Free Finding Harmony by Jomarie Degioia Page B

said.
    He held it gingerly as he nodded his head again. “Well,
I’ll let you have your visit.” He turned to Harmony. “Enjoy your dinner.”
    He smiled and again that charm poured off of him as he
walked away from them. She mentally patted herself on the back for surviving
their first encounter since getting nearly-naked with him on the dock.
    Her mother clicked her tongue. “He’s unfocused, Harmony. His
aura is cloudy.”
    “Don’t worry about Rick’s aura,” she said. “He knows what
he’s doing.”
    Ariel’s head shook emphatically, her earrings swaying. “No.
He’s at a crossroads. But he doesn’t know it.” She crossed her arms. “And he
doesn’t know what he wants.”
    Harmony thought about that night on the dock, of his kisses
and caresses that almost made her give up the safety she’d guarded since Adam
hurt her and her parents.
    Rick’s not the only one who doesn’t know what he wants.

Chapter
8
    Rick turned to watch as Harmony climbed up the narrow steps
and into the RV. Her parents followed behind and he stared at the closed door. Ariel
and Max Brooks were nothing like his father’s colleagues in Boston. They were a
little strange. But they were open and genuine too, like his mother had been. Harmony’s
mother had creeped him out a little. What was that about dinner in December? When
she’d held his hand she’d stared at him so long he wondered if she could read
his mind. Man, he hoped not. Not with naked pictures of her daughter floating
around in there.
    He got into his SUV and drove through the development. Back
at his rented house, he set the questionable cheesecake down on the granite
countertop and stared at it. It looked okay, if a little pale. Graham cracker
crust, maybe. He sniffed it. Or wheat germ. He turned his back on it and
grabbed up the remote, flicking on the TV. Golf was on. Again.
    “There must be fifteen golf channels on satellite here,” he
muttered.
    Well, vacationing business men and retirees needed
something to do when it rained too hard or was too friggin’ hot to actually
play. For himself, he could think of several indoor activities he’d prefer to
watching TV.
    He sat on the brown leather couch and put his feet on the
coffee table. Glancing over his shoulder, he looked at the cheesecake again. What
the hell?
    He grabbed it and peeled off the wrap. He took a bite. It had
an odd texture, a little bit gummy, but the taste… Not too bad. Probably made
with real vanilla, too. He thought about the recreation café their investors
were eagerly awaiting. Maybe something like this cake would go with the rain
forest coffee they already served in The Clubhouse. He ate the rest of the
dessert and licked his fingers.
    “First alligator and now tofu.” He threw away the wrapping.
“It wasn’t chateau Briand and tiramisu. But not half bad.”
    His stomach growled for something more. Five stars didn’t
draw him tonight. He ordered a pizza and sat back down, flipping through the
channels until he found a rerun of a sitcom that still managed to make him
laugh. A bunch of friends who were nothing like real people, sitting around
drinking coffee. He smiled. No tofu cheesecake for this bunch. He studied the
female stars of the show. One of the girls had hair the color of Harmony’s, but
not the thick curls. Another one had a nice rack, but he doubted her breasts
were as soft and firm as Harmony’s. The third girl’s eyes were almost…
    “Forget it,” he said. He rubbed the heels of his hands over
his eyes. “Harmony’s damn near perfect.”
    The pizza arrived and he dug in. Hot and spicy, with
pepperoni slices all over real cheese. Nice. As he chewed he thought about that
afternoon again. When Harmony’s parents invited him to dinner he almost
accepted. But what would they talk about? He knew nothing about organic
anything. The way they’d hugged and kissed their daughter told him they loved
her. Their openness scared him almost as much as it made him jealous.