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Her heart sank the minute he said that.
“I should have held off ordering a ride to the airport until after we were done packing.”
Her heart beat a little faster, knowing he didn’t regret their... whatever was happening between them.
“Finish packing while I go down and tell them we’ll be ready in a minute.” His hand brushed hers as he passed and left the room.
The ache of unfulfilled desire swept through her and made her smile. She was beginning to see why her mother liked the opening act to all her relationships. It was exciting experiencing all the firsts with someone you found attractive and intriguing. She found it wonderfully scary, feeling drawn to someone so forcefully that it was like there was some magic energy pulling them together.
She pressed her fingertips to her lips and wished he’d kissed her.
Then she realized she was doing what her mother always did, thinking of the immediate gratification of being with a man and not thinking about the future and the consequences of jumping into a relationship with someone she barely knew.
Focus on your father, Summer. Not the hot guy in your house, touching you gently with those big hands. Don’t screw this up. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it.
She shut out her thoughts, slipped out of her dress, and changed into a comfortable pair of slacks. She went to the shelves to grab a sweater, but spun around when she heard something behind her.
Cody stood there, staring at her in bare feet, slacks, and her black lace bra, his gaze hungry and locked on her.
She snagged a sweater and held it against her chest.
Cody seemed to shake himself out of his trance. Swallowing hard, he said under his breath, “Damn.”
She tried not to grin and failed.
Cody stumbled over his next words. “Yeah. Sorry. Not really. The car... yeah... it’s here. We should... go.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Ready?”
For him.“No.” But he meant to leave. And she wasn’t ready for that, either.
He slowly turned and walked back into her bedroom, giving a fleeting glance at the white iron bed before he disappeared again.
She easily pictured them in it. His tanned skin against the white sheets. His hands moving over her. Their mouths and bodies locked together.
She needed to focus on getting out of here and seeing her father.
It only took her a few more minutes to finish dressing for the plane ride. She gathered her toiletries from the bathroom, made sure she had everything she thought she’d need for an extended stay with her dad, then closed up the two suitcases and zipped up the garment bag, and headed downstairs with what she could carry herself.
Cody waited on the second-floor landing, hands planted firmly on the railing as he leaned against it and looked out the bank of windows toward the city landscape. He looked intense, like he was doing some serious thinking of his own.
“All set?” He turned and finally looked at her. His gaze swept over her dark hair, down the bright raspberry-colored sweater, her black slacks, and stopped at her pink-tipped toes poking out of the strappy heels she’d chosen. They were more comfortable than they looked.
“Do I look okay?”
Cody laughed under his breath. “Gorgeous is more like it.”
She didn’t know what to say. “Thank you.” It didn’t seem enough for the way he looked at her.
“Did it ever occur to you that your mom is jealous of the way you look so effortlessly?”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“You’ve seen her. She’s beautiful. Men trip over themselves when they see her.”
“She has nothing on you. Your beauty isn’t just skin deep. It comes from within, too.” Cody seemed to catch himself. “Yeah. We need to go. You should get a coat. It’s cold in the morning and evening in Carmel this time of year, with all the fog.”
“Um, okay, I’ll be right back.” She draped the garment bag over the suitcase and headed back upstairs for her coat and the second suitcase.
