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“H
e is.” Daniel grinned. “But I can hold my own with the good stuff.” Yet another tub contained fresh mango, papaya, grapes, and berries, plus a cheese knife and a jelly spoon. “Close your eyes, and try this.” He sliced off creamy cheese, slathered it on a cracker, then topped it with pepper jelly. “Open up.”
He fed her, touching her lips, letting her tongue caress his fingers. The sounds she made as she swallowed were ones he’d hear in his dreams.
“Wow.”
“That’s what you said about the lake.”
She opened her eyes to gaze at him. “It goes for the food too.”
And it went most especially for her.
“Wait, there’s more.” Tucking into the pack once more, he whisked out a split of champagne and two plastic flutes.
She laughed, a sound he’d loved since the first time he’d heard it. “You billionaires are too much,” she teased.
“The champagne has nothing to do with my being a billionaire. You deserve to be wined and dined by anyone you’re with.” He thought of the ex who’d lied to her and winced, waiting for the reminder to take the shine out of her.
But though something dark flashed through her gaze, for the first time, she didn’t let it conquer her. Instead, she whispered, “Feed me more.”
* * *
After the meal, sated with champagne, scrumptious cheese, and luscious fruit—and most of all, with the thought of how sweet Daniel had been to pull all of this together for her—Tasha was tempted to throw her fears to the winds and kiss him again.
When Eric had treated her to a fancy meal and a night out, it had only been to bolster his lies, not because he thought she deserved anything special.
Although Daniel was far more gorgeous and wealthy than her ex could ever hope to be, he was also real and sincere. Every cell in her body knew it.
But Daniel had to leave Fallen Leaf Lake eventually. Though he’d never given her the exact date of his departure, he wouldn’t be able to stay in the mountains with her forever. His real life—his company and all the beautiful women who were surely a far better match for him—awaited his return.
Breaking into her maudlin thoughts, he announced, “Time to get wet.”
“Wet?” She sounded like a nervous virgin, but she couldn’t help it. Whenever she was around Daniel her heart beat too hard and her breath came too fast.
“It’ll be nice to soak our feet in the water for a bit. Unless—” A wicked light glinted in his eyes. “—you have other ideas?”
Did she ever. But she’d spent the past couple of days reminding herself over and over that she couldn’t take more from Daniel than she already had, so instead of listing all the sinfully sexy ideas that immediately popped into her head, she chirped, “Soaking our feet is perfect!”
She nearly groaned at her hyperbole as she unlaced her hiking boots. Thankfully, putting her feet into the cool, crisp water cooled down both her embarrassment and her desperate desire. For a few minutes, at least.
“What a marvelous day,” she said in as easy a voice as she could manage, considering she was reliving every luscious touch of his fingers on her lips as he’d fed her. He’d seduced her completely—he always did, even when they were both wearing tool belts and working side by side on her floorboards or her paneling.
God, it was hard not to give in to her feelings for him. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy this one perfect, sunny afternoon, did it? Would it be so wrong to let the pleasure of being with Daniel, even if only on a purely platonic level, fuel her for the difficult days ahead? Especially now that she’d decided to search for her father and brother and make absolutely certain they hadn’t started another con. She should have looked for them months ago. But she’d been so shell-shocked that she’d hidden away in the mountains instead.
It wasn’t until Daniel had come into her life and showed her that she was braver and stronger than she’d given herself credit for that she was finally able to take the steps she should have all along.
More grateful to him for his kindness and understanding than she could ever express, she turned to smile at Daniel…and he gave her a smile so sweet, so sexy, so dazzling that her heart skipped like pebbles tossed across the lake.
* * *
Backlit as she was by the sunlight, Daniel had never seen a more gorgeous picture. Tasha’s beauty should be immortalized on canvas and hung on museum walls for future generations. He’d ask Sebastian to sketch her.
He wanted to see her smile like that always. She had so much laughter inside her, so much sweetness and caring. So much loyalty.
Suddenly, she squealed and jerked her feet out of the water. “What was that?” She stared down into the depths.
He followed her gaze. And laughed. “It’s the fish. They nibble.” He wiggled his toes in the water and tiny fish darted away, slowly returning when he stilled again.
