God.
She rolled out of bed a few hours later than usual, with a slight headache and deliciously sore muscles.What a shameless hussy she’d been.Smiling, she tugged on her T-shirt and sleep shorts, and padded to the bathroom.Her eye makeup was smudged, her hair tangled.She looked like she’d enjoyed a wild night.
Instead of fixing herself up, she yawned and padded to the kitchen.Paul had made coffee.She poured herself a cup, shoved her feet into flip-flops, and went looking for him.
He was next door, cutting a piece of wood with a skill saw.She winced at the sound, which was too loud for her delicate condition.He turned off the machine when he noticed her.His safety glasses had a light coating of sawdust, as did his T-shirt.He removed the glasses as she stepped forward to greet him.
“Good morning,” he said with a lazy grin.
She touched her lips to his.“Good morning.”
“How do you feel?”
“Like I wrestled a bear.Or was that you?”
He set her coffee mug aside and drew her into his arms.“Any parts I can kiss better?”
“Not a chance,” she said.“You’re an animal.”
“I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
She rolled her eyes at the question.“A baby came out of my vagina, Paul.Your penis isn’t going to hurt me.”
“I love it when you talk dirty,” he said and nuzzled her neck.
She laughed, trying to avoid his touch.He was tickling her with a combination of beard stubble and sawdust.“I need a ride to my dad’s.”
“All right.”
“Give me ten minutes to get presentable.”
He shrugged, as if he didn’t see a problem with her shorty pajamas and bedroom hair, and drank from his own coffee cup.She went back to her own cabin to change clothes, brush her teeth and tame her hair.Then they left Lost Lake in his truck.Vanessa rode in the passenger seat with the window down.It was a beautiful Texas summer day, hot and bright.She acknowledged that her former self, before getting burned by Bennett, wouldn’t have been content to ride shotgun in an old pickup truck next to a man who did manual labor.
Her current self was delighted.
Paul wouldn’t impress anyone who cared about money or social standing.He was far from perfect.He’d had an affair with a married woman.He’d been shot under mysterious circumstances.He was gruff and secretive and inscrutable.
But there was more to him than met the eye.He had a sense of humor and a softer side.He could treat a woman with respect and give her toe-curling orgasms.It hadn’t escaped her attention that he’d been a perfect gentleman last night.He hadn’t seemed fazed by her risqué behavior.He’d let her get wasted, without judgment or interference, and she appreciated that.She’d had a rough year.She needed to let her hair down, to drink too much and make bad decisions.He’d been there to pick her up when she’d stumbled.He’d rescued her from making a scene in the parking lot.
All in all, he’d handled himself—and her—like a pro.
She knew he wasn’t steady boyfriend material, but that was okay, because she wasn’t thinking about long term.They were cool for the summer.She wasn’t going to overthink it.She was just going to sit back and enjoy the ride.
When they arrived at her dad’s house, he pulled up to the curb and let the engine idle.“I kept you out all night.Will you get grounded?”
She laughed and gave him a lingering kiss.“I told him not to wait up.”
“Should I walk you in?”
“Definitely not.”
He accepted this boundary without protest.They didn’t make plans for a second date, but she assumed they’d have one.She climbed out and waved goodbye.He turned the radio up and drove away in a low rumble.
She floated inside on feet that barely touched the ground.The sound and smell of sizzling bacon brought her to the kitchen.As she entered the doorway, her father deposited a huge pancake on Emily’s plate.
“Mommy!”Emily cried.“You’re back from the sleepover!”
Vanessa kissed Emily’s cheek in greeting.“Sleepover?”
