on.
Tori had heard homeowners in this part of Seahaven acquired older waterfront houses, demolished them and replaced them with pricier versions.
Although she thought it a shame to tear down history, she couldn't help admiring the dynamic, resourceful, self-made mayor.
A recent profile in the Seahaven Gazette told of the killing the mayor had made investing commissions she earned as a Realtor into property she later resold at a substantial profit.
If private investigation didn't work out , Tori thought as she parked behind Grady's SUV, maybe she should consider a career in real estate .
She wiped her damp palms on her slacks. She needed to stop this nonsense about taking up an alternative career and concentrate on convincing Grady he had it wrong.
She might even manage to turn a negative into a positive. Taking a man's measure had to be easier face to face instead of in the shadows observing from afar.
Besides, by process of elimination, she had to be good at something. Why not PI work?
“You're full of surprises," he said when she joined him in front of the house. He'd jammed his hands in the pockets of his khakis, lending him a deceptively casual air. "I didn't think you'd come."
Not coming had been an option? She'd been so rattled that hadn't occurred to her. But fleeing would only have made him more suspicious.
"I'm not exactly dressed for a party." Her slacks and blouse were of good quality but were both brown. She would have worn the more correct black, the better to blend into the surroundings, but the color caused her to look washed out.
“You look great to me." His eyes skimmed over her, and her pulse skittered. “That’s not what I meant. I wasn’t sure you’d come now that I know you’ve been following me.”
Her time of reckoning had arrived.
"I need to set you straight about that." She only had to tilt her head back slightly to meet his eyes, which surprised her. He seemed larger than life but probably fell just shy of six feet. "I wasn't following you."
“Is that why you took off at the golf course when you saw me coming?”
Oh, no. She'd thought the floppy hat and sunglasses had kept him from recognizing her. Start bluffing , a shrill voice inside her head screamed. Now .
“That had nothing to do with you.” She airily waved a hand. “I left because the event was almost over.”
He didn’t reply. She nervously chewed her bottom lip, thinking she should elaborate to make her story more believable.
"There wasn’t much more to see," she said.
Still no response.
“And I remembered something else I had to do.”
Was that suspicion she saw in his beautiful eyes?
“Something vitally important,” she clarified. There. That should allay his distrust. Except he still looked puzzled. “I needed. . . to feed my cat."
Oh, great. Had she really said that?
“She gets hungry if she’s home alone too long.”
He tilted his head quizzically. “Why don’t you leave food out for her?”
“Because. . . I don’t want her to stuff herself. You know what they say about a number of small meals a day being healthier than one large meal.”
“I thought cats stopped eating when they were full.”
“Not this cat.” She spread her hands wide. “This is one fat cat.”
“As interesting as all this is,” he said slowly, “we were talking about you following me.”
Adrenaline rushed through her like river water after a storm, and she recognized it as the fight or flight instinct. Flee , her mind screamed.
She nodded toward the etched glass front door. The muffled laughter and music behind it sounded like salvation. “We should go inside so we don't miss out on the fun."
“Not until we straighten this out,” he said, and she looked wildly about for help. A car door slammed somewhere down the block, but they were alone on the front lawn. “I want to know why I’ve seen you four times in the past few days.”
“You couldn’t have,” she cried. She’d adhered to the