Wind Chime Café (A Wind Chime Novel) (23 page)

“You can work on the website tomorrow.”

“We still need to come up with a special menu.”

“Leave that to me.”

Annie’s fingers worried over a button coming loose at the hem of her shirt. “I should look into how much it would cost to run an ad on the radio.”

“You’ve already put an ad in the local paper and in three different magazines.” Della swung her legs over the side of the bed and walked over to Annie’s closet. She pulled out the blue wrap dress and a green sweater dress. “Here,” she said, handing them to Annie. “Wear one of these.”

Annie took them from her, the hangers clinking together as she hugged her arms around the dresses. “What if Taylor calls? What if she can’t reach me?”

Della strolled back over to the bed, picking up her wine cooler. “Did you give Jess’s mother your cell phone number?”

“Yes.”

“Then she’ll be able to reach you.”

Annie sank to the edge of the bed. The elementary school was closed for parent-teacher conferences tomorrow. There was no reason why Taylor shouldn’t be allowed to spend the night at a friend’s house. But what if something happened? What if she had a nightmare? “We haven’t spent a night apart since…”

“I know,” Della said gently. “But she’s going to be fine.” The mattress shifted as she sat back down on the bed, picking up the magazine and setting it in her lap. “When was the last time you had a night to yourself, Annie?”

Annie looked back down at the dresses in her hands. She couldn’t remember. But she knew who she wanted to spend it with. Ever since Halloween, she hadn’t been able to get Will out of her mind.

She’d tried to ignore the attraction between them. She’d tried to tell herself it wasn’t worth getting involved with someone who was leaving and probably never coming back. But the more time she spent with him, the more she wanted him.

“I shouldn’t be talking to you about this,” Annie said. “He’s your nephew.”

“Who else are you going to talk to about it?” Della smiled, flipping to a new page in the magazine. “It’s not like you’ve had time to make many friends on the island. You need to get out more.”

Annie lifted the green dress and a tiny voice whispered,
‘Don’t do it. He’s leaving. You’re going to get hurt.’

But if she
knew
he was leaving, if she knew exactly what she was getting into, couldn’t she steal herself against the pain of saying goodbye?

People had flings all the time. They fell into each other, had a good time, and fell apart. She was an adult. She could do this. There was no need to be dramatic about the fact that he was leaving.

Maybe it was time
both
she and Taylor took a step forward in their lives.

Just because she hadn’t been with a lot of men since Taylor was born, didn’t mean she hadn’t wanted to accept the occasional invitation to go out on a date. It didn’t mean she hadn’t wanted to have sex.

Who better than a gorgeous Navy SEAL to help her get back in the game?

Pushing to her feet, she walked into the bathroom and shimmied into the green sweater dress. She let her hair down, added a touch of mascara, and a dab of perfume. She checked her reflection and swiped a bit of color over her lips.

She walked back into the bedroom, pulled on a pair of high heel black boots, added a pair of dangly earrings, and turned to face Della. “What do you think?”

Della pretended to wipe a tear from under her eye. “I’m so proud.”

Annie rolled her eyes, grabbing her purse and heading for the stairs before she could change her mind. “Don’t wait up.”

It was strange,
Will thought, the feeling of home that swept over him as he crossed the drawbridge back to Heron Island. Even after all the years away, there was still something about this place that pulled at him, that made him wonder what his life would have been like if he’d never left.

Beside him, in the passenger seat, Colin cracked the window. A gust of cool, salty air flowed into the SUV. “I can’t believe I grew up in Maryland and I’ve never been down here.”

“Most people don’t make it past St. Michaels. Not much to attract the tourists besides peace and quiet.”

“It’s nice, though,” Colin said, gazing up at a flock of geese flying in a V-shape over the marina. Their calls filled the sky as they searched for a quiet cove to rest for the night. “Not that Annapolis is that big of a city, but it still seems like everyone’s in such a hurry all the time. It feels good to get away.”

Will cruised down the sleepy street as the setting sun tinted the clouds orange. He felt the same way. It was hard to imagine returning to the crush of traffic in San Diego, the five lane interstates, the miles of endless sprawl.

He could breathe on this island, in a way that he hadn’t been able to for a long time.

A thin flash of refracted light drew his gaze to the porch of the white house with purple shutters at the end of the cluster of shops. The chimes shivered and swayed, catching the last rays of sunlight slanting over the island.

When the door opened and a woman stepped out of the café, it took Will several seconds to process that it was Annie. She wore a tight green dress scooped low at the neck, and cut high across the legs. Black heeled boots lifted her up several inches, making her legs seem impossibly long. Her thick red hair hung in loose waves around her shoulders, teasing the lush curves that he had been dreaming of getting his hands on for weeks now.

