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I felt all of him. Chest to hips pressing me into the canoe. His straining arms were the only thing keeping his head from drifting those barely-there inches to bring his mouth to mine.
My lips parted.I didn’t want to have to make up what our first kiss was like. I wanted to know.My eyelids fluttered shut, one more invitation I hoped he accepted.
His warm breath brushed over my mouth.
As soon as my eyes shut, an unfamiliar voice called, “You okay over there?”
I gasped,reality spearing through the hot tension.And then his weight was gone, and even though the canoe was now floating calmly, I felt more unstable than when it had been about to capsize.
“We’re fine,” Decker called andreturned to his seat, grabbing the oars that had slid into the metal clamps that prevented them from falling off the canoe.
As I sat up, I saw it was the dad from earlier who’d coasted close to check on us.
Smiling, I gave him a small wave of gratitude and then murmured,“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry.” A steady smile crept back into his cheeks. “Like I told you that first night at the coffee shop, if we were going to start dating, I was going to be the man who takes care of you.”
I laughed because I had to. Because he was trying to lighten the situation that had found us pressed together, our lips barely inches from touching. I laughed because I’d never let a man take care of me. I’d never risk that vulnerability.
Especially not a man who wasn’t really mine to begin with.
ChapterFive
DECKER
I worked out regularly,but I wasn’t sure the last time my arms burned like they did as I rowed us back to shore. Anything to get out of that confined space.Anything to put some distance between me and Reese.
Once we were back on land, Reese immediately dove into her phone, responding to texts and emails, and even a phone call while we worked our way out of the park and back to the car.
“You remember our story?” she asked as we got close to her mom’s house again.
“I’d never forget it.” I said it to reassure her, but it seemed like the words had a different effect. One that made her breath catch and her cheeks heat.
And then she was gone—out of the car, into the house, and excusing herself to change while Arlene called me back to the kitchen.
Cheryl was at the stove, stirring a large pot, while Arlene watched from her chair that Cheryl must’ve rolled into the room, her leg propped up straight.
“How are you feeling?” I asked.
“Oh, she’s just as stubborn as ever,” Cheryl replied, tapping the spoon on the edge of the pot to drip the sauce from it. “I left for an hour—one hour—and I find her in here trying to cook.”
I folded my arms, looking back at Arlene, who showed no trace of guilt.
“What else did you expect me to do, Cheryl? I have guests for dinner.” She sounded like she would’ve gone on except a cough caught her off guard.
“Order food to the house like everyone else nowadays.”
“Absolutely not,” she huffed and coughed again, offended by even the suggestion.
Not only was she cooking homemade tomato sauce, but the dining table was set carefully with a checkered tablecloth and a bouquet of fresh flowers—one of Arlene’sget-wellbouquets—in a vase in the center.
“You really didn’t have to,” I encouraged gently. “Reese and I…we’ll make anything work.”If that wasn’t the truth, I didn’t know what was.
Her head tipped, and she regarded me with something that felt too perceptive for a second before it was gone. “Tell me about your day.” She motioned for me to sit.
I took one step toward the table when she coughed again. “Let me get you some water.” I veered into the kitchen to pour her and myself a glass. “We started with a drive through town—through Wisdom. Passed by the Worth Hotel. And then we decided to go to Jenny Lake.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful,” she gushed, her smile growing as I brought her the water. She took the drink with one hand and placed her other on my wrist, holding it tight and smiling at me. “Thank you so much.”
