16 Lighthouse Road - Debbie Macomber [98]
“Warren…”
“Hear me out. You want Seth Gunderson. You’re young and healthy, and hell, I’m not blind.” He held her look, then pointedly slid his gaze past her. “But I can be.”
Justine frowned. “I don’t understand.”
Warren slid his arm along the back of her seat. “Baby, you want sex. What woman doesn’t? So go ahead, with my blessing. Screw his brains out if that’ll make you happy, and then come home to me.”
The crudeness of his words made her gasp. “You’re sanctioning an affair?”
“If not Seth, then someone else. You pick.”
“That’s not the kind of marriage I want!”
He spoke as though he hadn’t heard her. “The only thing I ask is that you tell me who it is.”
Justine couldn’t believe they were having this conversation or that Warren would suggest something so…so reprehensible. “I’m not like that, Warren.”
He grinned with the amusement of a man who’d seen it all. “You never know, Justine. You just never know.”
Fifteen
As a single man, Jack Griffin didn’t make a habit of turning down dinner invitations, especially ones that came from Bob and Peggy Beldon. Peggy was an extraordinary cook, and meals at their bed-and-breakfast were the stuff of culinary legend.
Jack had been friends with Bob for more than ten years; Bob and Peggy had owned Thyme and Tide for seven. It was on Lighthouse Road, a mile or so from Olivia’s house. The two-story white structure with the black wrought-iron fence had been called the Mansion before Bob and Peggy bought it. A Navy Commander was said to have built it in the early 1900s. It had turrets, one at either end of the house, and the larger of the two had a widow’s walk.
The B and B had been successful from the outset, due in no small part to the Beldons’ skill as hosts—and of course, to Peggy’s cooking.
Jack arrived with a bouquet of flowers and a healthy appetite.
“Welcome,” Peggy said as she opened the door and kissed him on the cheek. “We don’t see nearly enough of you. Our guests aren’t scheduled to arrive until late, so we’re free to relax for a few hours.” Her eyes crinkled in a smile. “I always enjoy the opportunity to feed someone who appreciates my cooking as much as you do.”
“Invite me to dinner any time you like,” he said enthusiastically.
“Did I hear the doorbell?” Bob walked in and the two men exchanged handshakes.
“I’ll take care of these flowers,” Peggy said and left the room.
Jack followed his friend onto the patio behind the house. Its location granted a full view of the cove, with the Bremerton ferry in the distance.
“I’ve already got the cribbage board set up and ready to go,” Bob told him. “How about a glass of iced tea?”
“Sounds great.”
While Bob hurried into the kitchen for the tea, Jack inspected Peggy’s herb garden. It was lovely to behold, a delight for all the senses. Even Jack, who liked to say that he had “a green thumb—green with mold,” derived real pleasure from Peggy’s garden. Many of the fresh herbs were used in her prized recipes, and he wondered what she’d serve tonight.
Bob returned with two glasses of iced tea. “This retirement is for the birds,” he muttered. “It looks like the house is going to need painting this summer, and Peggy thinks I should be able to do it myself.”
“She’s joking, right?”
“I hope so.” Bob sank down on one of the lounge chairs. “Can you believe it’s the middle of June already?” He sat upright with a startled look.
“What’s wrong?”
Bob glanced away and seemed embarrassed, as though he’d said something he shouldn’t have. “Nothing,” he said, shaking off the question. “Just another one of life’s regrets. Let’s not discuss it.”
Jack frowned, but if there was anything he understood it was regrets.
“So—you’ve been here almost a year,” Bob said casually, reaching for his tea.
Jack nodded. A year. Well, it would be in October. Busy as he was with the newspaper, the months had flown by. It seemed only a few weeks ago that he’d sat in Olivia’s courtroom that first time…. He was shocked to realize that six months had passed.
“What do you think of