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Though I'd love to hear everything about her, my mind keeps circling back to what she hasn't said. "You haven't told me if you'll give me a chance to find out if you're the woman I've been looking for."
Elbows on the table, she drops her face into her raised hands. "Aidan, please, stop wasting your time here. I'm way too damaged to give you any of the things you want. Go back to Chicago or Scotland or wherever and find a girl who's right for you. I am not."
That's bollocks. Neither of us knows yet if we're right for each other.
I move my chair around until I'm sitting right beside her. When she lowers her hands, I settle a palm on her forearm. "Let me decide if I'm wasting my time."
"You are so pigheaded."
I smile, letting my hand linger on her bare skin. "Lachlan told me the same thing when I said I wanted to come to America. He tried to talk me out of it, but I'd set my mind to it." I slant closer. "I've decided this too. I want to spend time with you. Give me four weeks, it's all I ask."
"I agreed to one week, with the potential for extensions."
"Make it four weeks. Please. You can always boot me out after the first week."
She gazes into my eyes for a long moment. "You win, I give up. But let's not assign a time limit to this, forget one week or four. Stay as long as you like, and if I get sick of you, I'll say so."
"Thank you, Calli."
"Don't thank me. None of what you're hoping for is going to happen."
I stroke my fingers over her skin, keeping the touch light and, I hope, arousing. "At the very least, I'll have gotten to know a sweet lass and gotten to see a new place."
The waitress arrives with our food order, ending the discussion. I move my chair back to where it belongs. While we eat, we talk about normal things like tourist attractions and the weather. Even if Calli doesn't want to admit it, I'm sure she recognizes the truth as well as I do.
We are dating.
I aim my best wicked smile at Calli, the same one she'd loved when we met at Dance Ardor.
She shoves a huge chunk of broccoli into her mouth and chomps on it.
Ah, she must be imagining she's taking myslatinto her mouth. Sooner than she wants to believe, I'll be making love to her. Is Calli the woman I've been searching for? Finding out the answer might become the best holiday I could ever have.
Chapter Nine
I expect to sleep well that night, considering that Calli finally agreed to give me a chance. I have what I've wanted since the night we met. But fate decides to throw a monkey wrench into the works. I'm sleeping soundly, dreaming of Calli and all the things I want to do with her and to her, when it starts to rain. At first, it seems like part of the dream. And it starts gradually.Drip, drip, drip. It's bloody annoying to hear the dripping of rain in my dream while I'm making love to a beautiful lass. Calli lies naked beneath me, her legs wrapped around me and—
The dripping of rain becomes an incessant downpour.
Bloody hell. I can't even enjoy a sexy dream in peace.
The downpour turns into a flood, roaring around me, and I start to feel like I'm lying on a waterbed that's sprung a leak. Little by little, I rouse from the dream that has become a bizarre nautical experience. The gushing of water surrounds me, and the bed squishes when I roll onto my back with my eyes still closed. I groan. What in the world is going on? Rubbing my eyes, I sit up and yawn. I'd left the bedside lamp on, so when I peel my lids open, I can see what's happening.
Water spews from the wall. It has soaked the wall, and the flimsy materials used in the structure have broken open. Water also pours out of the bathroom to pool on the floor. What sort of shoddy craftsmanship went into this motel? It had been the cheapest, least appealing place in town, but I hadn't been able to get a room at a better establishment. No rooms available, except here.
And now I'm swimming.
Luckily, I'd left my luggage on the table, so my clothes are still dry. After ringing the motel office to report the emergency, I get dressed and leave, informing the desk clerk I'm checking out early. The lad looks younger than I am, possibly a college student. When he sees my wet hair, he offers an optimistic view of things.
"At least you got in a shower," the lad says, "before the pipe burst."
Shower? Aye, but not on purpose.
I drive around in my hired car for a while, since it's too early to ring Calli. I'd hoped to spend the day with her, but now I need to find another place to stay. How long do I need to wait to knock on her door? I have no idea if she's an early riser or a late sleeper. I'm used to getting up early for my job, but she might not be. So, I stop at a local restaurant for breakfast, eating slowly to waste time. Finally, I can't take it anymore. I ring Calli's number, but there's no answer. Then I drive to Calli's house. She'd given me directions last night, and the map software on my mobile agrees with what she told me. At least I've dried out by the time I pull into her driveway, but I take a moment to run a comb through my hair. Donnae want to look bedraggled when I see my dream girl.
Now that I'm presentable, I stride up the path to the front door and knock twice. Nothing happens. I shove my hands into my trouser pockets and rock on my heels, back and forth, back and forth. When I still get no response from inside the house, I knock again—three times.
Please let her be home.
