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With a decisive yank, she killed the engine and pocketed her keys. Her luggage was in the trunk and she struggled to grab the two cases. She knew it was late—thanks to her detour, she was way later than she wanted to be—and she figured, if Lucas’s sister saw that she already had her luggage with her, she wouldn’t turn her away.
It took a few minutes to lug the two heavy cases up the walkway, and then even more effort to carry them up the steps. Her heart was beating wildly, and she told herself it was from exertion rather than nerves as she pressed the doorbell.
It was a lie, of course. The sign out front might have said open to all, but Lucas made it very clear that outsiders were, well, outsiders.
Fingers crossed, she waited to see if anyone would answer the bell.
The porch light switched on. A second later, the front door swung inward, revealing a man.
He was tall and dark, with skin the shade of a deep, rich caramel. His black hair was cut close to his head, drawing attention to the sharp, chiseled cheekbones that highlighted his face. It was his eyes, though, that had her gawking more than anything else. They were striking, a lovely amber color that reminded her of a stray cat she’d once seen.
“Can I help you?”
His voice was warm and smooth. It suited him, and managed to knock Grace out of her sudden stupor.
This man… this man was handsome. And, unlike the cop who gave her directions, she could appreciate it without wanting to jump him. Probably because of the guarded look in his beautiful eyes and the way he leaned into the doorjamb, blocking her from seeing into the house.
One thing for sure, this wasn’t Maria De Angelis.
She shook her head. “Yes. Hi. I’d like to rent a room.”
“You’re an outsider.”
“Um, yeah. I guess I am.” He said outsider like it was a curse. Grace was really beginning to regret this. “The sign says open to all,” she pointed out. “Is that true?”
Before he could answer, a throaty voice with a noticeably exotic accent called out.
“Sly, tesoro, is someone at the door?”
The man—Sly—stayed where he was, watching Grace curiously. “Seems you have a guest.”
Grace heard an excited squeal, saw Sly get shoved aside by a firm feminine hand, then watched as a dark-haired tornado came bursting out of the doorway.
From the olive-toned skin to the black hair cascading down to the middle of her back, plus the shocking light blue eyes that made Grace wonder if they were natural, she knew that this was Maria De Angelis, Lucas’s sister. She was nearly as tall as her brother, and just as pretty.
Apart from their voices—Maria had an obvious Italian accent, while Lucas’s tone was always short and clipped—there was one noticeable difference between the two siblings. Grace always got the feeling that Lucas tolerated her because Tessa seemed to enjoy talking to her on the few occasions they met in the hall.
Within seconds of meeting her, she understood the final line on the sign. Open to All. This woman obviously meant it.
“Welcome to Ophelia,” Maria said, a genuine warmth in her smile. Reaching out, she took Grace by the hands. “Welcome to Hamlet.”
“Thank you.”
Maria gave her fingers a gentle squeeze. “Come in, miss…”
“Delaney,” Grace told her. “My name is Grace Delancey. Call me Grace.”
“Si, and I’m Maria.”
That’s what she thought.
“Come in, Grace. I’ve got plenty of vacancies and we can discuss how long you’ll be staying inside where it’s warm and cozy.”
Payment too, Grace supposed. That was fine with her. Tommy’s diamond fetched more than enough to pay for her room here for as long as it took to find a permanent home. Right now, after her long drive and the shock of discovering the tracking device, Grace was ready to throw money at Maria if only to have a place to sleep in peace within the next ten minutes.
Sly laid his palm on Maria’s upper arm as she let go of Grace and started to turn toward the open door. “You want me to stick around, help you get your guest settled?”
Her head whipped around so fast, Grace nearly got slapped in the face with Maria’s hair. “What? No, Sly, no. You go back to the station, take care of your work. Don’t worry about us.”
