22. Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Two
Sleep had been elusive.
Every time Simon had closed his eyes, Jenna’s image had formed in his mind. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he thought of her. They’d talked. They’d kissed. And they did a little bit of eating.
And so, with the afternoon sun peeking through the windows, Simon let out a yawn. This time it was a good kind of tired. He couldn’t stop thinking about the woman he was going to one day marry.
The thought momentarily startled him. He’d never had that thought about anyone. But as his heart and mind had a moment to let the thought sink in, he knew it was right.
Not that he was going to rush things with Jenna. He didn’t know the course their relationship would go on or the road bumps they’d hit along the way. However, he was confident they’d go the distance.
Gus whimpered, drawing Simon from his thoughts. He set aside his laptop and stood. With a swish of the tail, Gus led the way to the front door.
While Jenna was at work, Simon had been typing some new words on his book. He still hadn’t found his flash drive containing his notes, but he was certain it was somewhere in the beach house. He just had to figure out where.
That morning he’d had to debate the pros and cons of going forward with this book idea now that it had been leaked to the tabloid.
In the end, he decided that the public might know the initial premise of his book, but he had an idea about tweaking it.
He was going to explore the hero’s relationship with the heroine—the woman he was searching the galaxy to find again.
Maybe their relationship wasn’t so straight forward.
At the front door, Simon paused. With his hand on the handle, he turned to Gus. “I’m going to let you out, on your own. But don’t go running off. Do you hear me?”
Gus whined ever so slightly while giving him an innocent stare.
“I suppose that will have to do.”
As soon as the door was open wide enough for Gus to fit through, the dog was out the door. Simon followed him out onto the porch. He hoped Gus wouldn’t run off. Up until the storm, Gus had never gone far.
Simon stepped further out on the porch to see Gus scamper down the steps. He wanted to go back inside to write some more, but instead he followed Gus. Once the dog took care of business, they both retraced their steps to the porch.
They were just about to go back inside when Simon noticed a cart pull up. A smile lifted the corners of his lips when he realized it was Jenna. Then he checked the time. It was after four o’clock already. How had the day gone by so fast?
When Gus noticed Jenna, he took off. Once more, he ran down the steps. He headed for her cart, where she fussed over him. Simon smiled. He could get used to this.
When Jenna and Gus stepped onto the porch, Simon said, “It looks like I have competition for your heart?”
Her smile broadened. “Are you jealous?”
“Maybe. Just a little.”
Her eyes twinkled with happiness. “Don’t worry. I have enough love for both of my boys.”
He feigned a pout. “So, what you’re saying is that I have to share you?”
“In a word, yes.”
He let out a laugh. “Okay. I can live with that.”
Buzz.
He wasn’t expecting any phone calls. He had to start an agent search, but he wasn’t ready to do it. Yet right now, he just wanted the peacefulness of the ocean breeze while he wrote the book.
Should he get his editor’s input for his upcoming series? Probably. But this wasn’t his first book, so he was going with his gut.
When he glanced at the screen, he didn’t recognize the number.
“Is something wrong?” Jenna sent him a concerned look.
“I don’t know this number.”
“What’s the number?” After he read it off to her, she said, “It’s a Bluestar number. You should answer it.”
And so, he pressed the phone to his ear. “Hello.”
“Simon Bennett?”
“Yes.”
“This is Lisa at the Lighthouse Cafe. Could you stop by today?”
It was good to be home.
While Simon talked on the phone, Jenna set her purse, phone, and keys on the little table near the front door. And then she made her way over to the porch swing.
She sat down and adjusted the little pillow so it supported her lower back. Almost perfect. Then she kicked off her shoes and yanked off her socks. Much better.
She put the porch swing into motion. It was one of her favorite things about this place. She knew with it being a rental property that she wouldn’t stay there forever, but she dreaded the day she had to move out. This place...well, it was perfect for her.
When Simon got off the phone, he came over to join her on the porch swing. “Will you have dinner with me? We have something to celebrate.”
Her eyes widened. Simon was right. She’d been swept off her feet the evening before, and she’d forgotten to tell him about her meeting with Neil.
“You’re right,” she said. “We do have something to celebrate.”
Simon arched a brow. “Wait. You already know?”
“Know what?” She was confused.
His brows drew together. “So, what’s your good news?”
“Well, I had my meeting with Neil.”
He reached over and took her hand in his. “Wait. Did you go to trivia night and win?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t want to go without you.”
His gaze lowered. “I’m sorry I let you down. I was a fool.”
She reached out and touched his arm. “It’s okay. We both had stuff to figure out. The point is that I didn’t need to win a bet in order to have this meeting. I just needed to stand up for myself.”
Simon smiled. “Good for you. Was he impressed with your presentation?”
She smiled and nodded. “We’re going to implement it next month.”
“That’s wonderful.” He gave her hand a squeeze. “I knew you could do it.”
