Take the Chance (Top Shelf Romance #9) - Brittainy Cherry Page 0,265

the air was muggy. On my way up the sloped, cottage-lined street toward the highway, I called Ann and was surprised when she answered, since it was still early.

“Oh, hi, Ann. I was just going to leave you a message and tell you that I’ve decided not to go home early.”

“Oh good!” she said. “I’m so glad. You survived the little blackout last night?”

“I certainly did. I lit a candle and had a perfectly enjoyable evening.” Want to hear about my fourgasm?

“Happy to hear it. You enjoy the rest of your stay, and let me know if you need anything.”

“I will. Thank you.”

I crossed the highway right in front of the Valentini house, and saw Georgia come out the front door, coffee cup in her hand.

“Good morning!” she called from the porch with a wave.

“Good morning!” I waved back and headed up the gravel path toward her.

“I saw you crossing the road. What brings you here so early?” She smiled at me over the brim of her mug.

Damn, what should I say? My cheeks warmed before I could formulate a response. “Uh, I thought I’d offer Jack a hand again.” I gestured over my shoulder in the direction of the lake. “Not much of a beach day.”

“Nope.” She looked a little amused. “Jack know you’re coming?”

“No.” I stuck my hands in my jeans pockets. “Truthfully, he might have told me not to bother. Not sure I was that much help the other day.”

She laughed. “Any extra pair of hands is a help. But why don’t you come in for a cup of coffee first? He doesn’t know you’re coming, so he won’t miss you yet, right?”

“Right.” I smiled, even though I was kind of anxious to see him. “OK, thanks. Coffee sounds good.” I followed her into the house and down the hall to the kitchen, where Cooper sat on the floor playing with plastic containers and lids.

I ruffled his curls. “Hey, cutie.”

“Cream and sugar?” Georgia asked, pouring me a cup.

“Yes, please.”

I took a seat at the counter, and she placed a steaming cup of black coffee, a pitcher of cream, and a sugar bowl in front of me. “There you go. Doctor it up.”

I added some white stuff to my coffee until it was a shade of beige I could handle, and took a sip. “Perfect. Thank you.”

Holding her cup in two hands, she leaned on her elbows across from me and smiled like the cat that hasn’t eaten the canary yet, but knows where it lives.

She suspects something.

Again my face warmed, and I tried to hide the blush behind my coffee cup.

“I’m not good at keeping secrets,” she blurted.

“Oh?”

“No, not when I’m this curious.” She set her cup down and straightened up. “Last night when I came home from work, I noticed Jack’s car wasn’t there. Then this morning I saw him driving home. And I’m just wondering where he might have spent the night.” The glint in her eye told me she had a pretty good idea.

I shifted in my seat, my eyes dropping to the ivory Formica countertop. “Uh…I’m not really, um, at liberty here to…” Shit! We hadn’t talked about this at all. Did Jack want to keep our little fling a secret?

“It’s OK.” She held up one hand. “You don’t have to tell me anything specific. Let me just say that yesterday when he came over to apologize, both Pete and I sensed something different about him. He was more relaxed, more willing to listen, less stubborn and crotchety.”

“Interesting.” I played it cool with a big sip of coffee.

“It was. Very.” She smiled as she toyed with her cup. “Pete asked him flat out if he’d gotten laid.”

I swallowed the mouthful of coffee too fast and ended up coughing. “And what did he say?” I asked when I could speak again.

“He neither confirmed nor denied.”

Lifting my cup to my lips again, I struggled to keep my expression neutral.

Her grin was huge. “OK then. Moving on.”

“Moving on.”

“Did Jack tell you the exciting news? We’re going ahead with plans for catering and the restaurant—I mean, at least with exploring the options.”

“That’s wonderful,” I said.

“I’m so excited. And I was thinking, once the new website is in place, I could start blogging about the project.”

“Perfect! That’s exactly the kind of story to put out there.”

“Brad is supposed to call us today to tell us if we can get in to see the house this afternoon.” She made a face. “But we usually do the Frankenmuth farmers market