“Here.” I shoved the cup in front of her. “Let me guess, that’s all you want.”
“No, I want that necklace you’re wearing.” She sipped her coffee.
“What?” I stepped back. “Are you really going to start that again?”
“How much do you want for it?” She pulled a pile of bills out of her purse.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. You’ve cheated me out of a tip twice and skipped out on your bill, and you carry around a wad of cash like that?” I liked her less and less every time I saw her.
“I don’t believe in banks. Now, how much for the necklace?”
“It’s not for sale, but feel free to leave the tips you owe me.”
“Everything is for sale. Name your price.”
“If you’re so eager to spend your money, why don’t you go buy yourself another dress? Try a color other than green for a change.”
“Fine.” She stood up and walked out.
Gloria came out of the kitchen. “Did she leave without paying her bill again?”
Damn it! “I’m sorry.”
“Samantha, I can’t have customers skipping out on their checks. We’ll all be out of jobs then.”
“I know. I’ll take the money out of my tips.”
Gloria shook her head, looking disappointed, and walked over to the couple by the door.
The rest of the night was better. No more drama. Just a lot of drink refills, cleaning tables, and trying to get back on Gloria’s good side. By the end of the night, she finally broke down and smiled at me.
“Go home. Get some sleep. Tomorrow’s a new day.” She sounded like a generic greeting card.
“I’m really sorry about earlier. It won’t happen again.” And if it did, I’d pay Nora’s bill before Gloria noticed.
Ethan held my hand on the drive home, but he didn’t turn up our driveway. He drove past it.
“Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise. You look like you could use a change of pace.”
Actually, it was the change of pace in this new life that was throwing me. I needed the old Sam back. The one who didn’t have a monster lurking inside her.
Ethan pulled onto a small, gravel area off the side of the road. He got out and met me at my door. “Come on.” Reaching for my hand, he led me to a wooden fence. On the other side of it was a huge drop-off. We were on top of a mountain, looking out across the river.
“It’s beautiful.”
“I thought you’d like it.” Ethan gently turned my face toward his and brushed his lips across mine. It was a sweet kiss, but there was something behind it. Desire.
I pulled back. “We’re out in the open.”
“It’s dark.”
“Until a car drives by.”
Ethan sighed. “Sorry. It was a stupid idea. I just thought that, after the other night…”
“We could go home.” I really wasn’t ready to, and not because of what Ethan was suggesting. I didn’t want to leave this view yet. “Or we can stay here for a while first.”
“You like it?”
“Yeah. It reminds me of when I was six, and I used to go visit my aunt in Maryland. There weren’t any mountains like this, but her house was on the water, and her backyard sloped down toward a dock. When I stood in her sun room and looked out over the water, I felt like I was flying. Like I was a bird and nothing could touch me.”
“Then we’ll stay, and you’ll fly.” He took my hand, kissing my fingertips.
Yes, Ethan was a typical guy who thought about sex, but he never let his own urges stand in the way of whatever I wanted. I leaned my head against his chest as I stared out over the water.
We stayed for two hours. I hadn’t intended to be there that long, but between the view and being with Ethan, I was in heaven. I kept going back and forth between breathing in the fresh mountain air and breathing in Ethan. The boy was an amazing kisser.
Finally, we went home. Ethan moved one of the bigger rocks to the side. He hadn’t had time to disassemble the strange rock circle yet, but it was pretty annoying having to step over the same rock every time we went in and out of the cottage. “I’ll get the others in the morning,” he said.
I got ready to shower while Ethan ate one of the sandwiches he’d brought home from the diner. Making out made him hungry. I turned the water all the way to hot and was pleasantly surprised that it was actually warm. Still not hot, but definitely not lukewarm either.
I got undressed and looked down at the necklace. Ethan was right. It was silly of me to shower and sleep with it on. But still, I didn’t want to take it off. While the warm water washed down the drain without me, I debated. I decided I’d take it off to shower but put it back on afterward. Baby steps.
I undid the clasp and left it on the sink. I stepped into the shower and basked in the fact that I wasn’t freezing cold. Maybe the pipes were getting used to being used again, or maybe the hot water heater was finding its second wind. Either way, I enjoyed my shower for the first time since I’d come back to life.
I heard movement in the bathroom, and I tensed up. Was Ethan in here? Was he planning on surprising me in the shower? I suddenly felt cold. I shut the water off and reached my arm out from behind the curtain, groping for my towel. I grabbed it and wrapped myself up before I pulled the curtain back.
The door was still closed. Maybe I’d imagined it. Or maybe I’d heard Ethan in the kitchen. I stepped out of the shower, and a cool breeze hit my right side. I turned to see the window open. I hadn’t opened it. I’d never opened it, not once since we moved in. It didn’t have a lock on it, so it opened all the way up.
My eyes flew to the sink. My necklace was gone.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“ETHAN!” I burst out of the bathroom.
He jumped up. “What? Are you okay?”
“No. My necklace is gone. I left it on the sink. Then I heard something. I thought it was you, but I guess it wasn’t. The window is wide open, and I didn’t open it. And now my necklace is missing.”
“Slow down.” He wrapped me in a hug. “The window’s open?”
“Yes, and I didn’t open it. I think someone came into the bathroom while I was in the shower. I heard a noise.”
“Why didn’t you see what it was when you heard it?”
How did I answer that? I’d thought it was Ethan, and I freaked out and grabbed my towel to cover up. I couldn’t tell him that. “I don’t know. I panicked, I guess. I grabbed my towel and got out, but it was too late. Whoever it was had already gone and taken my necklace with them.”
“Stay here.” Ethan went into the bathroom and looked around. “I don’t see anyone out there.”
“I doubt they would’ve stuck around after they stole from me.”
“I don’t get it.” He shut the window and came back into the kitchen. “Why would someone crawl through the bathroom window to steal a necklace? It’s not even like it was an expensive necklace.”
I had to tell him about the note. It might give us some clue about who broke into our bathroom.
“Ethan, there’s something I need to tell you, but you have to promise to stay calm.”
His jaw clenched, and his nostrils flared. The longer I waited, the worse he was going to get.
“I found a note in my locker today. I went to get my lunch, and there was a note on it.”
“From who?” he asked through gritted teeth.
“I don’t know.”
“What did it say?”
I closed my eyes, unable to look at him as I said it. “‘The necklace suits you. Wear it always.’ That was it.”
He didn’t say a word, so I slowly opened my eyes.
“Ethan?”
“Why didn’t you tell me? You saw me right after that, right?”