The Deep End (A Saints & Strangers Cozy Mystery Book 2) Read Online Free Page B

her with the box. “Annoying Jasmine is your favorite pastime, not mine.”
    “Can he pick you up here?” Thora called after her. “We’d like to get a look at him.”
    “Thora,” Kit scolded her.
    Thora wore an innocent expression. “What? We don’t get many men coming to our quiet street. It’s been a banana bonanza since you moved in, though.”
    Kit clamped her hands over her ears. If she never heard Thora utter the phrase ‘banana bonanza’ again, she’d die a happy woman.
     
    Rebecca stood outside the door of the Moroccan restaurant as she waited for Jake. She didn’t want him to pick her up at Kit’s because of the prying eyes and she didn’t want to pick him up at Oak Lodge because of Jasmine. Meeting at the restaurant was the best compromise.
    Jake arrived five minutes later and they entered the restaurant together. The interior was lush and deep with color. The tables were surrounded by oversized bright pink and burnt orange cushions. They were seated quickly and Rebecca took a moment to digest the heady atmosphere.
    “Where did you find this place?” Rebecca asked, pleasantly surprised.
    “Dare I admit that my sister suggested it?”
    They breathed in the sweet air of the hookah and watched belly dancers perform.
    “She probably thought I would hate it,” Rebecca said. “Just shows how little she knows me.” She bit her lip, not intending to insult Jasmine in front of her brother.
    “She’s jealous of you, you know,” Jake said.
    Rebecca’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Me? I doubt that very much.”
    “It’s true. You’re a budding doctor. Your father adored you.”
    “Father adored her, too.”
    “The way one adores a playful kitten with her claws still intact,” Jake replied. “Would you like wine?”
    “Only a little,” Rebecca said, offering her empty glass. “How long do you think you’ll stay with Jasmine?”
    “Until I’ve worn out my welcome, I suppose.”
    “Oh, I managed that before the house even belonged to her,” Rebecca joked.
    “Where do you think you’ll go?” Jake asked.
    “Well, I’m staying with Kit until I scrape enough money together to go back to medical school,” she said firmly. “As soon as I can get a loan approved, I’ll make the arrangements.”
    “And where is medical school?” he inquired.
    “Your neck of the woods, actually. Columbia University.”
    He was clearly impressed. “Upper West Side?”
    She nodded. “I sublet my apartment when I came back to Oak Lodge.” Her pleasant expression soured. “Now I won’t be able to afford to move back in.”
    Jake didn’t respond. He had nothing to say on the subject that would ease her pain.
    “So which part of the body fascinates you the most?” he asked and his face immediately turned a deep shade of red. “Medically speaking,” he added hastily.
    “Definitely the brain,” she answered, biting back a smile. “My sister’s dyspraxia diagnosis sealed it for me years ago.”
    Jake gnawed on a piece of chicken. “Jasmine mentioned that your sister is…a bit clumsy, but she didn’t really elaborate.”
    “It’s the way her brain works. She struggles with coordination and movement and her working memory is impaired. It doesn’t impact her intelligence, but you’d never know it the way she was treated by some of her former teachers.”
    “Ah, the role of protective sister.” He grinned at her. “What’s that like?”
    Rebecca sipped her glass of water. “You have a sister. You tell me.”
    “A sister, yes. Not a protective one, though. Jasmine was always too busy wreaking havoc to pay me any attention.”
    The music kicked up a notch and another performance began. Jake leaned closer to be heard. “I can’t believe this place is housed in a strip mall.”
    “All the hidden gems are,” Rebecca replied.
    Jake gazed into her eyes. “Not all the hidden gems.”
    Rebecca smiled shyly and glanced away. The dancers finished their performance and Rebecca joined