Seal With a Kiss Read Online Free Page B

neatly.
"That's all. Which is why you've packed the shirt he
complimented you on a few days ago and the bikini
that nearly made his eyes cross when you wore it last
week."
    "Not intentionally." Violet made a grab for the offending items but Maddy held on. The women indulged in a brief tug-of-war over the miniscule bikini
top, which was nothing more than a pair of BandAid sized scraps of fabric held together with electric
blue string, until Maddy gave up and sat down on
the bed, laughing.

    "Oh never mind. You don't have to tell me. But
really Violet, just between us girls, don't you think
he's even a little handsome?"
    The phrase just between us girls took Violet aback.
She didn't remember it ever being "us girls" before.
A tomboy raised by three brothers, she considered
herself eminently qualified to deal with men, but was
at a loss when confronted by women-particularly
friendly, emotionally open ones. So she deliberately
misunderstood the question, hoping to fend off
Maddy's good intentions. "Who, Brody?"
    The other woman winced and held up a hand,
"Please. Let's not talk about your past with my husband while I'm feeling a brief moment of bonhomie
here. You know very well who I'm talking about."
    Zipping her bag shut, Violet shrugged. "Sure,
Smitty's cute enough. When he's not being annoying, which is almost never." She lifted the bag,
glanced at Maddy, and ignored the urge to beg,
please don't make me go on this trip. "Guess I'm all
packed."
    "I'll go see if Smitty's ready." Maddy headed for
the door, turning when Violet called her back.
"Yes?"
    "I, uh-" Violet cleared her throat. "I was thinking
that maybe after the grand opening, you and I could
go out sometime."

    "Out?" Maddy's voice almost squeaked on the
word. "You and me?"
    Violet shrugged uncomfortably. "Yeah. I want
new curtains, maybe a bedspread, and some ... decorations or something. I thought with you running
the inn for so long, you'd know the best places to
go....
    Maddy's pleased smile was answer enough, as was
her quick wash of color. "It's a date. We'll do it
when you come back from your trip."
    Both women's eyes were drawn to the window at
the sound of a large, off-tune truck pulling into the
clamshell driveway.
    The horn beeped obnoxiously and Smitty hollered,
"Truck's here, Vi! Hurry up and let's get going.
We've got a sea lion to chauffeur and a deadline to
meet!"
    Violet rolled her eyes and shouldered her overnight bag. "Yeah, we'll do it when I get back. That
is, if I'm not in jail for murder or something."
    As she left the room, Violet thought she heard
Maddy murmur, "Or something...."

     

ccIt's about time, I was getting ready to leave without you." As the truck idled in the driveway of
Maddy's inn, Smitty danced his feet over the gas and
the clutch, winding the refrigerator truck's engine up
to drown out the first part of Violet's response as she
hiked herself into the high passenger seat and
slammed the door.
    "-and another thing!" She paused when he just
laughed and tapped on the gas again. "Oh, never
mind."
    There was no backseat and the stick shift took up
most of the middle, so she had to tuck her bag next
to her feet. She squirmed around and kicked at the clutter until everything was where she wanted it, and
Smitty had to force himself to look away from her
legs, which seemed to go on for miles. There were
days he could make himself ignore her legs. Then
there were days like today.

    The idea of spending the next few days sharing
the tiny truck cab with her was disturbing, and not
because he disliked her. More because he didn't. Not
really.
    "Here, this is for you two." Ishmael and Ahabone of them was actually named Peter, but Smitty
could never remember which one-stood next to the
truck with an empty specimen jar.
    "My parents always used a pickle jar when we
road tripped as a family. I thought this would do."
Ishmael leaned across Smitty and placed the jar on
the dashboard. The