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Shrugging, Dakota supposed that made sense. They still had plenty of time left in their trip though, and maybe his body did want him to take it down a notch. Several notches, most likely. Noah was right. The two of them worked hard and though Dakota’s work appeared to be playing outside all day, the adventures exhausted his body. Most days in a good way, but since the Leah situation, he hadn’t been sleeping all that well. How could he when he knew what her body felt like pressed up against his? His bedroom wasn’t the same without her.
“Do you want me to drive?” Dakota asked as they arrived at their rental car, figuring navigating to Waiheke Island would take his mind off Leah.Yeah, right.
Noah shook his head. “No. I got this. You just… enjoy the view.”
Dakota got in the car on the passenger side. “I’ll try.”
When they arrived at the vineyard, Dakota did, in fact, enjoy the view. How could he not? The sky was a cloudless blue, a nearby lake reflecting that flawless color. Quaint buildings dotted the area, each with its own unique style and charm. Large, rustic wine barrels had been made into tables where people milled with full wine glasses and easy conversation. It seemed as if all the people were neatly paired into couples, but that could have been Dakota’s mind not letting him forget that he was no longer part of a couple.
Pushing that from his immediate consciousness, he admired the rows and rows of green grapevines that stretched on forever. From the hill he and Noah were on, those rows appeared perfectly parallel.
Parallel.Dakota immediately recalled the geometrical dirty talk he’d shared with Leah. Would math concepts always remind him of her? Would he ever be able to scrub her from his memory? Did he want to?
Noah elbowed him at the railing they stood behind. “I’ll go get us some booze. Stay here.”
Nodding, Dakota cradled his casted arm to his chest and leaned his hips against the railing. He couldn’t deny that it was gorgeous here. The perfect spot to hold the woman you loved and tell her you didn’t want anyone else but her.
Fuck it.
He wasn’t a quitter. He’d gotten caught up in trying to give Leah what she wanted even if that meant she didn’t want him. But what about whathewanted? He’d never been one to set a goal and not meet it. Being with Leah was the biggest goal he’d ever set and why should he let anything ruin his success rate? If she truly didn’t want him, that was one thing, but he didn’t believe that. He couldn’t believe that. The way she’d kissed him, touched him, made love to him… all that told him she felt something powerful when she was with him. That power should be enough to bind them. Itwasenough.
Dakota just had to convince her. He had to fight for them because if he let her go, he’d be letting the happiness they could share together go too. He owed it to both of them to try and try hard.
He pulled out his phone to call her before another second was wasted, but a glass of wine appeared in front of him. The hand holding it, however, was definitelynotNoah’s.
Taking the glass, he closed his eyes when the scent of lavender wrapped around him.
No way.
“Is this spot taken?”
Slowly, for fear of waking from what had to be a weird, wide awake dream in the middle of the day, Dakota turned to take in the woman beside him.
“Either I’m drunk without drinking any wine yet or you’re really here, Leah.”
Her laugh sounded real. The way it stroked his insides was real. The drive his body had to pull her up against him was real.
“I’m really here.” She rested her hand on his forearm now, her fingers walking along his tattoo.
They both gasped at the contact as if someone had plugged them back in.
That was all it took for him to set their wine glasses down on a nearby table and wrap his arms around her. He squeezed her to his chest and her arms came around him, tightening the embrace until they couldn’t possibly get any closer. Not with their clothes still on anyway.
“How?” he asked while dropping kisses to the top of her head and inhaling the flowery scent of her hair. He backed up a step to look at her face. Her angelic face. A face he wanted to see every single day. “You came to New Zealand alone?”
“No.” Leah pointed behind him. “Baby steps.”
Dakota looked over his shoulder to see Krista and Noah waving, goofy smiles on both of their faces. He pointed at Noah. “Nana texts or Krista does?”
Noah shrugged. “Looks as if someone owes me a Mountain View pizza when we get back to Vermont.” He sipped his wine while Krista raised her glass in salute.
“Your parents are watching Luke so Krista could chaperone me,” Leah said. “They thought me coming to New Zealand was a good idea.”
“Best idea.” Dakota couldn’t believe she’d traveled all this way for him.
“Yeah, the wine in Vermont just isn’t as tasty. I prefer New Zealand grapes.”
He poked her in the stomach. “Here only for the wine, huh?”
