Tomorrow's Promises (Bellingwood Book 7) by Diane Greenwood Muir

shock, then mouthed, "What are you doing?"
    "This," she whispered and licked his earlobe, drawing her tongue down his jawline.
    "I'll see you tonight, Leroy," he said. "Thanks for taking care of this."
    He ended the call and put the phone down on his desk, then grabbed Polly's arms. "What in the world are you doing, woman?"
    "I might have had too much to drink," she giggled. "I don't think you should let it go to waste."
    "Can't we save this for later when everyone is gone?"
    "This is the moment, buddy boy. If you wait any longer, I'll just fall asleep." She leaned in and kissed him. "You don't want me to go to sleep, do you?"
    "I'm going to have to chance it." He picked her up and turning around, set her bottom on the desk where he'd been seated. "What are your girlfriends going to think?"
    "They've seen me drunk before. They know what I'm like."
    "Well this is a new one for me. I'm not prepared to do this in the middle of the day with them in our living room."
    Polly stuck out her lower lip in a pout. "You're no fun. I think I'll call you a fuddy duddy."
    "You can call me anything you want, but you only have a couple of hours until you need to be dressed and downstairs. You should spend this time with the girls who have flown all the way out here from Boston to see you."
    Her lower lip pushed back out and she said, "You're trying to get rid of me, aren't you? You don't love me anymore, is that it?"
    "Absolutely. You found me out." Henry reached around her and hugged her close. "I love you more every day, Polly Giller. Now go be with your friends and slow down on the wine."
    She hopped down and kissed him. "Okay, if you're going to be a fuddy duddy, I'll go away."
    "Believe me, I'm getting you drunk on our honeymoon. I want to experience this Polly when no one is around to compete with me."
    When she got back to the living room, Sal placed a large glass of ice water in her hands and said, "Drink. All of it. If you're going to keep up tonight without falling asleep on everyone, you need to start flushing this stuff out right now. I didn't realize you were such a lightweight."
    "I'm not a lightweight," Polly protested.
    "Uh huh. And I'm a Baptist."
    Polly had enough presence of mind to put the glass down on the table before she started laughing. Sal Kahane was a very liberal Jewish American Princess from Boston and the farthest thing from religious she could imagine. Drea and Bunny chuckled a little until her infectious, unreserved laughter had them howling with her. The phone ringing on the table beside Polly finally stopped their hilarity.
    "Hello?" she said, trying to control the final giggles that threatened to consume her.
    "Miss Giller? This is Kelly Locke. My son and I are on the road. We'll be in town late tonight. Should we just go to Boone and get a hotel?"
    Polly shook her head, trying to regain some sensibility. "No, come on up to Bellingwood. It's only another twenty minutes. There's a large party going on here at Sycamore House until one o'clock. Will you be here before then?"
    "GPS says we should be there about eleven thirty. I shouldn't ask this of you. Don't worry. We'll stay in Boone."
    "Don't be silly. Your husband's room is still available and I'll be downstairs when you come in. Just ask anyone you see for Polly Giller and they'll find me."
    "Are you certain?"
    "Absolutely."
    "Thank you. Have you heard anything else about Jessie?"
    "I'm sorry. We haven't. We spent time this afternoon calling all of the retail shops in the malls and plazas in the area. No one had heard of her. I'm not sure where to go next, but I'm not giving up."
    " Thank you. I'm not used to others knowing our troubles."
    Polly smiled. This was what Sycamore House was all about and sometimes she got so caught up in things she forgot why she'd named it for that gorgeous tree in the first place.
    "Don't think anything about it. Whatever I can do to help, I will. Drive safely and we'll see you tonight."
    "Thank you again."
    Polly ended the