Chapter Thirteen
What the heck was so funny, Jeff wondered? Frowning fiercely as he tried not to stare at Wren, who was looking incredibly sexy stretched out on the sand, he picked up one of the towels she’d brought along, waiting for his nephew Danny to join him from the water.
He was surprised to realize how irritated he was with Kelly. She’d known about his infatuation with Wren Matthews in his early teens. So why hadn’t she ever told him that she knew her?
Of course, even though he and Kelly were twins, there’d been a time when they’d deliberately avoided each other while growing up. There’d been an awful lot of teasing through the years since they looked so much alike.
He supposed they still did, even though they’d both turned thirty. Although he had to admit – Kelly didn’t look a day over twenty. She still went out occasionally on modeling jobs when something special came along.
Six-year-old Danny yawned as he stepped onto the dry beach.
“Promise me you won’t fight your mom when she tells you to take a short nap.”
“Unca Jeff,” he muttered. “I’m too old for a nap.”
“No, you’re not. Besides, if you’re good, I’ll come by and take you skiing sometime this summer. Your dad said it would be okay as long as your mom was fine with it. If you behave, she’ll more than likely go along with the idea.”
“Really?” Danny asked in a whisper. “Okay. I’ll try to be good.”
“Then don’t say anything about it until your dad gets a chance to talk her into it.”
Danny huffed out a breath, nodding his agreement.
Jeff quickly dried him off, sending him over to where Kelly was sitting with Wren before picking up his clothes from the sand to join them.
“What’s so funny?” Jeff asked gruffly, taking a seat beside Wren on the sand.
Wren cleared her throat. “Just a few old memories. I told Kelly about the situation and told her that I probably shouldn’t hang out with her while I’m here.”
Jeff sighed, holding Kelly’s gaze. “Wren’s right. Trouble could be coming her way, so no one should even know that she’s staying here in town.”
“I’ll probably tell Luke.”
“That’s fine. He can keep a secret,” Jeff said, suddenly winking. “Well, most of the time, anyway.”
“I found that sometimes guys can be a lot worse gossips than women,” Kelly said dryly.
Wren grinned. “That sounds like a story for another day.”
“I guess we should be on our way. Luke is probably wondering where we are,” Kelly said, standing. “Danny’s going to be sound asleep before we get home.”
“No. I won’t, Mom. I’ll even take a nap,” Danny said, reaching for the blow-up donut he’d brought along.
Kelly looked at Jeff suspiciously. “Why do I have a feeling that your uncle promised you something that I’m probably not going to like?” She turned to Wren. “Wren? Let’s keep in touch, shall we? I’d love to know how you’re doing.”
“Yes. After this mess I’m in is dealt with, I’d love to get together sometime, Kel,” Wren suggested, looking surprisingly nostalgic.
“I’d love that too. Please take care of yourself. Okay?” Kelly said, reaching down and squeezing Wren’s shoulder before starting to walk away. Danny was getting impatient.
“Bye, Kel. Talk to you soon,” Jeff called out.
She waved, rushing to catch up with Danny.
“I can’t believe the baby slept the entire time they were here,” Wren said, grinning.
“From what Luke says, Adriana makes up for it at night,” Jeff replied dryly. “He always looks so sleep deprived when I arrive to work out with him in the morning.”
Wren laughed.
“I suppose we’d better think about heading back to the Inn soon,” Jeff said. “How about we stop at the concessions again and pick up some ice cream cones for the walk?”
“I’d like that,” she replied, standing to brush off the sand.
Jeff nearly groaned. Besides having what appeared to be the perfect figure, she was sure in great shape. That work out she talked about must have been pretty intense. But being a dancer probably required a lot of stamina.
Now he was kind of wishing he hadn’t thought about that since it was making his mind focus on something other than dancing.
Jeff tugged on his t-shirt before yanking his jeans back on over his trunks.
Call him stupid, but he sure liked the look she had in her eyes when he looked into hers after getting dressed.
She cleared her throat, reaching down to the sand for her bag as Jeff folded the towels, handing them over so that she could stuff them inside before slowly making their way across the sand along the path that led to the concessions.
He wasn’t sure if it was good or bad that Wren was getting some attention as they stood in the short line to order.
The older woman standing behind them tapped Wren’s shoulder.
“Did anyone ever tell you that you look just like that popular singer?” She turned to a gray-haired man standing beside her. “What’s her name, Dear?”
“Wren something or other.” He winked at Wren. “But isn’t this lady much prettier, Joan?”
“She certainly is,” Joan agreed, pursing her lips.
Wren grinned. “I appreciate the compliment.”
“She gets a lot of that,” Jeff said, smiling. “I think she’s a lot prettier too.”
After chatting for a few short minutes, it was finally time to order.
Another five minutes later, Jeff and Wren were walking away with their ice cream cones, waving at the older couple who’d just arrived to stay at the Inn.
“I’d say it was a great idea to get your hair cut short,” he muttered, as they headed back along the lakefront path.
“I definitely agree,” she said, looking concerned.
“Once your name gets around, even if they don’t think it’s you, it might mean more trouble,” he admitted.
“I was just thinking the same thing,” she observed.
Jeff stayed distracted all the way back to the Inn. Maybe she should move in sooner. After he got the demo tapes ready this afternoon, he’d see what he already had on hand to put in the guest room. He wasn’t even sleeping in the master yet, since he’d been planning on purchasing some new furniture. Forget about the guest room, he decided. He’d just set up the master for her instead.
“You’ve been awfully quiet,” Wren observed when they reached the Inn’s lakefront patio.
“I’ve been thinking that you might have to move into my house sooner. But let’s see how it goes. It’ll take me a couple days to do some shopping and get the bedroom furnished.”
“That sounds like an awful lot of trouble,” she said, biting on her lip as they continued to converse on the patio.
“Nah. Luckily, I’ve picked up some extra furnishings here and there. You’ll probably think it’s weird, but I’m kind of into antiques. It’s the history of the pieces I suppose that interest me.”
She looked surprised. “Really? I’ve collected a few things here and there myself.”
“Okay, so why don’t you make me that list of work out equipment you’d like to use? I’ll give you my cell phone number if you’d just like to send me a text after you get a chance to think about it. I suppose that’ll be safe since Jake mentioned you’re using a burner phone.”
“It should be,” she agreed, nodding.
“I’ll be sending you that demo later today, providing I’m satisfied with what I come up with. I already have an idea of what I’m going to do for you.”
“Okay,” she said. “So then I suppose I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Nine sharp, if that works?”
“You’ll probably hear back from me about the demo one way or another,” she said, as they headed into the Inn’s breezeway.
“I’m counting on it,” he muttered, steering her toward the elevator and hitting the button.
When the elevator opened, she stepped inside, spinning around on her heels.
“That confident, are you?” Wren asked, grinning.
Something in the tone of her voice had him thinking that she wasn’t only talking about the music.
Ah, what the hell, he decided. He could give as good as he got.
“That, I am,” he answered, giving her a wink as the elevator doors began closing.
He could still hear her laughter as he continued through the hallway toward the lobby, exiting the Inn.