Now she was afraid to answer, and she was pretty sure the word flying through her mind wasn’t appropriate. Wonderful. She opened her mouth, intending to say something benign, like, It was nice, or, We had a lovely time, but her voice had a mind of its own, and out came a long, dreamy sigh, followed by, “A-ma-zing.”
The girls squealed. She felt her cheeks pink up, but she had no hope of keeping to her prim and proper upbringing. The girls were just as excited as she was. She sensed she could trust them as much as she feared Bella’s threat. She had a feeling that the threatening banter, the inquisition, and the smiles they were sending her way were all part of the sisterhood they shared, and she wanted in.
“He’s so…I need that thesaurus.” She laughed.
“Oh my.” Amy raised her brows.
“We didn’t do that.” Here came the prim. “He’s warm and kind, a great listener. Interesting and generous.”
Jenna and Bella rolled their eyes.
“And?” Jenna pushed.
Forget prim; she wanted girlfriend talk. She leaned in close and lowered her voice. “And the best kisser on the planet.”
Bella and Jenna high-fived.
“You guys, she’ll never talk to you again if you do that,” Amy warned. “Jamie never dates girls up here, and he never talks about the women he dates back home. He’s like our sweet, very private brother. We’re happy for you.”
“Thanks. Honestly, I’m happy for me.” Just thinking about Jamie made her smile.
“So were you going over to pretend that you needed computer help?” Jenna pointed to her laptop.
“Pretend? My computer hates me. I’m like the anti-geek. Give me a cello and I’m right at home. Give me a phone or computer? It might as well have dropped into my lap from Mars. But Jamie’s helping me. I’m trying to track down a baseball my dad had as a kid.”
“I knew you were some kind of musician. You were watching Vera with stars in your eyes the other night,” Amy said.
“She was looking at Jamie, goofus,” Bella added.
“Both, probably,” Jessica admitted.
“Speaking of Mr. Amazing Kisser.” Bella nodded toward Jamie’s car as it came up the gravel road and pulled into his driveway.
Jessica’s pulse ratcheted up a notch. “Please don’t say anything to him about what I said.”
All three of them pretended to lock their mouths and toss away the keys.
Jamie crossed the road, a lustful look in his eyes as they connected with Jessica’s.
“Hi, handsome,” Bella said.
“Want some coffee?” Amy asked.
He walked right past them, making a beeline for Jessica. “No, thanks.” He leaned down and pressed a tender kiss to her lips. “Hi, beautiful. Did you sleep okay?”
I can’t breathe. Heat swirled between them so thick she was sure it would sear the deck around their feet.
“Yeah,” she finally managed.
He placed a hand on her shoulder and eyed the girls’ wide-eyed gazes, the smirks on their pretty faces. His lips curled up.
“Did you get the scoop? Am I all that?”
Oh no…
“You’ve been all that since you were a kid.” Amy smiled at Jessica. “Now you’re all that with an awesome girlfriend who refuses to kiss and tell.”
She wanted to run over and hug Amy. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
“But we love her anyway.” Bella winked at Jessica.
She looked up at Jamie, standing behind her, his hands on her shoulders, that easy smile she adored on his lips. “I brought Vera flowers, and I was hoping you might help me with tracking down the baseball guy.”
He leaned down and whispered, “Already done. Come on. I’ll explain.”
When he kissed her cheek, all the girls awwed in unison. She must be getting used to them, because she didn’t feel her cheeks pink up this time. Thank goodness. It was embarrassing to be a blushing twenty-seven-year old.
Jessica thanked Amy for the coffee and followed Jamie across the gravel road to his cottage.
“His store was in Orleans, but he closed it a while ago. He lives in Plymouth, and you won’t believe this, but he works the bigger flea markets around the Cape in the summers, and of course sells his stuff on eBay.”
“How do you know all of this?”
“Bread crumbs. Geeks know how to follow them. Anyway, I went to the flea market, and he wasn’t there, so I went to see Leanna. She’s going to talk to the Steves that are at the flea market today and figure out if one of them is the right guy. Kurt seemed to think one of them was. Anyway, she’ll text his info if he’s the right guy so we can call him.”
They were standing on his deck. Jessica hooked her finger into the front pocket of his shorts. “You did all of that for me?”
He smiled with a casual shrug.
“Thank you so much.” She went up on her tiptoes and kissed him just as the glass door slid open. Jessica stumbled back on her heels, and he caught her by the hip as Vera stepped outside carrying a beach tote.
“I’m sorry to have startled you. Please, continue.” She waved her hands with a conspiratorial grin and sat in one of the deck chairs.
As Jamie ran his hand down Jessica’s arm, his gaze lingered on her, warming her all over.
“Good morning, Gram. Want some coffee?”
“No, thank you, dear. I had some already. Did you two have fun last night?” Vera took a paperback out of her tote.
“We did,” Jamie answered.
The way the corner of his mouth kicked up combined with the heat Jessica saw in his eyes brought back the memory of being with him. Feeling his weight on her, the passion in every heated kiss. Oh, gosh, I am breathing hard again.
He squeezed her arm. She saw the recognition of her heady state in his eyes and had to look away. She handed Vera the wildflowers to distract herself from thinking of Jamie.
“I picked these for you.”
“Aren’t they lovely. Thank you, Jessica.”
“I’ll get a vase.” Jamie went inside the cottage and Jessica sat across from Vera.
“It’s going to be a beautiful day. Do you and Jamie have plans?” Vera asked.
“No, we don’t.” She just realized this was true, and yet it felt like a given that they’d do something together.
Jamie brought out a vase full of water and arranged the flowers in it. “There you go. What do you want to do today, Gram?”
“I’m still a little tired, so I’m going to sit and read for a while. Why don’t the two of you go do something fun?” She smiled up at Jessica.
Jessica recognized the matchmaking Jamie had mentioned, and when she glanced at Jamie she knew he felt it, too.
He touched her shoulder. “Do you like to bike?”
“Bike? Gosh, I haven’t been on a bicycle since I was little.” She honestly couldn’t remember how long it had been, but she had a vague memory of riding a bike before the cello took up all her free time.
“Oh, Jamie. Good idea. Jessica can use one of ours.” Vera patted Jessica’s leg. “It’s like reading music. It’ll come right back to you.”
“Sounds perfect.”
Jamie loaded the bikes on the rack on the back of his car, and they drove down to Salt Pond Visitor Center in Eastham. The glass and brick building was built just off of Route 6, with a large amphitheater off to the side.
“Have you been here before?” Jamie took her hand as she stepped from the car.