Saltwater Secrets - Amelia Addler Page 0,15

really have is Luke’s testimony when she confessed.”

“And of course,” said Luke holding out a hand. “I will refuse to provide any evidence and plead the fifth.”

Morgan shot him a look. “You have to stop making that joke, it isn’t even funny.”

“Sorry, I thought it was kind of fun? You know, adding some drama and flair to the trial?”

Jade smiled. It was kind of funny, and she always liked watching Luke push Morgan’s buttons.

“You can be funny on your own time, but when you get to the courtroom, your time is mine,” said Morgan matter-of-factly. “So yes, all we have is what Luke says when he testifies.”

“I don’t see the judge letting the recording slide,” said Chief Hank. “Don’t worry though – keep some faith. The prosecution is doing all that they can for your mom’s case.”

“Thanks Chief,” said Morgan. It seemed like Laura was about to ask a question, but Morgan started talking again. “And in other news, my friend Ahra sent me some preliminary mockups for the Colby Farm project!”

Matthew leaned over to Laura and dropped his voice. “This is that plot of land I was telling you about that we’re trying to prevent from being sold off to developers.”

Laura’s eyes brightened. “Oh, right!”

“I can show them to everyone now? If you’d like to see?”

“We would love to see,” Jade said. “You’ve made me wait all night.”

Matthew shot her a smile from across the table that Jade pretended not to see. She was too embarrassed to look him in the eye. Not that he knew how she felt about him, but even so, she didn’t want to give it away by staring at him pathetically.

They looked at the renderings and they were quite good. After that, Jade was quiet for the rest of the night until it was time to go home. She tried to act as normal as possible, but she always felt shy around new people.

On the way home, Morgan asked her if she’d known about Laura.

“I didn’t, but I’m happy for him. Like you said before, Matthew’s a nice guy.”

Morgan sighed. “I’m sorry Jade, I really thought that he liked you.”

“He does, I think, but as a friend. And that’s just fine.”

Thankfully, Morgan didn’t push the topic anymore. When they got home, Jade got ready for bed and when she was finally alone, she allowed herself to cry a few tears.

She’d been a bit of a fool to get so excited about Matthew – the break-in messed with her head. She made a quiet promise that she wouldn’t allow herself to get carried away again.

There was far too much raging in her imagination recently. She had to get her head on straight and focus on something bigger than herself. The vote was only seven weeks away – that was where she needed to spend her time.

Chapter 6

After dinner on Sunday, Matthew dropped Laura off at the ferry terminal.

“I wish we had more time together,” she said. “Didn’t you say that you were coming to Anacortes sometime this week? Maybe I can make dinner for you.”

“Oh – I’m not sure when I’ll be there yet. I need to talk to Chief about a few things.”

“Well, let me know. I’m free pretty much every night.” She let out a little laugh. “You’re the only person I know here, other than my coworkers.”

Matthew nodded. “I will.”

“I’ll see you soon?”

“Sure.”

She leaned in and gave him a long hug, then a kiss on the cheek, before walking off. He watched her get onto the ferry before getting back into his car. The entire way home, Matthew reflected on how guilty he felt that he was her only friend in the area.

On the one hand, he didn’t ask her to move out here. But on the other hand, it seemed like she’d missed him so much that she didn’t have a choice.

It wasn’t like he had a ton of friends on the island, either. Seeing her was lovely; it was like an echo of home. Even her voice made him feel at ease. He didn’t fully realize how homesick he was until he saw her. Yet he was still stunned by the whole situation and didn’t quite know how to sort through his thoughts.

When he had found her in his driveway the night prior, he was somewhat alarmed to see her. “Laura – what’s going on?”

“So I just moved to Anacortes and was on the island so I figured I’d stop by – actually, maybe we can talk about this inside?”

Oh