Finding Kyle

  We both loved that fucking movie, and that line has been tossed back and forth between my sister and me whenever we'd talk to each other on the phone.

  It's a nice memory.

  With just a few more dips of the brushes into the paint, some quick strokes on the last pickets, and we are done with the painting. I push up from where I was squatting and look down the length of the fence. It's shiny and white and looks pretty fantastic.

  I turn back to look at Jane across the fence as she's also stood up. She arches her back a little in a stretch, and I know she'll probably be really sore tomorrow. "We did good work," she says with a firm nod of her head.

  "That we did," I say as I take her in. She's got paint on her right cheek and above her left eyebrow, with a little bit in the end of her ponytail. Not even sure how that happened. "I really appreciate your help."

  She beams back at me. "I was hoping you'd be appreciative. You owe me dinner."

  "I can't cook," I tell her flatly, my walls immediately going up, blocking her out and pushing her away.

  It's for her own good.

  "Even better," she returns with an even bigger smile. "You can take me out."

  "Jane," I say in a low, warning voice, intent on telling her that it is not going to happen, because as much as I've enjoyed this day with her and the ease with which it played out, dinner out together is an entirely different matter. It's too fucking personal. It's a date for Christ sake. "I don't think that's a good idea."

  She just rolls her eyes at me and says, "Wait for it... frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn. Gone with the Wind. 1939."

  "You did not just--"

  "Pull out the most awesome movie quote ever?" she suggests as her eyes twinkle with triumph. "Sure as hell did. Pick me up in an hour."

  With that, she turns and starts flouncing back toward her house.

  At least, I think it's flouncing. Isn't that the way Scarlett O'Hara moved in Gone with the Wind?

  I'll call it flouncing, because her ponytail swings back and forth as she crosses back over Cranberry Lane and marches into her house. Only after her door closes do I start to clean up the paint.

  An hour is plenty of time to get ready. In fact, I'll need about five minutes in the shower and I'll be ready to go.

  I think about Jane and that smile, those perfect breasts that stared at me through the picket fence all afternoon, and... maybe fifteen minutes in the shower.

  CHAPTER 10

  Kyle

  "You clean up nice," Jane says as we meander down the sidewalk, heading southwest from her house and through a section of Misty Harbor I'd not seen yet. I drove my pickup truck to her house, but she advised me we'd be walking to dinner instead.

  I didn't question her, because I'm terrified to even open conversation up with her. My repeated attempts to keep her at bay aren't working, so I'm thinking if I keep my lips sealed for most of the night, she'll finally get the hint I'm not interested.

  Liar.

  You're interested.

  "Didn't realize you even owned something other than jeans," she says conversationally. And maybe just with a little challenge to get me to talk.

  I remain silent, although I glance down at my outfit as we follow the sidewalk that takes us through a pretty residential area. I didn't bother to shave after my shower, but I did throw on a pair of khaki pants that had been bought for me after my "death." When I'd been put in that apartment in Chicago, I didn't have a stitch of clothing other than the outfit I'd been wearing during my supposed execution. That had consisted of a black Harley long-sleeved t-shirt, a pair of jeans, biker boots, and my leather cut. All of my pre-undercover clothes were in storage and wouldn't be fetched for me until my new destination was determined, so I'd had to make due with a variety of clothes that Joe Kizner bought me.

  That included a pair of khaki pants and a light blue button-up shirt that I paired with a pair of dark loafers. I looked like a fucking moron, or at least I think I did. It had been so damn long since I'd worn anything other than biker clothes that I wasn't quite sure.

  "And this is the time that would be appropriate for you to tell me that I look nice too and this outfit doesn't make my ass look big," Jane says with no small amount of snark.

  "You look nice," I say automatically and with no change in my inflection, even though I'd like to tell her she looks beyond amazing. When she'd opened her door five minutes ago, the breath was almost knocked out of my lungs. She was wearing a white, gauzy-looking skirt with lace on the edges, and it floated around her legs to just below her knees. Her shirt was a pretty shade of light green and hung off one shoulder. With her hair loose and wavy, she looked like a beautiful gypsy. The entire look was sweet, but it was also most definitely sexy.