His mouth went dry when she bent down to fix a crooked planter on the porch step, oblivious to the vehicle that had slowed in the street.

“Damn,” Colin murmured, rolling the window all the way down. “Who’s
that
?”

Apparently satisfied with the adjustment to the cheerful cluster of chrysanthemums on the steps, Annie straightened and headed down the sidewalk to where her car was parked on the street. Will could only stare as her hips swayed with every click of her boots on the cement.

Colin leaned his arm out the window to get a better look.

“Stop looking at her ass,” Will growled.

“What?” Colin’s brows shot up as his gaze swung back to Will’s. “Look who’s talking?”

“Show some respect,” he said, his voice deep and dark as he jerked the wheel and slid into a parking spot a few cars behind her rusted Honda.

The look of shock on Colin’s face slowly morphed into a knowing smile. He looked back at Annie. “So that’s her.”

“What are you talking about?” Will snapped distractedly, already climbing out of the driver’s seat.

“The woman who’s complicating things for you,” Colin answered.

Will glanced back, just for an instant, before slamming the door and stalking down the street to where she was fitting the key into her car door. Complicated didn’t even come close to explaining the conflicting emotions that were pumping through him with every step closer to the woman who’d
said
she wouldn’t date until things settled down for her and Taylor on the island.

But where the hell else would she be going dressed like that?

“Hot date tonight?” he asked, his voice calm and controlled, not betraying a hint of the jealousy burning inside him.

Annie dropped the keys, startled. Her hand flew to her heart. “Will,” she said, whipping around to face him. “I didn’t even see you there.”

He leaned down, picking up her keys.

Nerves simmered just beneath the surface of her skin, flushing her neck and chest with color. “I didn’t realize you weren’t home,” she said, glancing uncertainly at the man in the passenger seat of his car. “I was just on my way to the inn.”

To the inn?
He looked down at her outfit, drinking her in with his eyes. “Dressed like that?”

She blushed, running a hand through her hair. The smell of vanilla drifted toward him, driving him crazy. “Yes.”

“Why?”

She looked up at him, confused. “To see you.”

“Where’s Taylor?”

“At a friend’s house.”

“For the night?”

Annie nodded.

Will’s heart began a slow dull thud. She wasn’t going out on a date with another man. She’d been on her way to see him, to spend the night with him. His hand felt heavy as he reached for her. He drew her close, until her soft curves molded with the hard length of his body.

A gull cawed, circling above them in the fiery sky. He dipped his fingers into her hair as his mouth claimed hers. Her full lips parted, melting under his. He drank in the taste of her, riding that sweet wave of longing until he caught the sharp sultry edge of her perfume and thought he’d go mad.

“Will,” Annie breathed, pulling back slightly.

He held her close, unable to let her go. He was aware of a few people on the sidewalk passing by and staring. Let them, he thought, his fingers twisting into the silky strands of her hair.

He wanted to take her home, strip her out of that dress and have her naked and under him for the rest of the night. But he’d invited Colin to the island. He couldn’t ditch out on his friend. “How do you feel about oysters?”

“Oysters?” she asked breathlessly.

“For dinner.”

“That sounds good.”

“I invited a friend to the island for a few days.” His thumb stroked the soft curve in her throat where her pulse jumped. He wanted to kiss her there. He wanted to spend the rest of the night discovering all the places that would drive her crazy. He wanted to take his time exploring every inch of her body. “We were on our way to meet Becca and Ryan at Rusty’s. Will you join us?”

She nodded, her green eyes still filled with desire for him, her lips still slightly swollen from his kiss. “Let me go upstairs and change first. I’ll meet you there.”

“You look perfect.”
You are perfect.

“I can’t go to Rusty’s dressed like this.”

“Yes, you can.” He wasn’t letting her go. He wasn’t going to give her the chance to change her mind.

“People will talk.”

“Let them.” His hand closed over hers, and he led her back to the sidewalk, over the carpet of leaves to the SUV.

Colin opened the passenger side door, stepping out to give Annie his seat.

“Annie,” Will said, “this is my friend, Colin Foley. Colin, this is Annie Malone.”

Annie hesitated, just for a moment, and Will caught the flash of recognition deep in her eyes.

They were both full of surprises tonight.

“It’s nice to meet you, Colin,” Annie said, offering her hand.

Colin’s eyes danced with laughter as he took her hand and lifted it. “Annie,” he said gallantly, brushing his lips over her knuckles. “The pleasure is
all
mine.”

W
ill slipped his arm around Annie’s waist as they walked through the doors, in a casually possessive gesture that had her head spinning. The restaurant was packed, a long line stretching out from the buffet where serving dishes held fried oysters, oyster fritters, oysters Rockefeller, oysters Chesapeake, steamed oysters, bacon wrapped oysters and oyster stew.