“That’s the thing about the Cape. No one uses their cells.” Bella turned on the teakettle.
Leanna ran her hand through her hair. “Weird, isn’t it? It’s like when we’re here, watches and cell phones don’t exist. I swear I only use my email for checking on those proposals, too. But I really like living less electronically.”
“Do batteries count? Because I’m not giving up that little electronic toy anytime soon.”
Leanna shook her head as she filled Pepper’s bowls with clean water and fresh food. “I got emails from the two grocery places.”
Pepper shoved his nose in his bowl until half of the food fell over the rim and onto the floor. Then he lay down and ate the pieces off the floor.
Bella’s eyes widened. “And?”
“I don’t know yet. I haven’t opened them.”
“Well, why not?” Bella reached for the computer, and Leanna gripped it tight.
“Because. What if they both aren’t interested? Then I’m screwed.”
“Screwed? You’re kidding, right? You know that those are just two tiny places in this big wide world. You could submit proposals to hundreds of places anywhere in the United States.”
“I know. I’m just nervous. I really love making jam. Isn’t that completely crazy? I mean, it’s messy, sticky, not anywhere near a real career, and something about it makes me happy.” She shrugged.
“Most things in life that are fun are messy and sticky.” Bella winked and handed Leanna a cup of coffee. “Speaking of which…”
Leanna turned back to her computer to avoid answering Bella’s need for details about sex with Kurt. “Let’s see what the markets said.”
“That bad, huh?”
“No.” Leanna looked up at her with a smile. “That good.”
“Whew. After what you said about being off with your timing, I had awful images in my head of things a friend should never think of.”
“You’re so weird.” Leanna laughed.
“So? It wasn’t awkward? I told you, guys don’t care about all that.”
Leanna sat back and sipped her coffee. “I think they do care. At least the ones I’ve been with. Most guys get all irritated, like you just ruined all their fun. But Kurt didn’t.”
“Maybe you’re not as awkward as you think and the other guys were jerks.”
“No.” Leanna shook her head. “I’m definitely out of sync with most men, but Kurt…Oh geez, this is kind of embarrassing. Can we just look at the emails?”
“Nope.” Bella reached over and closed the laptop. “I haven’t had a date in weeks. Let me live vicariously through you.”
Leanna sighed. “He helped me. He was tender, and attentive, and sexy, and…” She felt herself smile. “I don’t know. It was just different with him. I’ve never felt so close to anyone in my life.”
“Wow. That good, huh? I want one of those. Does he have a brother? A father? A cousin?” Bella crossed her legs. “You wouldn’t want to share, would you?”
“No way. Not a chance. But you know me. He probably won’t be around for long. He’s got his whole life in order, and I…”
“Oh, stop it. Open your computer and let’s see what’s going on with your life.”
Leanna checked the email from Mama’s Market first. “Oh. My. Gosh. They want to meet with me this week.” She looked up at Bella. “Oh no. Bella!” She jumped to her feet and paced. “Now what? I never thought they’d want to actually meet with me.”
“What did you think? That you’d just give up? That you were wasting your time? Then why’d you send the proposals?” Bella turned the laptop toward her. “Let’s see what the other one said.” She clicked on the email from Daisy Chain.
Leanna held her breath.
“Check it out, Lea. They want to meet with you next week!”
“Next week? This week? I have the flea market Friday, so that leaves tomorrow or Thursday. I have so much to do. What should I do?” She sat down, then popped right back up again. “I need to answer them. I can meet with them Thursday, and that gives me today to go pick fresh berries and gather supplies and tomorrow to make fresh batches of jam. Good.” She paced again with Pepper on her heels. “I can do this. I can definitely do this.” She stopped pacing and looked at Bella.
“You can do this, Leanna. You can definitely do this.”
KURT HAD BEEN riding the dark torrent of his villain all afternoon, and by the time his alarm chimed at four, his muscles were so tense that his fingers ached. Thrillers were emotionally intense, and after spending all day writing, he was often in too dark of a mood to climb out of easily. That was the danger of writing thrillers and, Kurt admitted to himself, one of the reasons he never sought out relationships. He was also a smart man, a man who did his research and thought things through before jumping into them. He liked to know where he was heading in his life, and his belief in always having the best-laid plans rarely led him astray, which is why his attraction to Leanna totally threw his equilibrium off.
He stood on the deck and looked out over the water. The tide was on its way out, leaving trails of shells and seaweed behind. He thought about making love to Leanna on the beach, and a thrum of excitement ran through him. She was a little awkward, and her timing was a little off, but with his help and the right encouragement, they’d found their rhythm and fell into wonderful, blissful sync. The truth was, he loved that she was a little off. That’s what made Leanna, Leanna. Real. Unique. More special than any other woman he knew. Anyone could study the art of lovemaking and learn sensual tricks to heighten the experience, but not many women were brave enough to allow themselves to be who they were without extra layers of fabricated sensuality.
He made a mental check of his current emotional state as he stretched the tension from his limbs. Thinking of Leanna helped put him in a lighter frame of mind, but the villain was still tugging at the fringes of his nerves. He went inside and up to the small weight room, where he ran through a quick workout of his biceps, triceps, and chest, and for good measure, he worked in a few sets of abs exercises. Forty minutes later, his head was much clearer and his body craved Leanna.
He took a cold shower, threw on a pair of khaki shorts and a white T-shirt, and headed over to Seaside. He heard the music as he pulled into the community, and as he neared Leanna’s, he realized it was coming from her cottage. He followed the sound onto her deck and to her screen door. The music was so loud he could barely hear her and her girlfriends talking. Every square inch of counter was covered with cooling jars of jam, and on the stove was a giant pot. Leanna wore a bikini top and a miniskirt—and about a pound of jam.
Pepper barked, and Leanna turned with a spoon in one hand and a streak of dark red jam across her cheek that Kurt wanted to lick right off.
She gasped. “Is it five or six already?” She turned down the radio and let him in, then lifted up on her tiptoes to kiss him.
“You taste sweeter than sweet.” Kurt licked his lips and then went in for another kiss.