before it was time to get ready for the play.

“Right,” Mimi said. “Those are all good questions. Is there much you need or want from the house? Besides your clothing and such.”

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