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“I was teasing you.” She offered a rare wry smile. “Something”—she let her gaze drift south and settle below his belt—“told me you might need a cold shower.”
He let out a laugh, but didn’t turn away from the spark of sexual awareness. He was already headed for a cold shower. “Before our third date? Don’t worry, Caroline, I haven’t lost count.”
“Me neither,” she said softly.
Maybe I should rethink my plans to sleep on the porch, he thought. But he shook his head and headed for the cold shower he desperately needed now.
“There’s a bottle of Oregon pinot noir on the windowsill by the mini-fridge,” he called back to her. “I also picked up some dinner for us. The coast’s famous clam chowder.”
“I’ll warm it up.” She nodded to the bathroom. “I’ll meet you on the porch when you’re done with your shower.”
He walked into the cramped space but couldn’t resist adding: “If this was our fourth date, I’d invite you to join me. But naked time in the shower on the third? That’s against the rules.”
“You’re right,” she shot back. “No shower sex before the fourth date. But hot tubs are excluded from that rule.”
He let out a laugh. “Wrote these rules in your spare time?”
“No,” she said. And he heard the door to the mini-fridge slam shut. “We have the gods of reality TV to thank for their insights into the ritual of dating.”
“You watch too much television,” he said as he closed the door and rested his hands on the vanity’s edge.
But he could have sworn he heard her add, “But I don’t live under a rock. Not anymore.”
Chapter 10
THE WAVES RUSHED over the grey-white sand, teasing the three steps leading up to the porch. From her perch on one of the four all-weather metal chairs beside the table, Caroline studied the water as it slipped back. She imagined the tides washing away the lingering effects of the past few years. The beach beneath the water had been disturbed, shifted by the waves’ movement, but the sand remained a solid surface.
She cocked her head and turned her gaze to the sun slipping below the horizon. If she was comparing her life to the ocean’s movements she’d probably had too much wine. One high tide wouldn’t strip her past and leave her with a fresh new start.
But Josh offered living, breathing proof that trouble could slip away. He’d regained his footing and then some after his accident. He smiled and appeared so comfortable in his own skin. And tonight, he’d laughed freely while they debated just how much ‘reality’ went into their favorite shows over steaming bowls of chowder.
“Josh.” She tore her gaze away from the orange-gold sky and looked at her date. “When did you start watching reality shows?”
“Would you believe me if I told you it was a life-long passion?”
“No.”
He grinned. “The nurses at the rehab center liked them. The ones on the night shift always wanted to watch dating shows. I enjoyed their company. Hell, some days it felt like the only thing that kept me sane.”
“How did you know?”
“One of them gave me a journal during my first week and told me to write everything down. I still have it. Minus the pages Chad took back.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“He stopped by to pour his heart out when he and Lena hit a hiccup in their relationship. I honestly can’t tell you more than that because he tore out the pages.”
“Did it help?” she asked. “Keeping the journal?”
“Yeah. It’s weird waking up in what feels like a strange new place every day, not knowing the people around you, only to learn that you’ve been there for weeks.”
“I can’t imagine,” she murmured.
“I don’t think anyone ever really understands what another person is going through. The nurses tried. But most nights, even after their stupid memory game therapies, I didn’t want to sleep. I felt lost in my own life with no way out. So I started watching whatever the nurses wanted to see. Of course, I forgot about it the next day. But months later, when my memory came back and I’d moved into the apartment over the barn, I started tuning in again.”
“Out of habit?” she asked.
“Nah, I wanted to know why I’d written about roses and hot tubs in my journal.” He set down his wine and looked her straight in the eyes. “Now I need you to promise you won’t tell my older siblings. They probably think I’m watching porn up there and we should keep it that way.”
