“They don’t mind that you live so far away?”
I pursed my lips. “They’re used to it now. Distance doesn’t have to be a bad thing. I see them once or twice a year, and we FaceTime. They know Vermont is a good place for me. Maybe in the same way you don’t want to go to Michigan, I don’t want to go back to Sweden. Not to live, anyway.”
“Why?”
“Ghosts.” Cryptic, but true.
Dex squinted as if formulating his next question. If he asked what I meant, I probably would have bared my soul.
However, this wasn’t about me.
I lowered the protective glasses and studied the extraordinarily handsome man who’d weaseled his way into my life. Two months ago, I’d barely known Dex and now, he was in my bed, in my workspace, in my head. There were weeks and weeks to go before the baby arrived, which meant there was no escaping this fever anytime soon. And I didn’t want to.
I wanted to make things easier for him. I could claim it was for the baby too—and it was, but I was a fixer by nature.
The one to call when the lights went out because the bill hadn’t been paid or the car wouldn’t start or there was no food in cupboards, or the police showed up at the door in the middle of the night, and?—
“I have ghosts too,” Dex said simply.
I met his gaze and held it, unnerved by Dex’s stark honesty. It had occurred to me that in a way we were both refugees, hiding in a quaint forest town out of harm’s reach. We were outsiders, escapees, hiding in plain sight from a past we didn’t share with many. Perhaps it explained the attraction.
Yes, Dex was beautiful and sexy, but it was more than that. He was somehow relatable. We came from different countries, different sets of circumstance, and yet…I recognized his pain.
“I know,” I replied.
There wasn’t much more to say, so I readjusted my glasses and measured the block of wood in front of me.
“Come with me,” Dex blurted.
The amused lilt in his tone indicated he was joking, most likely in an effort to steer us to safer topics.
I took the bait, gladly…and even glowered for effect, pointing at my chest. “You wantmeto go to Michigan? Withyou?”
“Yeah. Why not?”
“Your poor mother would be scandalized.”
“No, she told me to bring a date.”
“So we’re dating?” I deadpanned.
Dex snickered. “Maybe we are, so…be my date. For the weekend. Two hours at the party and the rest of the time, we could do a whole lot of nothing. I have a cabin on Lake Michigan, close to my mom’s place yet far enough away. I haven’t been in a while, but there’s great fishing up there,” he continued in a rush, adding, “You like to fish.”
“Yes, but?—”
“And you like sex.”
I widened my eyes incredulously. “You’re bribing me with fish and sex?”
“Rough combo, but…yes.”
I didn’t want to be, but I was charmed.
I took the glasses off. “I’ll need a preview.”
“What do you mean?”
“Show me what I can look forward to…in a cabin…in Michigan.”
