AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No!” Cameron had to laugh at just how forcefully that came out. “Sorry. Part of me thinks I should go after her. But she’s a big girl. I can catch up with her any time. You, on the other hand, have managed to stay out of my reach for the last few weeks and …” His voice trailed off at the realization. He didn’t want to say it out loud.
But Piper finished the thought for him. “And you don’t know if you’ll ever catch up with me again.” He made a face, and she laughed. “It’s true, admit it.”
He frowned. He didn’t want it to be true, and he didn’t want to admit it. “No.”
She raised an eyebrow. “No?”
“No. I’m coming back up here next weekend, and I’d like to think that I’ll be able to catch up with you then.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. Why had he said that? He hadn’t planned to come back next weekend. Cole, no doubt wouldn’t even be here—he’d be away on his honeymoon. “I see,” was all she said.
He took her hand and led her across the terrace and down the steps which led away from the lodge.
“Where are we going?”
“To the beach,” he told her with a grin.
“Oh.”
“Don’t you want to?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I do, I just thought …”
He chuckled. “You thought I was going to take you straight back to your room, didn’t you?”
She nodded, looking a little shamefaced.
He smiled and slid his arm around her shoulders as they walked. “Honestly, so did I.”
“But now you’re not?”
He had to smile at the look of disappointment on her face. “Not straight there, no. That just feels a little premeditated.”
She laughed. “Well, it kind of is, isn’t it?”
“I suppose.” Part of him was wishing he’d gone straight up to her room, but that had felt wrong. She’d taken it seriously when he told her that Mary Ellen said he was a womanizer. Now she seemed to think that he was just going through the motions to get her into bed. He didn’t like that. He didn’t want it to be that way. It didn’t feel that way to him. He liked her. He wanted to get to know her, and he didn’t just want to sweet talk her into bed then be on his way in the morning.
They crossed the road, and he held her hand as they took the stairs down to the beach.
“This place is so beautiful,” she said once they reached the sand.
The moonlight sparkled on the water and reflected off her face.
“You’re beautiful, Piper.” The words came out of him before he knew he was saying them. She was gorgeous—not in the overly made-up and perfectly groomed way that Larissa and the women at home were beautiful. No, she was a natural beauty. It wasn’t just skin-deep either. The beauty shone out of her; it was who she was, not just the way she looked.
She laughed. “Thank you, and you are a very handsome guy. Now have we done the requisite number of compliments and the romantic walk in the moonlight? Can we go back now?”
Cameron’s heart sank. She really thought this was just a ploy? He’d wanted to come down here with her and enjoy some time with her. He wasn’t just going through the motions. He shook his head.
“We can’t go back?”
He sighed. “We can if you want.”
“You don’t want to?”
He shrugged. Maybe they should. It seemed the whole point of being out here on the beach in the moonlight was lost on her. It seemed that anything he did would only be interpreted as another move to seduce her.
“Oh!” She looked both shocked and excited at the same time. “I get it.”
