He cleared his throat. “Um, I guess so. They were in the dryer, and they sure as hell aren’t mine.” He held them out, dangling the lacy bit on his fingertip, and she snatched them from his hand.
“Thanks. Are you heading out?” She nodded at the coat he had draped over his arm.
“What? Oh, yeah. I’m meeting my brother for lunch.”
She glanced out the window at the blowing snow. “Is he picking you up?”
“No, I was going to walk. It’s not that far.”
She pressed a thumb against her lower lip. She did that a lot, and he wished she wouldn’t, because all it did was draw his attention to her mouth. As if he needed another reason to notice her mouth. It was lush and distracting, and every time he looked at it he wondered what she’d taste like. He’d dreamt about her last night, and that was before he’d seen the yoga.
Maybe he’d just been in the jungle for too long, or maybe he was feeling latent rebound effects from being emasculated by Miranda. Women didn’t normally affect him this way. Oh, he appreciated them for sure, but he’d never had to work too hard to capture one’s notice. He’d never much cared if he succeeded or not either. Miranda hadn’t broken his heart, she’d only wounded his pride. But something about Elaine Masters was pulling him in deep, and it was clear she wanted none of it.
This morning he’d accidentally bumped up against her in the kitchen and she’d looked ready to castrate him with a cleaver. She was closed for business, no doubt about that, and it was probably for the best. She carried a secret along with that bag full of money, and whatever it was, an ex-husband or something just this side of illegal, he didn’t want to be a part of it no matter how flexible and bendy she was.
“Do you want to take my car?” she said, seemingly oblivious to his inner turmoil. “It’s about twenty degrees below zero out there.”
He pulled on his coat. “Are you sure? I might not be back for a couple of hours.”
Elaine gave a tight smile. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not going anywhere, but if you could fill up my tank, that would be nice.”
A frat-boy joke about filling up her tank popped into his mind, but since she’d just caught him ogling her ass and fondling her panties, he decided to keep that to himself.
“Yeah, sure. Absolutely. And thanks,” he said.
“No problem. Keys are on the counter. Have fun with your brother.” With that, she walked away, ponytail swinging, spandex clinging, backside round and perfect.
Damn. Elaine Masters was about the cutest thing Grant had ever laid eyes on. He needed to get that rent money back to her, like, yesterday, before his emotions went and did something irretrievably stupid.
He picked up the keys and headed out the door.
Bell Harbor had changed since the last time he’d been home. All the tacky little mom-and-pop stores he remembered had been replaced with art studios, bistro-style cafés, and upscale antique shops. It seemed the world had found its way to Main Street while Grant had been busy avoiding it.
His little brother had changed too. Somewhere along the line, he’d filled out and turned into a man.
“Geez, Ty, look at you, all grown up,” Grant said as they moved in for a clumsy embrace and thumped each other on the back.
His brother’s smile was still the same, though, and similar to his own. “Yeah, six years will do that to a guy,” he answered as they sat down.
Grant pulled off his coat. “Six years. Hasn’t been that long, has it?”
“Since the last time you’ve been back? Yeah.” Tyler’s voice was neutral, and Grant unexpectedly had the sensation of running into an old acquaintance at the airport rather than his own brother. They’d shared a childhood, but few things in their adult lives overlapped. Time lost its meaning in the jungle but obviously it had marched on back at home.
He looked around, taking in the view. The restaurant was small, with a relaxing, homey interior, the dark walls and heavy wood furniture giving it a rustic feel. Big windows looked out over the street where snow continued to pile up. “So, this place is called Jasper’s, huh?” Grant said. “Does that have anything to do with Jasper Baker from Bell Harbor High?”
Tyler’s blond hair was cut short, and his eyes were the same bright blue as their mother’s. “What do you think? How many Jaspers do you know?”
“One.”
“Guess that’s your answer, then.”
They both laughed, sounding like each other, and Grant felt hope they’d find common ground. He’d missed his brother, he just hadn’t realized how much until that moment.
“Jasper opened this place a couple of years ago,” Tyler said, signaling for the waitress. “I even worked here last summer.”
The waitress came over, and they ordered drinks.
“You worked here?” Grant said after the server walked away. “You’re still an EMT though, right?” He hadn’t missed every detail, had he?