“Your mom?”
“Yes. Her birthday is next month. I was passing by your shop and thought I would drop in to see what you had.”
A racing heart for starters, Swan thought. So the woman he was thinking about buying jewelry for was his mother. “Well, I’m glad you came in. Let me show you what I have.”
“All right. There looks to be a lot of nice pieces.”
She appreciated the compliment. “Thanks. I made most of them myself.”
“Really? Which ones?”
She led him to the area set aside for Swan Exclusives. “These. Most of the stones come from India, Argentina and Africa.”
He leaned in to look. “You did an excellent job.”
Whoever said flattery, especially coming from a good-looking man, would get you anywhere knew just what they were talking about. “Thank you.”
“I’m David, by the way. David Holloway.” He offered her his hand.
She took it and tried to ignore the sensations that suddenly flowed through her from the contact. “Nice to meet you, David.” She quickly released his hand. “And I’m Swan.”
“The name of the shop.”
“Yes.”
“It’s a unique name.”
“Yes, my parents thought so. On their first date, my father flew Mom from Jamaica to New York to see Swan Lake.”
“Some date.”
“Yes, he was trying to impress her.”
“I take it he did.”
Swan chuckled. “Yes, because he actually flew them there. He had his pilot’s license.”
“Now I’m impressed.”
She didn’t like bragging about her father but there were times when she just couldn’t help it. “He served in the air force—that’s where he learned to fly. And then he went into the navy after deciding he wanted to be a SEAL. That’s when he met Mom, while he was a SEAL. She hadn’t known about his stint in the air force until the night he rented a plane to fly them to New York.”
Why was she telling him all this? Usually she wasn’t chatty. “What about this one?” she asked as they moved to another glass case. “I call this piece Enchantment.”
“Why?”
“Look at it,” she suggested, leaning closer to the glass. He followed suit. “This is one of my favorite pieces because the teardrop gemstone necklace is pretty similar to my very first piece.” No need to tell him that she’d made that one for her own mother.
“It is beautiful.”
Something in his tone made her glance over at him, and she found him staring at her and not at the jewelry in the case. His eyes held her captive and their gazes met for a minute too long before she broke eye contact with him.
She swallowed. “So are you interested...in this piece?” She wanted to ignore the way her stomach seemed to be filled with all kinds of sensations, but she could not.
“I’m interested in a lot of pieces, Swan, but I’ll start with this one.”
* * *
Swan Jamison was even more beautiful than the photograph he’d seen last week.
The photographer hadn’t fully captured the rich creaminess of her skin. And the shade of red lipstick she wore today seemed to make her lips plumper, more well-defined. Luscious.
He had read the dossier on her. He knew his commanding officer and Admiral Martin were operating based on a personal connection with her. He was not. If Miss Jamison was guilty of any wrongdoing, he would find out. And if she wasn’t the one handing out classified data to China, then he would discover who was.
“So you want to buy this particular piece?”
Her question brought his thoughts back to the present. “Yes.”
“Wonderful. I think your mother will like it.”
“I’m sure she will. What about earrings?”
She lifted a brow. “Earrings?”
“Yes. Do earrings come with the necklace?”
“No, but I can make you some.”
He’d been hoping she’d say that. “When?”
“It will take me a couple of days. The cruise ship docks tomorrow, so the shop will be busy. Two days from now will work for me, unless you need them sooner.”
“No, I can wait. My mother’s birthday is next month.”
He would have an excuse to return to her shop.
Flipper watched her open the case and pull out the necklace. He knew his mother was going to love it.
“If you don’t mind, please complete this ticket,” she said. “And I will need full payment for the earrings before I make them.”
“That’s no problem,” he said, taking the document from her.
After he completed the form, he handed it back to her. She glanced at it. “So you’re from Texas?”
“Yes. Dallas. Ever been there?”
“Yes, once. I thought it was a nice city.”
“It is. I was born and raised there.”
“And what brought you to Key West?” she asked him.
“Work, at least for the next thirty days.” That wasn’t a total lie.
“Hurricane relief?”
“Something like that.”
“You’re military?”
“At one point but not now.” He would let her think he was no longer military.
“I knew immediately.”
He lifted a brow. “How?”
She shrugged. “Military men are easily recognized, at least by me.”
“Because your dad is military?”
“He was military. Dad died years ago in the line of duty.”
“I’m sorry.” Flipper was always sorry whenever a fellow soldier lost their life.
“Thank you. Your package will be ready in two days, David. Your mobile number is on the form you completed. If I get to it sooner, I will call you.”
“Two days is fine. I’ll be back.”
“’Bye, David.”
“’Bye, Swan.” He then turned and walked out of the shop.
As much as he wanted to invite her out to lunch today, he knew he couldn’t rush things. He needed to earn her trust, even though he had less than thirty days to prove her innocence and determine who had no qualms about making her look guilty.
* * *
Swan was cheerful that night as she let herself into her home. Sales today had been better than normal. A tour group from New York had converged on the island and they’d come to spend money. She’d been happy to oblige.
Opening a jewelry shop had been a risky business move, but one that had paid off. She’d earned a degree in business management from the University of Miami and returned to the island after college to work as a manager at one of the elite hotels on the island. She’d enjoyed her job but had felt something was missing in her life. She hadn’t been using her jewelry-making talent.
She’d