But as he ran a hand absently over his chin, it occurred to him that maybe this odd feeling inside him wasn’t so unusual, considering Steph was sweet, feisty, smart, game for adventure, and had a vulnerability in her that latched onto his heart. They had a damn good time together—he made her laugh, and she did the same for him.
His lips curved up in a grin as he thought of her. He shrugged happily to himself. Fine, if the job lasted a few more days, that wasn’t so bad. He’d been lucky so far. Getting involved with her had only helped him on this case. She’d been a great partner, and they were that much closer to cracking it because of her. He rapped his knuckles soundlessly against the windowsill—knocking wood that his lucky streak would continue. He could see spending time with her, chartering a fishing boat for an afternoon maybe, casting away far from shore, lolling about on the open sea. Naturally, the fantasy boat trip would include screwing on the deck of the boat. Many, many times. The image of her legs wrapped around his hips as he took her under the sun burned into his brain.
Hell, he’d stay extra on the island to make that happen. He’d definitely extend his trip for that sort of quality time.
The clacking of shoes echoed in his ears and snapped him out of his daydream. Glancing briefly behind him, he caught sight of a man in slacks and a dark short-sleeve shirt adorned with a name tag bearing the name of the church. The man looked at Jake and flashed a brief smile.
“If there is anything you need, let me know,” he said with a bow.
“Of course. Beautiful church you have,” Jake said.
“Do you need help getting down the stairs?”
Jake furrowed his brow. Why on earth would he need help down the steps? Did he look feeble? As he scrunched up his nose, it hit him why the man had asked. Jake was wearing dark glasses indoors. The man thought he was blind.
He laughed quietly and shook his head. “I’m all good,” he said. With sunglasses still covering his eyes, he headed down the steps, figuring it was best not to linger, even in a place where everyone was welcoming.
As he weaved past the table of pineapple and coconut candles, he reached into his pocket, grabbed his wallet, and opened it. He fished around for some bills—time to up his donation. This church had been good to him. He left a few on the donation plate, then pushed on the bright white door.
A blast of warm air blanketed him.
His phone rang. Taylor Swift. Grabbing the phone from his pocket, he turned in the opposite direction of the gallery, threading his way through late-morning tourists, shopping and strolling along the street, as he answered his little sister’s call. He braced himself for more bad news about her grades.
“Hey, Kylie. Are you a physics wiz now? Running experiments left and right in the school’s science lab?”
His sister moaned.
Uh-oh.
“Not yet. I have to take summer school first,” she said.
“For physics?”
“The school said even with a tutor, I won’t have the science requirements to finish unless I take summer classes. I need the tutor and summer school.”
“Then we’ll get you into summer school,” he said, keeping his tone upbeat for her sake, even though summer school meant more bills. Law school tuition would be coming due soon for Brandt, and now he had more classes to pony up for. But getting Kylie and Brandt through school was his mission, and he was glad he could support his family, even if it meant busting his ass and working all the time. It also meant he’d need to find another gig quickly once this one wrapped up. If it wrapped up. “How’s the tutor? Is he helping?”
“So much,” she said, then sighed, the contented sound of a Disney princess after she’s caught a glimpse of Prince Charming. His radar went off before she even said the next words.
“He is so handsome. I think I might be in love with him already.”
Jake cringed as he walked past an ice-cream shop. “Let’s not jump the gun on the romance, Kylie. Let’s focus on the schoolwork.”
“I know. I will. But it doesn’t hurt that he’s dreamy.”
Jake shook his head, cursing himself for having picked a tutor she wound up crushing on. Next time, he’d need to hire a nun to teach her science, because now he had to get his little sister to focus on school again, not boys. Some days, it was exhausting taking care of her and doing his best to surrogate parent her from afar. He wondered what his dad would say. How his mom would handle this. What would they do when the baby of the family wound up distracted by boys? He wished he knew, but it was now up to him and his oldest sister, Kate, to make sure the younger kids made their way safely into adulthood.
“I’m sure it doesn’t, but let’s talk physics. Tell me what’s going on,” he said firmly, refocusing her on the task at hand.
“I have a test tomorrow. The tutor is going to study with me this afternoon, so I’m hoping that’ll help.”
“Yeah, me, too. But listen, Kylie. You can’t just stare into his eyes and let him hypnotize you with hotness. That’s not going to help.”
“You’re one to talk. How’s your island hottie?” she asked, needling him as only she could.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said with pretend stoicism.
“Ha. Deny all you want. You can’t fool me.”
“Never could,” he muttered playfully. “Back to you. You’re going to focus on studying, ’K?”