“Let’s walk up to the Wild Thyme. It has the best food in town.”
The other theater patrons had dispersed around them, another couple was walking their way ahead of them, but with the shops closed on Saturday night, there was no other foot traffic on the sidewalk. The slight fog off the sea gave the streetlights a misty glow, and Darcy thought it a wonderfully romantic atmosphere until Griffin suddenly pulled her into a recessed doorway.
“Quiet,” he whispered. “Someone is following us.”
Darcy listened for footsteps and heard them slow, stop for a moment, and then speed up. As they drew near, Griffin raised his arm as though he meant to deliver a vicious karate chop, but as soon as the man stepped into the soft ray of the street lamp, Darcy caught sight of his red hair and grabbed Griffin’s sleeve.
“Wait! That’s the clerk from the Song and Dance.”
The startled young man noted the murderous gleam in Griffin’s eye and took a frantic backward step. “I’m sorry, Mr. Moore, I wasn’t stalking you. I wasn’t even sure it was you.”
“I have a black belt in karate and could have killed you rather easily,” Griffin swore darkly. “Don’t follow me again, ever.”
The clerk raised his hands. “No, Mr. Moore, I was just trying to get close enough to see if it really was you. I didn’t mean to bother you.”
“You’re close enough now. Am I what you expected?”
“Well, I didn’t realize you were so tall.” He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants and extended his hand. “I’m Tom Holcomb, and I think you’re great.”
After a slight hesitation, Griffin shook Tom’s hand. “Go home, Mr. Holcomb, before you get yourself in any worse trouble.”
“Yes, sir, I’m on my way.”
Griffin waited until the hapless clerk had started back toward the theater at a near run before he again reached for Darcy’s hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t really believe in your warning about being mugged, but with you here, I didn’t want to take any chances.”
Darcy blamed herself for putting the threat of muggers in his head, but the swiftness of his reaction to a few footsteps had frightened her badly. “Do you really have a black belt, or were you merely trying to scare him as badly as you did me?”
“No, I do have a black belt, but I’ve never had to use it to defend myself, or at least not yet. I’m sorry if you were frightened.”
Darcy’s heart was still thumping wildly, and she took hold of Griffin’s arm to steady herself. “I won’t be able to enjoy dinner now. We open at ten o’clock on Sundays too, so I really do need to get home.”
“If that’s what you want.”
Griffin walked her home without saying another word, but she could feel his disappointment over the way the evening had ended. She thought she ought to at least invite him to come in for coffee, but as she inserted her key in the lock, he’d already begun to back away.
She’d left a light on and pushed the door open. “I really did enjoy the movie,” she told him. “Would you like to come in for a minute?”
Griffin studied her shaky smile and shook his head. “Not if you’re afraid of me, or what I might do.”
The man had such an expressive face that Darcy didn’t doubt his sincerity. She wasn’t afraid that he might attack her, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t wary of her own lack of self-control where he was concerned. She licked her lips and forced a more inviting smile.
“No, really, I’d like you to come in.” She walked through her door and waited for him to follow.
The living room was painted a deep terracotta and filled with philodendron whose trailing leaves reached from an assortment of plant stands to the hardwood floor. He could see into the kitchen where she had pots of herbs growing on the sill above the sink, and rows of African violets sat along the sills of the living room windows.
“I like the jungle look,” he finally announced and turned back to close the door. “Why don’t you slip off your shoes and stand on the coffee table.”
“What?” Darcy tossed her purse on the sofa, but she couldn’t even imagine why he would make such an outrageous request. “Why would I want to do that?”
“Just try it, and you’ll see.”
He was smiling now and, persuaded there was no threat involved, she kicked off her flats and stepped up on the low table. “Here I am. Now what’s supposed to happen?”
Griffin stepped in front of her. “Now we’re nearly the same height. Doesn’t it make you feel more comfortable?”
It took Darcy a moment to appreciate the change in her perspective now that they could see eye-to-eye. He was still better-looking than any man had a right to be, but at least he no longer towered above her. “Yes, actually, it does.”
He moved closer still, but didn’t touch her. “Kiss me.”