  She truly deserves more than just "you look nice," and yet I can't make myself say it. Anything to draw her closer to me means I'll most likely be equally drawn back to her, and that's just not optimal with the fucked-up mess that is my life right now.

  "Well... I'm just one stomach flu away from my goal weight," she mutters under her breath, but not so low that I can't hear her.

  "What?" I ask as I tilt my head to look at her, not really sure what that even means.

  "The Devil Wears Prada," she says as she glances at me briefly.

  Devil? Prada? What the fuck?

  "I have no clue what you're talking about," I say irritably, feeling completely out of sorts because she wants a true compliment from me and she deserves one, but I can't seem to give it.

  "It's a movie," she murmurs as we continue to walk down the sidewalk. "2006."

  And for some reason, this immediately lessens the tension for me. She's quoting movies and this is something she's done so incessantly since I've met her, that it actually feels comfortable. Oddly, it almost centers me and the feeling is so appreciated, I stop and reach out to touch her arm. She turns to look at me curiously.

  "You look beautiful," I tell her truthfully, needing to give her something if only for the fact that she has the ability to make me feel okay in this strange world.

  And your ass is slammin', by the way.

  Jane beams a smile at me, tucking her hair back behind one ear. "Thank you."

  "You're welcome," I say as I pull my hand back and turn to start walking again. Before I can even help myself or talk myself out of it, I open the door for conversation because I'm apparently a glutton for punishment. "This is a pretty neighborhood."

  "It is," she says in agreement. I don't have to look at her to hear the fond smile in her voice.

  To our left is the start of Misty Harbor, the actual body of water for which the town is named and the reason for a lighthouse. It starts on the end of the long jetty that separates it from the Atlantic and cuts into the mainland. To our right are houses that sit on tiny, well-manicured lots, their front porches facing the harbor waters with a view of the Atlantic just beyond the jetty. The houses are small, but I expect the prices are at a premium because of the views.

  In between the water and the sidewalk is Front Street, and I'm assuming it's named so since it fronts the water. But I could be wrong.

  We approach a white house with a matching picket fence around it. The porch has black rocking chairs that match the shutters and potted plants of various sizes. A tiny dark blur shoots down the porch steps and charges at us down a walkway that's lined on both sides by flowers. I realize it's a small dog as it starts yapping at us, running along the fence line as we continue to walk.

  Jane... being Jane... turns to the dog and curls her hands into claws while she cackles, "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too."

  The dog is unfazed and continues to yap at her.

  Jane gives a soft laugh, and then reaches over the three-foot fence as the little dog comes up on his hind legs. He stops barking and his tail wags back and forth as she scratches his head. "Hi, Bilbo. You protecting the neighborhood?"

  The little dog's tail wags even faster. When Jane straightens and removes her ha
nd from his head, he turns around and runs back up onto the front porch where he plops down on his stomach and watches us.

  Jane turns toward me, and we start walking again. "That was the Wizard of Oz."

  "Yes," I say dryly. "That I knew."

  "1939," she adds on.

  "That I didn't know."

  Jane chuckles. As we start walking past the next yard, she throws her arm up and waves. I turn my head to see a couple sitting on rocking chairs on their front porch. It's a pretty two-story house with gabled peaks and gray shaker shingles.

  The couple waves back, smiling. They look to be in their mid-fifties or so.

  "Hey, Jane," the man calls out. "Where you going?"

  "Over to dinner at The Black Swan," she calls back as we continue to walk along the front of their property, our pace slowing as she converses.

  "Who's your fella?" the woman asks as she leans forward in her chair a bit.

  Jane jerks her thumb at me. "Kyle. He's my neighbor. No clue what his last name is."

  "Harding," I provide to her in a low voice.

  "Harding," she calls back.

  "How do you do, Mr. Harding?" the lady says with a wave at me.

