"Don't tell me you're one of those who sorts the silverware."

"Okay, I won't tell you that," Jenny said as she arranged the forks, knives and spoons into separate compartments.

"That's just so wrong. Throw it all in there." He reached for the knives, clearly intending to mess them up, and Jenny grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Don't even think about it. I won't be able to sleep tonight if they aren't sorted."

"I'm going to mess them up after you leave."

"You wouldn't dare."

The gleam in his eye was positively sinister as he came toward her. "Wouldn't I?"

Jenny dodged him and took off out of the kitchen, squealing with laughter.

He was right behind her and grabbed her around the waist. Somehow they landed in a mess of arms and legs on the sofa, their lips perfectly aligned.

"Wait," Jenny said, turning her head before he could kiss her. "Your mother. What if she comes out?"

"She won't. She sleeps pretty soundly."

"Still..."

Groaning, he dropped his head to her shoulder. "Come on. You don't expect me to actually watch the movie, do you?"

"Yes, I do," Jenny said primly, pushing at his shoulders to dislodge him.

Alex sat up, complaining all the way. "You're absolutely no fun."

"I'll remember you said that the next time we're alone. Now what are my choices for movies?"

He sighed-deeply-and then reached for the remote.

Jenny hid a smile she knew he wouldn't appreciate. How could any woman not be crazy about a man who wanted her as much as Alex seemed to want her? And she was crazy about him. To deny that would be foolish. "This is one of my favorites," she said when she found Notting Hill playing on one of the movie channels.

"Shoot me now," Alex grumbled.

"aI'm just a girl, standing before a boy, asking him to love her,'" Jenny said in breathy imitation of Julia Roberts's famous line in the movie.

"Are you now?" Alex said, staring intently at her.

Undone by the way he looked at her, she said, "I was quoting the movie."

He didn't look away when he smiled and said, "Uh-huh."

While they watched Hugh Grant bumble through the romancing of Julia's international-movie-star character, Alex moved subtly closer to her until he was right next to her, his arm around her.

"You didn't say no snuggling."

"Mmm," she said as she curled up to him.

He reclined against some pillows, his arms around her as Jenny used his chest as a pillow.

A wave of contentment flowed through her, and she realized, right in that moment, that she hadn't felt this content since before her world imploded. "This is nice," she said softly.

"It could be nicer."

"This is as nice as it's getting while your mother is here."

"If you say so." He didn't try to kiss her again, but his hands were busy, moving up and down her back in a soothing pattern that made her feel relaxed and sleepy even as a buzz of desire kept her very much awake.

The movie was almost over when they heard a car door close outside.

"That'll be Paul."

Jenny reluctantly sat up and ran her fingers through her hair to bring order to it. "I should go."

"You don't have to."

"I know I don't, but you need to get some sleep."

"That's not what I need."

"Alex..."

"Jenny..."

They were engaged in a visual standoff when Paul came in, stomping his feet on the mat inside the door. "It's pouring out there," Paul said. "Relief is in sight."

Jenny had been so wrapped up in Alex that she hadn't noticed it was raining. A flash of lightning and the rumble of thunder made her startle. "I'm going to head out."

"Will you be okay to drive in the rain?" Alex asked.

"I'll be fine."

"What about the gate?"

"I'll leave it open tonight. No one will be out there in this weather, and it's not worth getting soaked to close it."

"I don't like the thought of you out there alone in this weather."

"You're very sweet to worry, but I'll be fine."

"You could stay here if you wanted to."

Jenny leaned in to kiss his cheek, whispering, "Nice try." She got up to collect her purse, keys and phone from the counter. "I'll be at the store in the morning, Paul."

"Thanks, Jenny. See you then. Hopefully we can get this computer situation resolved."

"I hope so, too. If not, we'll go the old-school pen-and-paper route until we work it out."

"Sounds good."

Alex walked with her to the porch.

Jenny stopped him before he followed her down the stairs. "No sense both of us getting wet."

He hooked an arm around her waist. "There's so much I could say to that."

"You're such a brat."

"You love it."

"Yes, I do." With her hands on his shoulders, she went up on tiptoes to kiss him. "Thank you for a lovely evening."

"Thank you. See you tomorrow?"

"Hope so."

"Text me to let me know you got home okay."

"I will."

He kissed her again, lingering this time and groaning when he reluctantly released her.

Jenny dashed down the stairs into the pouring rain and was soaked through by the time she got into her car. The cool rain was a welcome relief from the staggering heat, but it left her shivering from the chill.

All the way home to the lighthouse, thoughts of Alex and the evening they'd spent together kept her warm and smiling. It occurred to her as she navigated dark, wet roads that she was falling fast for him. While she ought to be afraid of how strong her feelings for him had become, she wasn't scared at all. Rather, she was exhilarated and looking forward to the next time she'd get to see him.

Chapter 17.

"It's really coming down out there," Alex said to Paul. He locked the door and shut off the outside lights.

"Supposed to last into tomorrow night."

"Great," Alex said. "Right when we're starting to get caught up a bit, we could lose an entire day to weather."

"A day off won't kill either of us, but the schedule we've been keeping just might."

"True. How was your meeting?"

"Oh, you know, the usual bullshit. Mayor Upton has all kinds of grandiose ideas, and we spend most of our meetings keeping him in line."

"I don't know how you can stand to sit through those meetings." Alex had teased Paul endlessly about his decision to run for town council in the last election, but he was proud of his brother. Not that he'd ever tell Paul that.

"How was Mom tonight?" Paul asked.

"Fine. No problems."

"Glad to hear it." Paul sat across from him in one of the chairs. "So you and Jenny, huh?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Do you know about her?"

"What does that mean? I know her quite well, in fact."

Paul rolled his eyes at the double meaning he detected in his brother's comment. "You know about her fiance and what happened to him?"

Nodding, Alex said, "How do you know?"

"The council hired her. Hang on a minute." Paul went into the bedroom they used as an office and returned a couple of minutes later holding papers folded in thirds. He handed them to Alex. "We asked applicants to write us a letter telling us why they wanted to be the lighthouse keeper. This was her letter. It was one of the most powerful and haunting things I've ever read. I've never forgotten it."

With a sinking feeling in his belly, Alex took the letter from his brother. "Are you allowed to show it to me?"

"She's a town employee, so technically it's public record."

"And it's not wrong of me to read this when she didn't show it to me herself?"

"Did she tell you what happened?"

"Earlier today. Not all the details, but the gist."

"Then she doesn't mind if you know, right?"

"I guess not."

"I'm going to hit the hay. I'm tapped out after this incredibly long and frustrating day."

"I'm sorry I caused you a ton of shit by firing Sharon."

"You didn't. She did, and clearly you did the right thing if she's capable of this kind of maliciousness. Don't sweat it."

Though Paul gave him a pass, Alex still felt bad for his role in the entire mess. But he didn't regret firing Sharon.

"See you in the morning," Paul said.

"Night."

For a long time after his brother left the room, Alex stared at the folded pages Paul had given him, trying to decide if it was the right thing to read them. He'd understood after their discussion tonight that she was willing to talk about her loss-to a point. It had been clear to him that it was difficult for her, even after all this time, and that it had been a relief to her to change the subject.