Jilted: Promise Harbor, Book 1 (10 page)

He gave a short nod and stood, nearly losing the towel in the process, which made her heart leap, but he caught it and fastened it on his hips as he walked over to the duffel bag he’d set in the closet. He grabbed some clothes, hesitated, then disappeared into the bedroom to dress.

Devon stared down at the screen of the phone in her hand.
Come on, Greta. Answer the damn text.

With this new drama, she’d forgotten about her rush to get downstairs and see if she could conveniently run into William Mudge. She sighed.

When Josh emerged, dressed in a pair of knee-length plaid shorts and a navy T-shirt that hugged his broad chest and big biceps, there was still no reply.

“Nothing?” he said, rubbing the towel over his still-damp hair. It stood up in all directions, and he tossed the towel onto a chair.

“Not yet. Let’s go get breakfast.”

He muttered something that sounded like more cursing. “But if she hasn’t called by the time we’re done eating, I’m going back.”

She bit her upper lip, then nodded. Shit! He couldn’t go back before she’d even had a chance to look around and find Mudge.

They elected to eat on the patio at the side of the resort building, seated near a railing at a small table for two. The wicker furniture and hanging baskets of lime-green sweet potato vines and red and purple petunias created a pleasant view all around them, and beyond the railing the lush lawn of the resort stretched smooth and green, morning dew sparkling in the sunshine. Devon looked over the menu and ordered an omelet with baby spinach and Parmesan cheese, while Josh ordered eggs Benedict. He gave the waitress a distracted smile when she poured coffee for them both.

Devon checked out the other hotel guests, examining the face of every man she could see. Nope. No Mudge. Dammit.

And then Josh’s phone chimed. He grabbed it and thumbed the scroll bar. “It’s her,” he said tersely. “She says she’s okay.”

“Where is she?”

He shook his head and typed in a response. Then he set the phone down on the table and waited. Tapping his fingers on the glass tabletop. “I told her to call me,” he said. “And I told her Mom knows about her and Ryan.”

When the phone rang, he grabbed it again. “Greta? What the hell is going on?”

Once again Devon found herself listening to half a conversation. She leaned her elbows on the table and picked up her coffee cup with both hands, watching Josh’s expressive face as he talked, his wide mouth moving, his eyes flickering.

“You’re fucking kidding me,” he said. A pause. “What happened, Greta?” He listened. Rubbed his face. “Seriously? I can’t believe this. Why didn’t you say anything? Yeah. Yeah, I get it. Hell, Greta.” After another pause he said, “I thought you were there to look after Mom. Why?” He frowned. “Because of the wedding being off. I’m sure she’s upset.” He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. She could see how hard it was for him to not be there for both Greta and his mom. “Yeah. You’re probably right. Where are you, anyway?” He listened again. “Goddammit, Greta. Do I have to come and hunt you down too?” A pause. “Fine. I won’t. But…” His tone softened. “Are you really okay? Are you sure you don’t want me to come and get you? Or head to Boston to kick Ryan’s ass for you?” He smiled. “Okay. Yeah, I’m okay too. Really. I don’t know. I really don’t, but…whatever.” He met Devon’s eyes and she gave him a small smile. “Seriously, if you need anything, call me.”

Devon’s smile widened. He just couldn’t help looking after them.

He set down the phone with another long-suffering sigh. “She won’t tell me where she is, just that she’s okay.”

“What about Ryan?”

He shrugged. “She says she’ll tell me more some time, but for now, they’re done and she’s fine.”

“Cryptic.”

“No shit.” Their eyes met across the table. “Now I really feel like I should go back.”

“It doesn’t sound like there’s much you can do. Sounds like she wants to be left alone for now.”

“True.”

“Your family relies on you a lot Josh, but they’ll survive without you for a few days.”

Josh considered that. His family couldn’t survive without him. Could they?