  I wave back and give her a nod of my head.

  "You two have a nice dinner," the man says with a smile. By this time, we've reached the edge of their yard and are walking past the next house.

  "See you later," Jane calls back, touching her fingers to her lips and blowing the couple a kiss.

  When we make it past the next house, Front Street--and the sidewalk--starts to curve slightly to the right, and the rest of the harbor starts to open up in front of us. I'd not been to this part of the town, not having ventured past Main Street, which is where the grocery store sits on one end and The Lobster Cage on the other.

  "You know everyone in town," I observe, thinking of her familiarity with the little dog and the easy exchange of friendly banter with the couple.

  "Pretty much," she says merrily, and I can hear the love for her community in her voice. "That couple back there more than anyone as that was my mom and my dad."

  I stop dead in my tracks and look back to their house, seeing that they're both still watching Jane and me. When I turn back to face Jane, I see her eyes sparkling with amusement.

  "They're your parents?" I ask incredulously.

  "Yup," she says with a grin.

  I cock an eyebrow at her. "And they didn't want to meet or learn more about your neighbor whose last name you don't even know?"

  "Oh, they want to meet you," she says with a nod of her head and mischief in her voice. "I'll be expected to call them later and tell them all about it. You see, I don't date a lot, and they'll be chomping at the bit to find out all about you. But they're also not intrusive, so they'll be content to wait for me to tell them the details."

  "Of course you'll tell them that this isn't a date," I say gruffly as we continue to walk.

  "Sure I will," she says as she loops her hand through my arm and grips me right in the crook of my elbow. She pats my bicep reassuringly with her other hand and says, "If it makes you feel better, I'll totally tell them this isn't a date."

  "Because this is a thank-you gesture only," I say sternly, but even I can hear amusement seeping through in my voice, completely unwanted.

  She just pats my bicep again. "Whatever you say."

  "Seriously," I insist. "Not a date."

  "Not a date," she agrees, but her lips are tipped up in a way that clearly says she thinks she's on a date.

  I resolve to myself that when I walk her back home tonight that I'm not kissing her. I'm going to show her that this is just a friendly dinner between neighbors and nothing more.

  We walk along in silence. Jane's arm remains tucked into mine, but I don't make a move to dislodge it. It's the closest I've been to her physically, and I'm painfully aware it's been a long fucking time since a woman's touched me in such a sweet way. Despite every fiber of my being screaming at me not to get involved with her, I like her touch too much to push her away right now.

  And the realization is almost shattering as it becomes clear I'm probably in a losing battle with myself.

  CHAPTER 11

  Jane

  My fingers dig slightly into Kyle's arm as we step up to the door of The Black Swan, but then I release him. He hadn't uttered a word for the rest of our walk here, but he also didn't try to distance himself from me either.

  To my surprise, Kyle reaches an arm behind me, his other hand coming to rest lightly on my shoulder as he gently pushes me to the side a bit so he can open the door for me. I step through and his hand drops away as he walks in behind me.

  "Hey, Jane," the hostess, Kiley Grimmons, greets me from behind a podium. "Two for dinner?"

  "Yes, please," I tell her with a smile. Kiley was three years behind me in high school, so I don't know her all that well, but her father owns the hardware store and everyone knows Chib. He used to be a deep-sea fisherman, but lost his hand in a tragic accident when it got caught in the gears of the winch system used to haul in the catch. He retired from that but wasn't deterred from making a life for himself. Instead, he opened up a hardware store on Main Street that's done surprisingly well for such a small community.

  "Right this way," Kiley says as her eyes linger on Kyle curiously before she grabs the menus.

  We follow her through the restaurant, and she puts us at a lovely table by a long wall of nothing but glass that overlooks the harbor.

  "Miranda will be right with you," Kiley tells me with a smile, and I give her an appreciative nod. I knew Miranda was working tonight, which is her preference since she gets way better tips than at The Lobster Cage. Miranda would actually prefer this to be her "second" job, but it's hard to get on here as a part-time employee because the money is fabulous during the tourist season and return summer employees get preferential offers. Still, she keeps her foot in the door by covering people's shifts if they have an emergency come up, and Gus, who owns The Lobster Cage, never seems to get bent out of shape when she can't work there because she picked up an impromptu shift here.