He turned his head at the same time that she did. He leaned over and caught her lips with his own. He gave her a tender kiss. Her heart fluttered in her chest. She was never going to get tired of his kisses. They were sweeter than the iced tea at the Lighthouse Cafe.
When Simon pulled back, she asked, “What’s your news?”
“Well, how would you feel about a chartered dinner cruise?”
“Wait. What?” Her mind whirled. “You won the lottery?” When he grinned and nodded, she said, “Wow. That’s awesome. I’ve never done that before.”
“Me either.”
“And I seem to remember you not wanting to enter the contest.”
He shrugged. “What can I say? You had a good idea.”
“So, when are we going?”
“I don’t know. We have to call and make a reservation, I guess. I’ll get the details when I stop by the restaurant to pick up the tickets.”
Just then a movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Gus grabbed her keys and took off down the steps.
“Gus, stop!” She took off in her bare feet after the dog.
Simon was behind her. “Why are we chasing the dog?”
“He stole my keys.” At the bottom of the stairs, she turned right and lost sight of the dog. “Gus! Come back.”
“Gus!” Simon called from behind her.
When she turned the corner of the house, she didn’t see the dog. She came to a halt. Simon practically ran into her. His hand came to rest on her shoulders as he attempted to keep both himself and her upright.
“Where is he?” Simon asked.
“I don’t know. It’s like he disappeared.” She started walking along the side of the house where there was a bunch of overgrown vegetation that needed to be trimmed back. And then she spotted a tail.
“He’s right there.” She pointed.
As they closed in on Gus, it appeared he was digging. Dirt was flying.
“What do you think he’s doing?” she asked.
“Something he shouldn’t be doing.” It took Simon a bit to get the dog to stop digging. Then he pulled the dog out of the bushes. However, Gus no longer had her keys. She could only imagine that he’d dropped them when he was digging the hole.
She stepped into the vegetation. A cobweb touched her face and her arms. With a scream, she jumped back.
Simon was immediately by her side. “What’s the matter?”
“I walked into a spider web.”
“Oh.” A smile appeared on his handsome face. It grew until he was chuckling.
She glared at him. “It’s not funny. That was a big web. Imagine the size of the spider that spun it.”
He subdued his amusement. “What were you doing?”
“Trying to get my keys. He must have dropped them in there.”
“Step aside. I’ll go get them.”
She wasn’t about to turn down his offer. “Okay. But don’t say I didn’t warn you about the giant spider.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” He gestured to Gus. “Can you hang onto his collar? I don’t want him running off again.”
“Okay.” She crouched down next to the dog and wrapped her fingers around his red collar. “You shouldn’t be in there,” she whispered to Gus. “Icky things live in there.”
A moment later, Simon called out, “I got the keys. And...”
“And what?”
“It appears there’s some more stuff. Here.” His arm stuck out with her keys.
“What else is in there?” Her curiosity was piqued as she brushed off the dirt.
“Let’s see. A book. Sunglasses. A pen. A shoe. And my flash drive.” He tossed out the things as he found them. “There’s an apron. And… My favorite pen.”
Jenna gaped. She turned an accusatory look to Gus. “Don’t go giving me that innocent look. You’re a thief.”
Simon backed out from the overgrown foliage. There was something in his hands—something bright pink. He held up the pair of spandex shorts. “Are these yours?”
She gasped. “They aren’t mine. I, um…take it they aren’t yours either.”
With a grin on his face, he gave a quick shake of his head. “Not my color.”
And then they both burst out laughing.
After she calmed herself, she asked, “Where do you think he got the shorts?”
“I have no idea. And I don’t think I want to know.”
“I think you’re right.”
Simon’s gaze moved to Gus, and then he shook his head. “Looks like I’m going to have to keep a closer eye on you. It’s hard to tell what you’ll steal next.” He turned to her and held out the high heel she was missing. “I believe this shoe belongs to you. Does this make you Cinderella?”
“Only if you’ll be my Prince Charming.”
“Definitely.” He leaned over and gave her a kiss.
She took the shoe from him. It had definitely seen better days. There was dirt all over it, and it was smashed into the seams.
“I’m sorry. I’ll get you new shoes. Just send me a link, and I’ll order them.”
She shook her head. “It’s okay. They weren’t expensive.”
“But still, I feel bad.” He frowned at Gus. “No more stealing. You hear me. You have your own toys you can bury.” When Simon glanced back at her, he asked, “What are you smiling about?”
“I was just thinking that life is never going to get boring with you two around.”
Simon smiled. “Lucky for us, you’re a good sport.”
“I guess I better be now that I know your dog is a thief.”
Simon’s bottom lip stuck out as he nodded. “But he’s a cute thief.”
Gus let out a whine, as though to agree.
“Yes, he is. Almost as cute as his owner.” She lifted up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to Simon’s lips. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”