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“Hey, lovebirds!” Marcus called over to us, waving his hands. “Come get something to eat!”
I scooted out from between Trace’s legs and stood, dusting the grass and dirt off my legs. I shivered as a breeze gusted around us. Being on the water, the night’s here were cool. It was nicer than the heart attack inducing humidity I had grown used to in Virginia, but I hadn’t packed for cooler weather. Which was dumb, since we were heading all the way up to Maine.
“Here,” Trace shrugged out of the plaid shirt he was wearing and draped it across my shoulders. I’d ditched the shirt I’d borrowed from him earlier and left it in the car.
“Thanks,” I smiled as I pushed my arms through the large sleeves.
“Can’t have you getting sick,” he kissed my forehead, placing a hand on my waist and guiding me towards Marcus.
Apparently Marcus had a bonfire once a week, where he grilled and hung out with his friends and family. He was a nice guy and his wife, Rebecca, seemed sweet but I’d only been introduced to her briefly. She was pretty with short light blonde hair and kind blue eyes. She almost seemed too calm to handle Marcus’ boisterous personality. Their two kids, Sarah and Jamie, were adorable and reminded me of their dad. Both were currently trying to climb the trees to see who could make it the highest.
“Sarah! Jamie! Get down from there!” Rebecca scolded, looking like she might pass out if they climbed any higher.
“Becks, they’re kids. Let them play,” Marcus waved his hand in dismissal, flipping a burger on his portable grill.
“Tell me that when we end up spending the night in the emergency room,” she glared at her husband. “Tell them to get down. They’ll listen to you.”
“Kids!” Marcus yelled. He didn’t have to say anything else. They immediately started climbing down. “Sorry about that,” Marcus shrugged, smiling at us. “The burgers will be ready in a minute. Buns are over there and Rebecca made some side dishes,” he nodded to the open trunk of the SUV parked behind him.
I grabbed a plate and a hamburger bun, squirting a dollop of mayonnaise on it and adding lettuce and tomato. Rebecca had made macaroni salad and coleslaw. I scooped a spoonful of each onto my plate. Trace took enough to feed at least two other people. I looked his athletic body up and down. Seriously, where did he put all that food?
“What?” He glanced over at me. A slow smile—the panty dropping one—lit his face. “Are you checking me out?”
I snorted. “Don’t flatter yourself.”
“You are,” he smirked, licking some mayonnaise off his finger.
“Not for the reason you think,” I shook my head.
“You mean, you’re not undressing me with your eyes? Damn.”
“I heard that,” Marcus interrupted before I had a chance to retort. “Keep it clean,” he eyed Trace sternly. “My kids are here and they still think the opposite sex has cooties. I’d like to keep it that way until I’m dead.”
“Sorry,” Trace hung his head to hide his laughter. “Won’t happen again.”
“You bet it won’t,” Marcus laughed. “I am offering you a place to stay tonight that doesn’t look like it belongs in a horror movie.”
When we first arrived at the bonfire and accepted Marcus’ invitation for a place to stay, we’d told him about the first place we’d stopped at in Philadelphia. He’d gotten quite a laugh from that. I’m happy we didn’t end up staying there. I shuddered at the thought. The place probably had roaches crawling out of the drains.
“Yeah, thanks for that,” Trace chuckled.
Marcus turned back to the grill, removing the burgers and stacking them on a plate. He put it in the trunk with the rest of the food.
I grabbed a plastic fork and used it to lift one of the burgers onto my plate.
“I can’t believe you had a cheeseburger for lunch, and now you’re having one for dinner,” I shook my head.
“I need protein,” he smirked. Sobering, he added, “I didn’t really eat my lunch anyway.”
That was true. After the conversation about taking over his family’s business, neither of us had much of an appetite. I hated that Trace felt…obligated to take over the business. His family—they were good people—and I knew they’d respect his decision if he chose to carry on as he was.
We found a spot close to the edge of the lake and sat side by side.
With the darkness the lake appeared to go on forever. The only disruption in the surface was the reflection of the crescent moon. It was beautiful. Peaceful even.
Marcus had set up small outdoor lanterns and spread them around so that we weren’t completely in the dark.
I wasn’t used to eating dinner this late—at home Trace and I usually ate dinner around four or five, not nine-thirty—but it was nice to do something different.
