Love Imagines (Sully Point, Book 6) (17 page)

"That's a tough field."

"Yes, but she seems to love it."

They moved the food back to the coffee table and
sat on the floor cushions again. Rose had turned on some music that played
softly in the background. She lit three fat candles and placed them on the
table, and then she turned out the lights.

"That's better," Ben said. "Your hair in the
candlelight is ethereal, all gold and roses.

"My mother saw my strawberry blonde hair on my
fuzzy baby head the first day and decided to name me Rose."

"It's a fitting name for you. You always seem to
have roses in your cheeks, too."

"Thank you," she said and popped a bite of steamed
dumpling into her mouth. She wasn't used to hearing compliments on her looks.
Oh sure, she thought, maybe from a drunk about to pass out, but not usually.

"I bet my sister would like Sully Point."

"Your sister? I didn't know you had any siblings,"
Rose said.

"Yes, my little sister, although I guess I can't
really call her that when she's twenty-five years old. She tried living in
Montana for a while, but she doesn't like that much cold weather. Now she lives
at my house in L.A. and likes the weather better, but she likes quirky places like Sully Point."

"You should ask her to visit while you're here
this summer."

"What were you saying when I came in earlier?
Something about dragging me somewhere?"

"Yes, in the morning. I need to go to the grocery
store to shop for salad stuff. I need to make a giant salad before we leave for
the barbecue."

"Hmm. I need clothes from my place. I'm going to
finish up this Moo Goo Gai Pan and then I'll get Kevin and Leo to take me to
the cabin. I'll get my stuff for tomorrow and then come back here. I don't want
to leave you alone tonight."

He paused and then tilted his head to the side.

"Okay, it's more than that. I don't want to be
alone tonight either. Is it okay with you if I stay?" he asked.

"You beat me to asking you to stay over. But while
you're gone, can I get one of the guys to stay inside with me? And the other
right outside the door?"

"I'm sure they'll do that, no problem."

They ate the rest of their meal in a kind of grim
silence.

Finally, Rose said, "I can't eat another bite. You
go get your clothes. I'll put this stuff in the fridge so we can have leftovers
later."

"I think I'm finally full, too. Okay, let's get
Mel or Owen in here."

Mel agreed to stay inside with Rose. Kevin and Leo
took Ben away, and Rose sat down across from Mel.

"Tell me, just how dangerous is it?"

"Pretty dangerous. How she was today...it's not
good that she started out living in her delusion and by the end was threatening
you. You absolutely need to keep us with you everywhere."

"I plan to. Do you guys know about the beach
barbecue tomorrow?"

"Yes, and we aren't thrilled by the venue. Lots of
people by the sound of it, and we'll need to watch all of them. It will help
having Kevin and Leo there too, but I think we'll use a few more of the men as
extra backup."

Rose took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Do
you honestly think she'd show up at the barbecue? With everyone looking for
her?"

"The only certainty there is in dealing with
stalkers is that they will do the unexpected. So, we plan for that."

She offered coffee and when he said yes, got up to
fix it. How was she ever going to relax, especially tomorrow? She eyed the bottle
of scotch, but then shook her head and made some chamomile tea.

Mel thanked her for the coffee, and she finished
putting away the leftovers. After scrubbing down the coffee table, the kitchen
counters, and washing the dishes by hand, she felt some of her nervousness
dissipate.

When she heard Ben's voice talking to Mel, she ran
out of the kitchen. Ben saw her coming and gave her a big hug.

"I was worried," she said, only then realizing
she'd been scared for him while he was gone.

"Nothing happened. We're safe. The nightshift guys
are showing up outside and there are three of them this time."

She gave him a final squeeze and let go.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning," Mel said, as he
got up to go. "We'll be here at nine for the trip to the grocery store."

"Okay, we'll be ready," Rose said to him as he left
the apartment. She turned back around.

Ben stood looking at her and she stared into his
eyes, so dark a blue tonight.

"We're alone," he said.

"I have a request," she said. "Sit with me on the
couch, wrap your arms around me, and let's just veg out with a movie."

