Doris gasped and glared up at the curtains that were peeled back from the upstairs window facing her house from the one across the street. “Sahara Higgens is a terrible person. She’s always so jealous when Seychelle comes to visit me, and she spies on us.”
Seychelle followed her gaze up to the second-story window. “Does she live alone?”
“Yes, she does. Her boyfriend left her a couple of months ago for someone much younger, and who could blame him? He’s so sweet and tried so hard, but she was always doing everything she could to mess his life up. Now she’s a bitter, nasty woman. She won’t come to bingo or join our sewing circle or even come out of her house. Well, it’s really his house. He lets her live there, even though it’s causing friction in his new relationship, and she’s so ungrateful. He should just evict her. Inez has to have Donny deliver her groceries.”
Seychelle bit at her lower lip. That didn’t sound good to her. Something about the way Doris’s voice sounded when she was telling her about her neighbor bothered Seychelle—sent up a big red flag. “Does she have children, Doris?”
“No, he said she was too vain and didn’t want to mess up her figure.”
Seychelle shook her head several times, rejecting the idea of what Doris was saying. Her mind just couldn’t accept that verdict. Doris sounded like a parrot, as if what she was telling them had been told to her over and over until it was forced into her brain, almost like hypnotism. “How old is she?”
“Maybe thirty.”
“Thirty? I thought you were going to say your age,” Seychelle said. “Her boyfriend left her for someone much younger? How old is he?”
“Well, honey, he hit on you several times. Brandon Campbell. I couldn’t believe you turned him down. He’s so handsome and sweet. He would always come over when she had her screaming fits and apologize to me. We’d sit and drink tea together. He’d ask my advice on what to do with Sahara, how best to handle her. He’s still so good, comes to see her a lot of the time, trying to reason with her. I thought for certain you’d want to go out with him.”
Savage had his piercing blue eyes on Seychelle’s face. She knew she couldn’t keep her dislike from showing on her face. Brandon Campbell was an arrogant bully. Extremely good-looking, charming, almost mesmerizing like a cobra, he’d definitely tried to get her to date him. Or at least sleep with him. When she hadn’t, he had been very cutting to her. She’d seen right through him. He also had a psychic gift that he used, a subtle persuasion, and he didn’t use it in a good way.
“How old was the woman he tossed his old girlfriend out for?” Savage asked.
“I think she had just graduated from high school,” Doris said vaguely. “They aren’t married. They live together.”
“Isn’t he pushing forty?” Seychelle asked.
“Oh, no, dear,” Doris shook her head. “He isn’t that old.”
Seychelle inclined her head. “I’m afraid he is, Doris. He’s a total creeper. You can’t believe a man just because he comes off all charming sometimes. That woman he told you all about, she might just need a friend or two.” She indicated the house across the street. “You say she has her groceries delivered? Does that mean you never see her leave the house?”
“Now that you mention it, no. She never comes out.” Doris stared at the house for some time. “Did Brandon do something to you? Is that why you never went out with him? I’ve never heard you say a bad word about anyone, Seychelle.”
“I didn’t exactly say anything bad, only that you can’t believe everything a man says just because he comes off as charming. He wasn’t very nice when I turned him down.”
Savage had somehow managed to slide back onto the porch until he was between her thighs. He’d done so when he’d scooped up several cookies. Laying his head back in her lap, he stared at the windows across the street. “Where does this creeper live now, Seychelle?”
The question was delivered in his very low voice. Very soft. Something about the tone sent a chill down Seychelle’s spine. Looking at him, he appeared as relaxed as could be. Legs stretched out, one arm casually circling Seychelle’s left thigh while the other was propped on her right one so he could feed himself the cookies. She wasn’t buying into that seemingly tranquil pose, not for a moment. She could feel that well of violence in him rising like a red tide.
“Baby.” He turned his head, his blue eyes meeting hers. “Asked you a question.”
Her heart stuttered. Those eyes pierced right through her. Savage could look very scary when he chose. The arm circling her thigh shifted, and his palm slid back and forth in a mesmerizing glide on the back of her leg, as if he could soothe her, countering the absolute demand in his eyes.