Page 7 of Jasmine Street Blues

“That should be explanation enough,” she said. “I like Olive and Tuck. I like them a lot, and they’re wonderful neighbors. I don’t want to butt heads with either of them.”

“Ditto.”

Loran looked over his head, studied a painting of flowers to her right, pursed her lips again. He really wished she’d stop drawing attention to those lips…

After a few moments of awkward silence she looked him in the eye, smiled, and said, “I have an idea.”

3

“I can’t believe you haven’t been to Maggie’s yet!” Olive said. There was a spring in her step on this warm summer evening. The woman reveled in her new role as matchmaker.

Loran almost felt guilty.

“Mac was going to come to the house and walk over with us, but he got busy this afternoon and he wanted time to shower and change clothes. Probably a good idea,” Olive added in a lowered voice. “Occasionally rough and sweaty at the end of the day or not, you have to admit, Mac’s a catch. Good looking for sure. The strong, silent type. I haven’t known him all that long and since he doesn’t talk about himself much I know nothing about his romantic past. I think he was divorced a while back?” She looked at her fella and waited for confirmation.

Tuck nodded. “So I hear, but he doesn’t talk about it so let’s not bring divorce up over dinner.”

Olive nodded in agreement. “Shrimp and grits for me,” she said, turning the conversation from Mac to food.

Loran should’ve joined the conversation when she’d had the chance and said that Mac wasn’t really all that special. That he was too big, that he looked like a bully and she couldn’t abide a bully. But she’d remained quiet. She’d save her insults for dinner.

Already she doubted her plan. It had seemed like such a good idea a couple of days ago! Could she make a scene in a public place?She’d come to Seawolf Beach to hide, to blend in, not to draw attention to herself. Why couldn’t she tell Olive that she simply wasn’t interested? For a while she’d thought showing Olive over dinner that she and Mac weren’t compatible would be quick and easy, but now she had serious doubts.

It still might work, even if they toned it down a bit. There didn’t have to be a big scene. No commotion was required. She and Mac could just be awkward with one another, maybe a little cool. That, at least, would require no acting or effort on her part.

She couldn’t afford to get close to anyone, especially not a man. Especially not an observant cop.

Loran had intended to stop at Maggies’s a few times in the past three months, but never had. She preferred to either cook in her own kitchen or grab something quick at one of the many good restaurants in town. A few were on her way home, whether she walked or drove, and a couple were already favorites. Maggie’s was cozy, hidden in a back corner of Seawolf Beach as if it were intended only for those lucky enough to know it was there. Anyone who stumbled upon it might feel as if they’d found buried treasure.

That thought turned her mind to the pirate she’d been painting for the past couple of months, and the young girl who’d recently taken his place, as if she’d shoved the pirate aside to shout, “Me! Me! My turn!”

Mac waited for them just inside. Loran’s heart leapt in her chest. Not at the sight of him, no. Not because he did look very nice in tight jeans and a forest green Henley shirt. She’d hoped he’d be less intimidating out of uniform, but that wasn’t the case. She ran away from intimidating men, not to them.

She supposed if she wanted or needed a man in her life…

But she didn’t. She’d let down her guard in the past and it never ended well. This time she’d be more careful. She had no choice.

It would be great if Mac was seated across the table from her, but no. Olive basically assigned seats, and Loran ended up with Olive on her left and Mac to her right, with Tuck straight ahead. The table wasn’t very big, the chairs were close together. All she had to do was move her hand a few inches, and she’d be touching the man she was trying so hard to ignore.

How could she ignore a man like Mac? He was damn near electric.

Tuck could be charming, when he wanted to be. Which was most of the time. There was no lull in the conversation, no truly awkward moments. He and Olive were annoyingly adorable. They seemed to know what the other was thinking, as they literally finished one another’s sentences. Her neighbors, both such nice people, were connected in a way she didn’t see often. Loran suffered a moment of envy. This kind of connection was something she would never have.

Her “date” was many things, but adorable wasn’t one of them.

The guys both ordered steak and potatoes. Olive had been looking forward to her shrimp and grits for days. Loran wanted to try something different, so she picked a grilled cajun-seasoned fish.

Mac was the strong, silent type. If she hadn’t already known he was a cop, she would’ve figured it out soon enough. On a regular basis he scanned the room with suspicious eyes. When a plate was dropped in the kitchen, he tensed and turned his gaze in that direction, then relaxed when it became clear all was well. The last thing she needed in her life was an observant man.

He ate, and succinctly answered direct questions much as he had at Olive’s house last weekend. Sociable wasn’t a word anyone would use to describe him. Talkative? Not at all. Intriguing, alluring, sexy, the strong silent type. He was trouble walking, at least for her.

Mac hadn’t been entirely on board with her plan to show Olive that they weren’t a good match, so maybe he expected his date to start the ball rolling. Not now, though. Maybe over dessert.

Maybe she should just find the balls to tell Olive to back off. Unfortunately Loran Raine had never had balls. She’d prefer to do a bit of acting than to put her foot down and tell a friend she wasn’t interested in being set up with any man. Not even this one.

Plates were cleared and dessert menus delivered. Tuck, who was not a fidgeter, suddenly seemed a little uncomfortable. His jitteriness was so out of character it grabbed Loran’s attention. Something was wrong…

“I don’t think I have room for dessert,” Olive said.