"Only if I get to make love to you after the
movie."

"That sounds perfect," she said, smiling.

He crossed the room to stand in front of her. He
leaned in and kissed her, putting his arms around her. The kiss was soft and
sweet and a homecoming, exactly what she needed.

"Maybe we should watch the movie in bed," she said
softly.

"Absolutely."

Chapter 8

The next morning, Sam was directing the placement
of grills on his large deck. The deck had two tiers, with stairs leading down
to the beach itself. Cody and Julia had arrived, along with Frank and Betsy.
Anna was in the kitchen putting cold foods in the fridge.

"So how dangerous is this woman who's after Ben?"
Frank asked Sam.

"We don't really know yet. But she showed up at
Rose's apartment last night when Ben was there. Now she knows about the two of
them being involved. I just hope Rose will be safe," Sam said.

"What does she look like?" Betsy asked. "Is she as
pretty as Rose?"

"I don't think so," Sam replied. He stepped inside
the house and came back out with an eight-by-eleven photo in his hand. "Here's
a picture of her."

Betsy looked at it and sniffed. "Not nearly as
beautiful as Rose."

Frank took the photo and glanced at it, and then
his eyes opened wide and his mouth fell open.

"Frank? What is it?" Betsy asked.

"This is her? The stalker woman?"

"Yes, Frank."

"But I know her! She was in my store this morning
before I left to come here!"

"What?" Sam stared intently into Frank's gray eyes
and said, "Talk. Tell me everything that happened."

"Well, I didn't know it was her, did I? She said
she was an actress, and I assumed she was in the play. I mean, how was I supposed
to know? When I asked if she'd be coming to the barbecue—"

"Oh no," Betsy said, shaking her head. "You
didn't!"

"We talked for a few minutes about the barbecue,
and she bought a badminton set to bring. She seemed perfectly normal, nothing
weird about her at all. She didn't mention Ben. When she asked me where the
barbecue would take place, that she hadn't been paying attention at the
announcement, I told her it was at Sam Carter's beach house. And she said..."

"What did she say, Frank?" Sam practically
growled.

"She said, 'Oh is he related to Rose? She's a
friend of mine.' And I said yes, because she seemed so normal."

"That tears it—she'll definitely show up here
today," Sam said, running a hand through his hair. "I've got to call Rose and
speak to the security guards. Maybe she and Ben shouldn't even come here."

"Oh, dear. I hate for them to miss it," Betsy
said.

"We'll see what the guards say, first," Sam said
and walked into the house to get his phone. He came back out dialing.

"Betsy, I just didn't know," Frank said glumly.

"I know, dear, I know."

* * * *

"What do you think?" Rose asked. "Is that enough
grape tomatoes?"

Ben looked into the cart. "I don't know. Is it
going to be a tomato salad?"

"Ben..."

"Kidding, just kidding. Let's see what else you
have on the list. Cucumbers, and red onions and we're done."

"Anna said she'd be making a large amount of salad
dressing, two kinds, so we don't have to buy any of that."

"Here are the cukes," Ben said, pointing ahead
down the aisle.

Rose's phone rang and she motioned at Ben to take
the cart. "Hello? Sam?"

"Rose, I need to talk to your guards. Frank accidentally
told Suzanne about the barbecue and how to get to my house. I think she plans
on being here."

Rose realized she was standing frozen, when Ben
turned and took one look at her and ran back.

"Rose? What's wrong?"

She handed the phone to him. Why was it that the
idea of seeing Suzanne again filled her with such dread? She certainly had
never been psychic, but she felt it almost like a premonition, that something
bad was going to happen. She tuned back in to hear Ben's voice getting loud.

"What do you mean it was an accident? What was he
thinking?"

Ben stopped talking to listen, and then he handed
the phone to the security guard, Owen.

"How did he accidentally do this?" Rose asked.

"He never saw a photo of her. She was in his
store, said she was an actress...she played it beautifully. Rose, she told him
she was your friend."

"No."

"Yes, and he's pretty sure she'll be coming to the
barbecue. I think we're going to have to decide whether to show up, knowing
she'll be there, or to avoid it instead."