The last year and some he’d been basically working two jobs. Long shifts at the fire department also meant he often had several days off in a row, which enabled him to put in time at Brewster Landscaping. After his dad had died, they’d relied on a manager to keep the business going, but with the collapse of the real estate market and the credit crunch, they’d run into some cash flow problems that Josh wasn’t entirely sure how to deal with.

He should go home and make sure everyone there was okay. But he had a week’s vacation booked from the fire department. His mom had told him not to come back, and Owen was there helping her. Greta didn’t want to be found. He had no fucking clue where Gavin and Allie had gone. What was there to go home for?

“What about you?” he asked. “Don’t you have to get back to your job?”

Her eyes dropped to the table. “Um. No. I have some time off.”

Well then. “Okay,” he said slowly. “Let’s stay.”

After breakfast, she suggested they go for a little walk and explore the hotel. He’d already done that on his run, but he agreed to show her around. “There’s a lot to do here,” he said, telling her about the things he’d seen. “There are tennis courts and a pool, of course. The beach is gorgeous, and there’s a lighthouse up on one of the bluffs. There’s a golf course…”

She gave a little chirp of laughter. “I am not golfing! I tried that once.”

He grinned. “I remember. You wanted to learn because it’s so good for networking. It didn’t go so well. But we can rent bikes or go sailing.”

“The pool,” she said. “I want to see the pool.”

“Okay.”

Lots of people had already gathered at the pool on this warm June Sunday morning. Devon insisted on slowly walking the perimeter of the pool, almost as if she was studying all the guests.

“Okay, then,” she said brightly when they’d done an odd little circle around the pool. “Let’s go back into the hotel.”

Inside the lobby, she once again took her time, looking around.

“Are you looking for someone?” Josh asked. A thought struck him. “You don’t think Allie’s here, but staying in a different room, do you?”

She blinked at him, her mouth open. “No.” She frowned. “I’m not looking for anyone.”

“Huh. Okay. Well, let’s rent bicycles and go for a ride.”

“Um. We could do that later.” Her head swiveled back and forth again.

He narrowed his eyes at her. “What’s going on, Dev?”

“Nothing. Let’s go walk by the tennis courts.”

“Oookay.”

They walked by the tennis courts, then past the marina. He caught Devon’s faint sigh.

“Is it lunch time yet?” she asked.

“We just had breakfast!”

She made a face. “Must be all the sea air making me hungry. Let’s walk by the pool again.”

He frowned. “We’ve seen it. Do you want to go swimming?”

“Well, I…ah…didn’t bring a swimsuit.”

“Huh. Well, I’d suggest nude sunbathing, but this is a family resort.”

Their eyes met. He knew she was thinking the same thing, remembering their trip to Puerto Plata and the time they’d spent around the pool at the resort. Many of the European women at the resort had chosen to go topless, and somehow Josh had convinced her to do the same. His dick got immediately hard at those memories, the sensuality of her lying there on a lounge chair topless, her breasts exposed to the warm sunshine and the view of anyone who chose to look. Most people didn’t—it was just accepted as customary—but Josh sure had. He’d gotten really turned on by it. And so had she.

“I think we could find a shop that sells bathing suits,” he said, his voice coming out a little husky. “If we’re going to stay here, you’ll need a bathing suit. Let’s go. Then we can have lunch.”

They drove into Silverport, and he parked just off the main street, lined with little shops and restaurants. The found a beachwear shop, and she picked out a couple of suits to try on.

“Do I get to see them?” Josh asked as she headed into a dressing room.

“No.” She closed the door in his face.

Devon turned to face herself in the mirror in the small dressing room.

What was she doing there again? She had a moment, closing her eyes, clutching the tiny pieces of fabric to her. William Mudge. Heffington International. Deep breath. She could do this.

