She held his gaze. “Just patrolling the area? No one patrols Seaside.”
“Bella,” the other blonde hissed.
Bella.
“Seriously. No one patrols our community. They never have.” She lifted her chin in a way that he assumed was meant as a challenge, but it had the opposite effect. She looked cuter than a button.
Caden stepped closer and tried to keep a straight face. “Your name is Bella?”
“Maybe.”
Feisty, too. He liked that. “Well, Maybe Bella, you’re right. We haven’t patrolled your community in the past, but things have changed. We’ll be patrolling more often to keep you safe until we catch the people who have been burglarizing the area.” He leaned in close and whispered, “But you might consider wearing pants for your window-closing evening strolls. Never know who’s traipsing around out here.”
Chapter Two
THERE WERE ABOUT a million things Bella loved about spending summers at Seaside, but two of her favorites were spending eight weeks with her best friends and waking to the hoarse cawing of crows. Most people hated the annoying squawks that began the moment the dawn settled around them. It was a sound so unique to her summers at the Cape that Bella reveled in it, and on sunny mornings like today, she welcomed it. She’d spent much of last night thinking about—then trying not to think about—the undeniable shock of heat she’d felt the moment she’d looked into police officer Caden Grant’s eyes. She took a sip of her coffee and kicked her feet up on the edge of the table.
“Hey, babe.” Jenna joined Bella on the deck. Like Bella, she was still wearing her pajama top and had slipped on a pair of cute cotton shorts over her underwear. That was another thing Bella loved about Seaside. Since the cottages had been in their families for years, they’d spent summers together since they were knee high. Hanging out in their pajamas felt normal.
“Shh. Theresa just opened her front door. She hasn’t seen the toilet yet.” Bella’s cottage faced the laundry building and what they called the big house, which was the original house on the property before it was subdivided and cottages were built. Theresa lived in the big house, and after they were busted by Officer Grant, they’d wrapped up the evening by placing the toilet in Theresa’s driveway.
“There she is.” Jenna sat beside Bella.
Theresa stepped outside with her arms extended in a wide stretch. Her polo shirt was neatly tucked into her tan shorts, and her short, layered hair was perfectly combed. She waved to Bella and Jenna.
“Morning, ladies.”
“Morning,” they said in unison as they waved back.
Theresa was in her early fifties, and her life was a bit of a mystery to Bella and her friends. Even though they’d known her for years, they didn’t know much about her except that she was an attorney. She was congenial, despite the fact that she’d taken on the position of property manager and queen rule enforcer, but in general, she kept to herself and rarely joined them for community barbeques and gatherings.
“Here it comes,” Jenna said under her breath.
Theresa cocked her head to the side, craned her neck forward, and squinted at the toilet. She took a few tentative steps forward. She walked around the toilet and shook her head. She looked up and narrowed her eyes in their direction. Her hands settled on her hips.
“Uh-oh,” Jenna whispered.
Bella wasn’t discriminatory in her pranking. She’d pranked every one of her friends, including the community and pool maintenance guy, who came by every few days to clean out the pool and who was the focus of Jenna’s crush. Bella’s pranks were relatively harmless, like adding bubbles to the pool or freezing all of Jenna’s bras while she was asleep. Her summer pranks were usually met with a laugh and an eye roll, but she’d never gotten a rise out of Theresa.
Theresa spun on her heels and stomped inside.
“Wow, that was quite a reaction,” Bella said with a sarcastic tone. She sipped her coffee.
Jenna grabbed her arm.
Theresa stomped out of her house with a book tucked under her arm. She made a show of dropping her pants, then sat her bare butt on the toilet and opened her book. She flashed a wide grin in their direction.
Bella spit her coffee out all over the deck. “Holy cow.” She grabbed Jenna’s hand and they turned their backs, laughing uproariously.
“Did you see that?” Jenna had tears pouring down her cheeks.
Bella clung to Jenna’s shoulder. “Is she…Is she still on it?” she said in a loud whisper.
“Hold on…” Jenna glanced over her shoulder. “No!” She laughed again. “She’s standing next to it and looking over. Oh no!” Jenna tightened her grip on Bella’s arm. “Pete’s truck just pulled up and she flagged him down.”
“No way!” Bella covered her mouth to keep from laughing too loudly.
Pete handled general property and pool maintenance for Seaside. He was a quiet man by nature, and he’d give a stranger the shirt off his back. He carried the toilet to the dumpster, shaking his head.
Theresa made a show of wiping her hands, then went back into her house.
“Poor Pete. I feel sorry for him. He’s so sweet.” Jenna kicked a foot onto Bella’s lap and watched Pete climb back into his truck.
He waved out the window. “Thanks for that,” he called to them on his way around the cottages to the pool.
“We are so evil,” Jenna said. “Did I mention that Pete is wicked sexy?”
“Do you ever not?” Bella shook her head. “Well, chalk one up for Theresa.”
“Okay, change of subject before I get all hot and bothered thinking about Pete and have to take a cold shower. Speaking of cold showers…You were pretty wired when you finally went inside. Did you sleep okay, or did you dream about getting handcuffed by Officer Sexy?”
“Handcuffs spell commitment to me, so…”
“Bull. You know you dreamed about him. How could you not?” Jenna leaned forward and spoke in a seductive voice. “Six foot something of hard muscle attached to a man who knows how to take control.” She leaned back with a sigh. “Sounds almost perfect to me.”
“Do you even know who you are talking to? Hello? Major rule breaker here.” She pointed to herself with both hands and smiled at Amy when she joined them on the deck. “Me and a cop? No way. Besides, as I said, I need to figure out my life, not find a boyfriend.”
“That doesn’t preclude you from a quick roll in the sand with Officer Hottie.” Amy plopped onto a chair in a pair of flannel pajama pants and a Hello Kitty shirt. The animated kitty had a body like Marilyn Monroe and was sprawled on her side in a seductive pose.
“This coming from Little Miss Proper?” Bella rolled her eyes.
“I am not. I’m just careful about who I sleep with. Besides, it’s not like I don’t want…” She gazed at Tony’s cottage. Tony was the resident hottie. He was a professional surfer and motivational speaker and was too good of a friend to sleep with any of them, much less sweet Amy Maples.