Owen handed the phone back to Rose. "Folks, I'm
really not sure you should go. She'll definitely show up. The question is, with
all of us there to watch her, to stop her, can we catch her in the act of
something and get her arrested?"

Rose looked at Ben, and was ready to say they
shouldn't go, when he looked at her with a determined expression on his face.

"We have to go. I'm not going to run away. We
can't let her dictate our behavior, ruin our lives that way."

"Are you sure?" she asked. "I don't have a warm and fuzzy feeling about this."

"I know, but you get it, right? You know what I
mean?"

"Yes," she said, and then sighed. "Okay, we'll go.
Let's get those cucumbers and onions and get out of here."

Back at the apartment, they both worked at the
kitchen table, chopping vegetables and filling up the huge bowl Beth had
brought. Rose looked through the cabinets and found gallon plastic bags to
store the rest of the salad. They'd refill the bowl when it began to run low.

"I'm going to change," Rose said.

"Will you be wearing that bikini you wore out on
the boat?" Ben asked with a grin.

"No, not today. I'll bring it with us in case the
water is warm enough for swimming, but I've got a sundress to wear first."

"I'll pack this stuff into those bags with handles
so we can get it all down the stairs and into the car. I'm already dressed for
the party."

Rose shook her head. "Men have it too easy."

She thought he looked masculine and sexy in khaki cargo shorts,
a blue polo shirt that brought out the color in his eyes, and deck shoes. Her
sundress was a mix of ocean blue and pale lime green stripes. She touched up
her make-up and braided her long hair. She slipped on blue leather sandals and
felt ready to face whatever happened.

Ben would be at her side, all the security guards
would be there, dressed for the beach so they wouldn't stand out, and all her
family would be on the lookout as well. Nothing bad was going to happen, she
told herself firmly.

"Nice dress!" Ben said with a smile, and that
certain look a man gets in his eyes when he knows he'll see more later on.

The dress had a square neckline that was rather
low-cut so that the tops of her bosom showed, with slim straps over the
shoulders, and a tight bodice which opened up into a fuller skirt. Rose liked
the dress mainly because it was surprisingly comfortable to wear.

"Let's do this," she said.

After being driven by Mel and Owen, Rose and Ben
walked into Sam's beach house to be met by concerned faces. They carried the
salad into the kitchen. Anna took one look at what they had and turned them
away.

"No more room in the fridge. I've got another one
in the garage. Put everything in there. We'll set the salad out in about thirty
minutes. They've got the grills going, and are just starting with the cooking."

"Do you need any help in here?" Rose asked.

Anna looked a bit frayed around the edges, but
replied smoothly. "No, I'm all set. Holly should be arriving any
minute, and I think your mother will be coming back to help. Ah, here she is."

Rose hid a smile. Sophia helping was more like
Sophia commanding. She'd heard how intimidated Anna had been at first with her
mother-in-law, but when Rose glanced back, she saw a glint in Anna's eyes
that told her Sam's wife could hold her own with Sophia these days.

"You all go on outside once you put the salad
away," Sophia said, after giving Rose a hug. "I think all your bodyguards are
helping with the grilling."

Ben led the way and they got the food into the
extra refrigerator. He took her hand as they walked out onto the deck. The
smell of grilling meat wafted toward them.

"Mmm, I do love a barbecue," Ben said with a grin
at her.

"I know, I know, you want to go hang out with the
men who grill." Rose laughed and pushed him forward. "Go. Do manly fire things."

He laughed and headed for the grills, and then turned back around and snapped a quick photo of her with his ever-present camera. Rose went
down to the next level of the deck. She noticed Mel and Owen were mirroring her
actions not far away, but they weren't crowding her either. The second deck
level had stairs on either side that went down to the beach. She saw that
several long tables had been put together and covered with tablecloths. Betsy
put a vase of flowers on each table. She saw Rose and waved her over.

"This is where we're putting the food out. It will
be a big buffet, and then people can take their food down to other tables on
the beach. I think Sam must have rented a bunch of tables and chairs. It's all
set up down there. You should take a peek."