The Ghost Who Loved Diamonds by Bobbi Holmes Read Free Book Online Page B

in front of his rental, Cheryl asked, “Is it always this
cool here?”
     Ian’s gaze swept over
Cheryl, she was now shivering. “You’re cold. You want to go back so you can
grab a sweater?”
    “I didn’t bring a
sweater with me. Didn’t occur to me the beaches would be so cold up here this
time of year.”
    “I’ve a sweat shirt you
can use.” Ian nodded toward his house.
    “If you don’t mind.”
Cheryl smiled up at him.
    “Sure, come on. It’ll
probably be huge on you, but it will keep you warm. Lucky for you, I just
washed it.”
    Still smiling, Cheryl
followed Ian up the walkway to his house. Her smile vanished when he headed
toward his car parked in the driveway, instead of the front door.
    “What are you doing?”
Cheryl asked when Ian unlocked his car’s trunk.
    “Getting you that
shirt,” Ian explained as he opened the trunk.
    Cheryl stepped closer
and looked into the back of his car. Inside were two laundry baskets, filled
with folded clothes.
    “You keep your clothes
in the car?” Cheryl frowned.
    “No,” Ian laughed and
grabbed a sweat shirt from one of the baskets. He handed it to Cheryl. “I took
my clothes to the Laundromat. Just hadn’t gotten around to taking them in the
house.”
    Cheryl glanced up at
the house and asked, “The rental doesn’t have a washer and dryer?”
    “Sure it does. But it’s
quicker to take them down to the Laundromat and do them all at once.” Ian slammed
the trunk shut.
    “So we aren’t going
into your house?” Cheryl sounded disappointed.
    “I don’t see why. You
going to put it on?”
    Cheryl glanced down at
the blue sweat shirt in her hand. Men can be so dense sometimes, she
thought. Here she’d given him the perfect opportunity to get her into his house
where they could be alone—and he was totally clueless. She wasn’t stupid. She
saw how he had looked at her when they first met, the way his eyes seemed
incapable of looking away from her breasts. Some women might find that
insulting, which she could never understand. To her it just meant the man had
fallen under her spell, and that if she wanted something from him, he would be
willing to give it to her. She wasn’t sure what she wanted from Ian yet, but
she found him very attractive, and according to what she’d read online he was
something of a celebrity. Some of his books had been made into television
documentaries; how cool was that ?
    “Here,” Cheryl said as
she handed the sweater back to Ian.
    “What? You don’t want
to try it on? It’s clean, I promise.”
    “I’m not really cold
anymore. But thanks for the offer.”
    “Okay, but you want to
take it along, just in case?”
    “No. That’s okay.”
Cheryl smiled up sweetly. Ian gave a shrug then opened his trunk again and
tossed the shirt back on top of the basket. After he slammed the trunk close he
led Cheryl to the pathway beside his house, leading to the beach.
    “Wow, you’re right on
the beach!” Cheryl said when they reached the sand. She stopped a moment and
slipped off her sandals.
    “I know. It’s a great
rental. Awesome location.”
    “I thought Marlow House
was one of the first houses in Frederickport,” Cheryl said as she and Ian
walked along the beach. In one hand she carried her purse and in the other her
sandals.
    “It is.”
    “Then why didn’t they
build it where yours is? Didn’t the guy who founded the town also build Marlow
House?”
    “Yes. Frederick Marlow,
he was Walt Marlow’s grandfather.”
    “Well if I founded a
beach town, I’d build my house right on the ocean!”
    “So, you’re familiar
with the history of Marlow House?” Ian asked.
    “Just from your
article. When you introduced yourself back there, I recognized your name.”
    “Ahh, so you read my
article.” Ian smiled.
    “Yes. It was very
interesting.”
    They walked in silence
for few moments before Cheryl asked, “So, you and Dani’s friend are…you
know…are like a couple?” 
    “I suppose,”