She opened her eyes. She hadn’t bought a new bathing suit in years. She’d forgotten how depressing it was to try on suits in a little dressing room with harsh lights and an unforgiving mirror. She’d grabbed bikinis because one-piece suits emphasized her thighs, but maybe she should have picked out a modest maillot. This black halter top revealed a lot of cleavage, and the tiny bottoms no doubt showed every inch of her cellulite. But it fit. She tried on the floral print one, a bandeau top that surprisingly fit very well. She sighed. Fine. Whatever.

Back out in the store, she said to Josh, “These are fine. I need something to go over them though.” Preferably a big muumuu or something concealing. They flipped through a rack of cover-ups, and she pulled out a long black T-shirt that would do.

As she went to pay, Josh added in a bottle of sunscreen. “I’ll pay for all of it,” he said. “You’re here because of me.”

“Don’t be silly.” She pulled out her credit card.

“Oh, don’t be so prickly,” he said, nudging her aside and handing the clerk his own credit card. “Let me do this.”

She fumed a little as she waited for the clerk to complete the transaction and bag up their purchases.

Outside the store, on the brick sidewalk in the sun, Josh reached for her face and turned it toward him. “You haven’t changed,” he said.

She frowned. “What does that mean?”

“It’s not that big a deal for me to buy something for you. It doesn’t make you weak. Just accept it and say ‘Thanks, Josh’.”

She gazed mutinously at him and then let out a breath. He was right, dammit. “Thanks, Josh.”

He smiled and brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. Lightning-hot need jolted her right to her core as he smiled at her, heat building between them. Then he turned away.

She gulped for air, her insides warm and shivering. “I’m going to need a few more things,” she said. “I only planned to stay a couple of days.”

“Okay. Let’s see what we can find.”

When they passed a lingerie shop, she paused and glanced at him. “I…er…need underwear.”

He lifted one eyebrow and glanced at the little boutique. “Go on. I’ll walk a bit farther and see what else there is.”

She hurried in and grabbed a few pairs of thong panties and quickly tried on a bra. When she emerged back into sunshine, Josh waited, leaning against a lamppost.

“There are a couple of shops you might like,” he said. “Just a little farther up.”

“I just need some shorts. Maybe a couple of T-shirts or tank tops.”

They found a few more things for her. The little stores had some cute clothes that any other time she would have loved to explore, but she didn’t want to spend money, and she was anxious to get back to the inn and resume her hunt for William Mudge.

They returned to the hotel, and she caught Josh eyeing her as she swept the lobby with her gaze, then studied everyone in the restaurant as they ate lunch. Frustration mounted in her.

“Swimming pool again?” Josh asked as they climbed the stairs to the second level.

“Yes. Good idea.”

They changed into swimsuits, snagged hotel towels and made a beeline for the pool. After scanning the faces of everyone there, she gritted her teeth in frustration, then turned to Josh. “I think I’d rather go to the beach.”

His eyebrows slanted down as he stared at her. Then he shook his head. “Okay.”

They followed the path from the inn to the beach. With the long dune grasses glistening in the sun and waving gently in the warm breeze, and the soft sand beneath their feet, she inhaled the sea air scented with salt and fish and sunshine. She tried to exhale all her frustration out.

“Where do you want to sit?” Josh asked.

She looked one way, then the other. Naturally on a hot, sunny June Sunday, the beach was covered with towels and semi-naked bodies. It was a crapshoot. “Let’s just walk a bit,” she suggested.

Josh shrugged and followed her as she turned right. Her feet sank into the soft sand with every step as she scanned the people lying on towels or sitting in beach chairs beneath colorful umbrellas. Kids ran and screamed and laughed, playing in the waves, digging in the sand. Everyone she looked at wore sunglasses.

This was impossible.

She blew out a breath. “Let’s just sit here,” she said.

She felt Josh’s puzzled glance as he dropped their things to the sand and shook out a towel.

Stretched out on the towel on the sand, warmth seeping into her, relaxation started working its way through her body. Cripes, she hadn’t realized how tense she’d been. She took off her sunglasses and turned her face to the sun, the light turning the backs of her eyelids bright red.