A Little Harmless Fantasy(74)

She shoved those thoughts aside and concentrated on buying some chocolate because if there was one thing she knew, it was that chocolate would make her feel a little better…even if it was only for a little while.





Chapter Sixteen





“How do you like your steak cooked?” Rory asked Maura.

She said nothing, just kept looking out over the water from their lanai. He shared a look with Zee. She’d been quiet since she returned from her trip with Jillian. It wasn’t that it was alarming but she seemed a little more subdued.

“Maura?” he asked again.

She shook herself and looked over at him. It took a second for her eyes to focus on him. “I’m sorry, what?”

“How do you like your steak?”

“Oh,” she said then smiled. “Medium rare. I like a little blood.”

He threw the steaks on the grill trying very hard not to freak out. The openness he had grown accustomed to over the last week was no longer there.

“Did you have a good time with Jillian?” Zee asked.

“Yeah, we did a little shopping, had a snack.”

She said it absent-mindedly as if she were thinking about something else. She had been of course. Something had been bothering her since she got back to the house.

“Maura, are you going to tell us what’s bothering you?”

She looked at him. “Nothing’s really bothering me.”

“You’ve been quiet since you got back from shopping.”

She shrugged. “Okay. Something was bothering me a little but I mostly dismissed it. Doesn’t seem that important.”

“You can tell us,” Zee said, his voice as worried as Rory felt.

Sighing, she said, “Well, it felt like someone was watching me again. It was really odd but then, that happens sometimes with Jillian. She gets a few people who recognize her. She’s also a striking woman. She stands out so she does draw a lot of attention.”

“That’s all that was bothering you?” Zee asked, but Rory could tell that even he was suspicious.

“Yeah.” She smiled. “I had to work it out in my brain.”

Zee took her hand and brought it to his lips.

“Oh, are you romantic,” she said.

Zee laughed with her. “You’re rarely quiet with us.”

She shrugged. “You know sometimes I have to work things out in my head. Once I do, everything is okay. I’m going to wash up and fix a few lazy man’s lava flows. Anyone else?”

“Naw, I have a beer,” Zee said. She gave him a kiss then touched Rory’s back as she walked by.

It was something he had grown accustomed to the last few days. For someone who seemed so singular, she seemed to always want to touch them.

“Stop worrying,” Zee said.

Rory glanced at him. “I can worry if I want to.”

Zee smiled and leaned closer for a kiss. After brushing his mouth over Rory’s, he said, “I thought I would never hear the day that Rory McAllister would worry about a woman.”

He shrugged. “I’m used to seeing her be open with us, especially you.”

“Don’t worry, love. You’ll see after dinner, she’ll be fine.”

But, as he watched her through the meal, he knew there was something else going on. She was a woman with a healthy appetite who never tried to pretend she wasn’t hungry.

“You only ate half of your steak,” Rory commented.

She laughed and it relaxed him a bit. “It was a sixteen ounce, Rory. You might have a man-sized appetite but there is only so much I can eat. Plus, this way, there is some left for tomorrow morning for breakfast. I’m going to go wrap this up because I do like steak and eggs. And just for reference, I like my eggs over medium.”

She picked up her plate and went inside the house.

“I’m not buying it,” Rory said.

Zee shook his head. “You need to let it go. Sometimes Maura gets like that. If you push, she’ll just close down. I’ve seen her do it.”

He sighed trying to gain control of the emotions raging inside of him. He hadn’t been able to come to terms with his own revelations earlier that day. He had never been so tangled up about a woman, but Maura had him tangled up good.

“Hey, do y’all mind if I take a bath. I bought some great bath stuff I want to try out.”

“No, go ahead, love,” Zee said.

She gave them each a kiss and then headed back into the house.

“Rory?”

“I think she’s having second thoughts.”

He was proud of the fact that he kept the panic out of his voice. It was crawling down his spine.

“She’s not having second thoughts.”

He didn’t say anything trying to keep his worries to himself. He had already said too much. Of course, Zee didn’t let it go.