  I chose this restaurant tonight not only because the food was fabulous and I worked my ass off today to help Kyle so I deserved a great meal, but also because Miranda was working and I wanted her outside observing eyes to give me feedback later. Kyle's so damn hard to read, and Miranda is a great judge of character. She'll be eyeballing the hell out of him tonight to try to denote body language and such.

  I snicker to myself over my devious ways, and that causes Kyle to prompt me, "What's so funny?"

  "Oh, nothing," I say, smirking as I pick up my menu and open it. "The she-crab soup here is to die for so you should try that, and, of course, if you like lobster, that's a great choice too."

  "Do you like lobster?" he asks, and I raise my eyes to him. I think that might be the first genuinely curious question he's asked about me personally.

  "I love it," I tell him. "You?"

  "Never had it," he says.

  "What the what?" I ask dramatically as I close my menu and set it down. "You've never had lobster before?"

  "Nope," is all he says.

  "Then you have to try it," I tell him firmly.

  "Okay." He puts his menu down and doesn't even open it.

  "But it's expensive," I feel the need to provide, as he didn't even bother to look at the market prices for the day that would be printed on a piece of paper in the middle.

  "Then you should have it too," he says gruffly.

  "Well, okay then," I say, giving him a tentative smile, silently marveling to myself that for a man who doesn't want this to be a date, he sure is pulling out all the stops to impress me.

  "If it isn't my favorite person in the entire world," I hear Miranda say from my left as she walks up to the table and pours water into my glass. I glance up at her, but she's staring across the table at Kyle, who sits to my right. Then she turns to look down at me and gives me a wink. "Oh, and hey, Jane. Good to
see you too."

  I grin at her, but then give her a mock pout. "I thought I was your favorite person in the world."

  "No," Miranda drawls out as she puts her free hand on her hip and waves the mostly empty water pitcher at Kyle. "He's now my favorite person after that epic smackdown he laid on Craig the other day."

  I purse my lips and give her an accommodating nod. "That's true. It was epic, and I can see how your loyalties would change."

  Miranda laughs and blows me a kiss, then sticks her hand across the table to Kyle. "We weren't formally introduced the other day, but I'm Miranda. Best friend to Jane here, and well, she really is my favorite person in the world. But you're a close second."

  Kyle smiles at Miranda, and I have to admit it's a beautiful smile. He shakes her hand and says, "I'd have liked to have given him more the other day, but didn't want to cause a scene."

  Miranda laughs as she releases his hand, and then leans over to pour his water. "Okay, you're my favorite again. Jane will just have to be satisfied with second best."

  And to my surprise, Kyle chuckles and that's even more beautiful. His face actually changes and his eyes lighten up. He actually looks approachable and I have to resist the urge to lean over and kiss him.

  Instead, I look back up at Miranda. "We're going to both have the she-crab soup and full lobsters."

  "What to drink?" Miranda says with efficiency.

  "I'm fine with water," I say.

  "Whatever you have on draft," Kyle says.

  "We have a great summer seasonal from a local brewery over in Bar Harbor," Miranda tells him. "I'll go put your orders in and be right back with the soups and your beer."

  I watch for a moment as Miranda walks to the next table to check on them before I turn back to Kyle. "And that crazy girl is Miranda Gale, truly my best friend in the world."

  "She's funny," Kyle observes. "And she clearly adores you."

  "Not as much as she adores you apparently," I say dryly. "But the feeling is mutual."

  "Two peas in a pod?" he asks.

  "Actually, no," I tell him as I cross my forearms on the table and lean toward him a bit. "We're almost like night and day. She's crazy, wild, and uninhibited. She doesn't have a filter on her mouth and can talk to any stranger. Miranda likes to fly by the seat of her pants and is completely spontaneous."