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“I’m not. You earned him.” Grant pushed the button on the plaque, and “Love Me Tender” warbled out. “Now you can do with him as you please.”
“Hmm.” She ran her fingers down the front of his T-shirt and set the fish on the counter. “Can I do the same with you?”
“Always.” He tugged a lock of her hair. “As for the three meals a day, since I did promise to make them until Thanksgiving, you’ll have to claim the rest on visits. It could take a while to get through all the meals I owe you.”
“I can wait.” She slipped her hand under his shirt and stroked his warm abdomen.
Sadness and warmth shimmered in the air between them. He cupped her face and slanted his mouth over hers again, his kiss so thorough and compelling that for the first time in her life, Rory understood what it felt like to beclaimed.
“Work hard.” He lifted his head and tweaked her nose. “If any shit comes your way, you call me. The Taylor name carries a lot of weight, and I’ll use it if I have to. But first I’ll beat any guy up for you.”
“My hero.” She took a breath, trying to smother her fear of being alone again. “I’ll see you soon.”
“You sure will.” He kissed her again and started for the door. As he pulled his keys from his pocket, he turned back to face her. “I’ve always wondered…exactlywhydo you hate the singing fish so much?”
Rory skated her gaze from him.
“When I…” She touched the plastic fish as memories rushed swiftly back to the surface. “You know I came back to Bliss Cove when my father died. Two weeks after we buried him, I spent the day helping my mother sort through his things, and then I went out for a walk. It was December fifteenth, and the whole town was decorated with all these bright lights and Christmas trees that seemed sowrongto me. I ended up at the Mousehole, and you brought me tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. It was the first time we met.”
“I remember.” Tenderness darkened his eyes. “I thought I knew everyone in Bliss Cove. Then I looked up and saw this stunning woman with long black hair sitting at the bar, and my heart almost went into a freefall.”
Her breath caught. “Really?”
“How could it not? But then I noticed that you looked so sad. Hollowed out, like you had nothing left inside you.”
“You started Bob singing and said you hoped it’d make me smile.”
“And you did.” His eyes crinkled at the corners, and he pressed a hand to his chest. “Your smile hit me right here. Then my heart did go into a freefall.”
Rory managed a smile, wiping her eyes. “When I went back to the Mousehole a couple of weeks later, I was…well, I wasanticipatingseeing you again because you’d made me feel good. Sally Gaines was at the bar and she must have asked you to start the singing fish because you did. And she got all giggly and flirty, and I…”
She shrugged, her face heating. “I got a little jealous. I guess I had some silly idea that you only wanted to make me smile, and then there you were playing the fish for Sally Gaines. Oh my god, I can’t believe I just said that out loud.”
Grant blinked, a faintly stunned look rising to his eyes. Rory’s embarrassment deepened.
Suddenly he laughed, a warm rich chuckle that settled somewhere deep inside her. Before she could move, he pulled her against him again, securing his grip so tightly that she never wanted to leave the circle of his arms.
“I may have played the fish for Sally Gaines and any number of other women,” he murmured against her hair, “but you’re the only one I love, Rory Prescott.”
“Oh, youcannotdo this to me now.” Tears spilled down her cheeks as her heart overflowed.
“I sure can.” He eased back to look at her, wiping her cheeks with his thumbs. “I only wish I’d done it sooner. Then maybe I’d still have Bob.”
She gave a watery laugh. “He’s mine now. But you can have me instead.”
“Best trade of my life.” He kissed her again. “Take care of yourself for me, okay?”
“I will. I promise.”
She watched him leave, waiting until the taillights of his truck had turned the corner and disappeared from sight before she closed the door.
