Sunkissed by Janelle Daniels Read Free Book Online Page A

is lost?”
    “Yes. I looked in the other boxes, but couldn’t find it. Unless she kept it somewhere else, which is hard to imagine, it’s gone. I think she might have destroyed it.”
    “What makes you think so?”
    “Well, no other journal is missing. Just that one. The one that might have explained what happened to their relationship. I can see her throwing it out if it gave her bad memories.”
    Grant couldn’t understand that. If he took the time to write something down, to preserve it that way, he would never toss it. Good and bad memories were what shaped a person. But Adele wasn’t him. “That’s possible.”
    “Have you found anything else in your grandpa’s things?”
    “No. Nothing yet. I started reading through his journals, but there isn’t anything about Adele.”
    “Well, hopefully you’ll find something. If not, I’m not sure we’ll ever know what happened.” A frown furrowed her brows as she stared at the floor.
    He swallowed hard. He wanted to soothe her, to see her smile.
    “Come on.” He stood, taking her hands in his before pulling her up next to him. “Let me get you some dinner. There isn’t anything else we can do about this right now.”
    She nodded reluctantly. “You’re right. I have a tendency to dwell on things.”
    “It’s all right. Come on back to the kitchen,” he said, but continued to hold one of her hands, unwilling to let her go.
    She laced her fingers through his, strengthening the connection. “I know I’ve already said this, but I really appreciate all the effort you’re putting into this search.”
    “I couldn’t stop now if I wanted to. The mystery is too intriguing to ignore.” He pulled out a chair at the table. “Have a seat. I’m making chicken.”
    “You’re cooking?” She settled into the chair.
    He leaned down, evaluating the contents of the fridge before he glancing at her. “Yeah. Is that a problem?”
    “No. Not at all. I’m just surprised. Most men don’t cook. Especially ones that have the pizza joint on speed dial.”
    That provoked a laugh from him. “I’ll never live that one down, will I?” Placing two chicken breasts, an onion, and a red and yellow bell pepper on the counter, he began to dice. “I’m single. Unless I want to eat take-out every meal, I need to cook. And if I’m going bother cooking, it better be really good.”
    “And are you? Really good, that is.”
    “You’ll have to wait and see.” He said it smoothly, aware of the double entendre.
    Her brow arched, but she didn’t comment on the undercurrents. “How can I help? I’m not the most skilled cook, but I can manage.”
    “Just sit and relax. There’s wine chilling if you’d like to have some while this is cooking.”
    “Would you like some?”
    “Yeah, thanks.” He gestured to a cupboard by the sink with his fork. “The glasses are in there.”
    As she breezed past, her delicate scent grabbed him. She reached up into the cabinet, her body stretching toward the glassware. She was breathtaking, all sleek lines and feminine curves. He wanted her in his arms again.
    Glancing over her shoulder, her lips quirked. “You okay?”
    His eyes snapped back to the food. “Yeah. Great.” His voice was gravelly. He needed a distraction. Scraping the chicken into a hot skillet, the meat sizzled in oil before Grant gave a few deft flicks of his wrist, coating the meat. “So, do you have any other family in the area?” He figured family was always a safe subject.
    She moved to the table with her drink. “No. My mother was an only child. Same as me. Now that my grandma has passed… I’m alone.”
    “I’m sorry. That must be hard.” He didn’t have a large family, but he couldn’t imagine life without them. He added the vegetables to the chicken before glancing back at her. The look of sadness on her face made him ache to go to her. But he didn’t think she would accept comfort from him. He could tell he made her nervous at times. She seemed to