how these investigations are going to go,” she said, smiling. “I’m just glad I was able to be of help. Call me if you need anything else.”
“Sure,” Grace said, but she really didn’t mean it. While Isobel had been helpful at the Victorian house, she’d been late and of zero use at the cottage. Grace had a feeling that if she and her coven had just tried to talk to the ghosts, they’d have gotten the same information. When was she going to learn that her coven could handle almost anything if they put their minds to it? They were small but mighty.
A text came back from Joy almost immediately. I’m on it. Will call tonight with the research.
Grace grinned, ushered Isobel outside, and locked up. Twenty minutes later, she walked into the Pointe of View Café and nearly gasped out loud when she spotted Lucas King sitting in a booth waiting for her. He was clean-shaven with salt and pepper hair that had been recently cut. And damn, he was built as if he regularly hit the gym. Grace blinked and wondered if Hope was going to lose her mind. Because the man that had just moved back to Premonition Pointe had gone from sexy nerd, to full-blown tattooed hottie.
Chapter Nineteen
Grace walked over to Lucas, and just as she sat down across from him, her entire body broke out into a sweat as a hot flash took over. Without thinking, she started to fan herself with the folder she was holding. “Damn, is it hot in here, or is it just you?”
Lucas sputtered out a laugh and said, “Excuse me?”
“Um… dammit.” Her face flushed so hot she started to wonder if her head was actually going to go up in flames. “I meant is it just me.” She pulled her hair off her neck and tied it into a ponytail. “Just one of the joys of getting older. My temperature control button seems to be malfunctioning.”
“I can see that.” He handed her a napkin and added, “Looks like you could use one of those personal fans they sell on TV.”
“Thanks.” She took his napkin and dabbed at her neck and cleavage. But what she really wanted to do was grab his glass of ice water and dump the entire thing over her head. It was a damned good thing Grace had zero interest in Hope’s ex; otherwise she’d have been a thousand times more embarrassed than she’d ever have thought possible.
Lucas studied her for a moment and then grinned. “It’s good to see you, Grace.”
She dropped her folder on the table and smiled back. “You, too. You’re looking pretty good. Those tattoos are giving you a bad-boy vibe that kinda works for you. Just tell me one thing.”
He sat back in the booth and gave her a wary look. “Sure, as long as it isn’t about Hope.”
Grace snorted. “Oh, those questions are coming, but not yet.” She braced her elbows on the table and said, “What I want to know is how you manage to fight off all the admirers. I bet you have women and men chasing you down for your number. I mean, you’ve always been blessed in the looks department, but with the tattoos… sexy, Lucas. Very sexy.”
“Shut up, Valentine,” he said, laughing.
Grace chuckled. “Just calling it like I see it.”
“Sure you are. When did you become such a smartass?”
“Right about the time I stopped giving a shit what anyone thought about me,” she said.
He raised his eyebrows. “Was that right about the time you lost two hundred pounds of asshole?”
Grace started to chuckle and then fell into a fit of laughter. Her eyes were watering by the time she got herself together. “Yeah. Right about then.” Grinning, she reached across the table and clasped her hand over his. “It’s really good to see you, Lucas. Tell me you’re home for good.”
His smile vanished, and he said, “I’m home for good.”
“What is it?” she asked, squeezing his hand. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m that transparent?” he asked.
“Yes. You look just like you did when someone stole your favorite Matchbox car back at sleep-away camp when we were eight years old.”
His lips twitched into a ghost of a smile. “You would bring that up.”
Grace had known Lucas most of her life. They’d met at summer camp and had always been friends, and then later when Grace moved to Premonition Pointe as a young adult, he’d been the one to introduce her to Hope. The only time she’d ever seen him