Page 83 of No Offense

“No, I mean that most sincerely. I’m sure a lot of people say that, but I truly mean it. I’m taking photography next semester, did you know, Miss Molly? I’m going to be the next Angel Adams.”

“Ansel Adams,” she corrected him.

“Yeah, whoever. Anyway, I don’t want to take any boring landscape photos like he does. I want to be a crime scene photographer. All because of you, Sheriff. And you, too, Miss Molly.” Elijah tipped an invisible hat toward Molly. “I won’t be seeing too much of you at the library this summer, Miss Molly, because I’m going up to Tallahassee to visit my dad for a few weeks. But I’ll be back in the fall. I’ll see you then.”

“See you then, Elijah,” Molly said, and was relieved when he hurried off to go take photos of Katie and her friends.

Only then did she turn to John and say, “Tallahassee? His father lives in Tallahassee. Isn’t that where...?”

“Yes.” John’s bright blue eyes were alight with mischief. “Rich Wagner, the sheriff I replaced after he turned out to be hiding a second family in Tallahassee, is Elijah’s father.”

Molly couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “But Elijah has a different last name.”

“He took his mother’s maiden name after he found out the truth about his father.” John shrugged. “He wanted to hide his relationship to the man. Most of the kids atschool knew the truth, anyway—but not Katie. She was in Miami when that happened. And not you—you just got here.”

“Oh, the poor thing.” Molly stared after Elijah, remembering how much time he’d spent in the library and his mother’s concern for him. “He certainly seems to be coming out of his shell now, though,” she said, as she watched him flirt with Katie and her friends.

“That’s all because of you,” John said, giving her an affectionate squeeze as he followed the direction of her gaze. “He’s a different kid now than from even a few months ago, wouldn’t you say?”

“It’s all because ofus,” Molly said. “You’re the one who let the paper run his photo. You gave him back a sense of self.”

John grinned. “Yeah, maybe. I guess we make a pretty good team, huh?”

Molly side-eyed him. “Don’t get cocky.”

After saying their good-byes, they strolled hand-in-hand through the quiet, night-darkened parking lot. The high school had been built just yards away from the ocean, so all Molly could hear was the sound of the waves slapping against the seawall and the gentle breeze rustling through the palm fronds near the auditorium’s entrance. The summer air was balmy and sweet, and the moon, just rising over the ocean’s dark surface, cast everything in blue-and-white shadows.

“You really were amazing,” she said, as they approachedhis enormous gas-guzzler of an SUV—which both she and Katie had convinced him to exchange for a hybrid as soon as he got approval from the mayor.

“I was all right. The last part didn’t go the way it was supposed to.”

Molly shook her head. “Yes, it did. You didn’t miss a step.”

“No, there was this whole part that the girls and I threw in at the last minute that we ended up not doing.”

“Why not?”

“Because I didn’t think you’d like it.”

Molly froze, realizing what he was referring to—what hehadto be referring to. She dropped his hand and stood by herself in the middle of the parking lot, eyeing him suspiciously. “Wait a minute. Are you telling me the rumor istrue?”

He grinned at her from about five feet away, one hand in the pocket of his jeans, the other still holding the roses. “Why? What have you heard?”

She put her hands on her hips. “I heard you were going to jump down off the stage and come up to me in the audience and put a ring on it.”

His grin turned into a smile that crinkled the skin around those too-bright blue eyes. “That was the plan, yeah.”

Her heart seemed to skip a beat. “So what happened?”

“You’re not really the public display of affection type.”

“You’re right,” Molly said, her heart thumping... but this time with pleasure, not dread. “I’m not.”

“So I thought I’d do it in private, instead. I wasn’t planning on it being in a parking lot, but I can’t wait anymore.” From the pocket of his jeans, he extracted a small velvet box, then opened it and held it toward her. “I’m not saying today, or tomorrow, or anytime soon. I know it’s only been a few months. I’m just saying sometime in the future. Will you?”

Trying to remain dignified and to suppress the silly smile that was threatening to break out across her face, Molly took a few steps toward him and examined the ring without touching it.

“Is that a six-pronged square-cut two-carat diamond solitaire with a platinum band?” she asked, fighting hard not to hyperventilate.