A Timeless Romance Anthology: Spring Vacation Collection (26 page)

About thirty minutes into the movie, Liz started snoring.

Drew snickered, reaching over Gemma and moving Liz’s bowl to the floor. He stood and found another blanket, which he draped over Liz. Gemma watched his gentlemanly actions and silently agreed with Liz that Drew was a fine man.

Fine, but unattainable. Besides, Gemma valued their friendship way more than anything else.

Drew left the room and came back with two chilled water bottles. He handed her one. He turned down the volume a little on the television before sitting by Gemma. “Care to share your blanket?”

Gemma’s heart went into overdrive.
Settle down,
she ordered herself. She moved the blanket over to include him. Now their arms and their legs were touching.

What’s wrong with me? Talk about rebounding.

She couldn’t concentrate on the movie, but the last thing she was going to do was ask Drew what was happening on screen. She didn’t know if she could handle him talking so close to her ear.

Liz’s snores continued, so Gemma decided she had been inducted into the twilight zone. She hoped the movie wasn’t one of those three-hour ones. Sitting this close to Drew for that long wouldn’t be good, not when her brain was a mess.

“Hey,” Drew said in her ear, nearly causing her to jump. “You still watching?”

“Um... sort of.”

He laughed quietly. “I have a better idea.” He stood and turned off the movie. After unhooking his laptop, he brought it over to the couch. It was darker in the room now, the only light coming from the kitchen behind them and the laptop.

Liz shifted, letting out a huge yawn. “Did I fall asleep?”

“Yeah,” Drew said, his voice sounding like he was trying not to laugh.

“Is the movie over already?” Liz asked in a voice thick with sleep. “I can’t believe I fell asleep.” She rose from the couch and crossed the room with a slight sway to her steps. “I’m going to bed. See you guys in the morning.” She disappeared into the master bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

“Good night,” Gemma said.

“Happy snoring,” Drew called after her, but not loud enough that Liz would hear.

Gemma nudged him. “What if I start snoring? Will you make fun of me?”

His eyes flickered to her, capturing her gaze in the dimness. “Are you admitting that you snore?”

“I’m not admitting anything.”

He laughed, and his arm slid across her shoulders. “I don’t think I’d mind your snoring.”

The warmth of Drew’s body so close caught Gemma by surprise.

He’s teasing,
she told herself.
Nothing more
. Sure enough, he removed his arm and fiddled with his laptop, pulling up various files.

“This might be it,” he said, clicking on one of the files. “Yep.”

Gemma stared at a shot of her at the Japanese restaurant they’d gone to with that crazy couple. The memories of that night came flooding back. “That was right before they started arguing.”

Drew clicked to the next picture.

Gemma gasped. “You didn’t!”

“Had the flash off,” he said. “So they never knew.”

Drew had taken pictures of the couple arguing. “Amazing the emotion that can come through a camera.”

“No kidding.” Gemma gazed at the animated faces. The next picture showed Gemma, wide eyed, staring at the fighting couple. “Wow, that was an insane night.”

“Completely insane.” Drew closed the file. The wallpaper of an aquarium stared back at them. “That’s why we need a redo.”

“A what?”

He shifted so that he was facing her. Part of Drew’s face was lit up by the screen, his eyes nearly black as they focused on Gemma. She suddenly felt breathless as Liz’s words floated through her mind.

He hasn’t been dating for two years because he’s been waiting for you, Gem.

But that was impossible.

“You know, another date,” he said. “This time without that couple.”

“As if they’re still together,” Gemma said in a joking tone, while everything inside her was on high alert. What was Drew saying? What did he mean?

Drew shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe they just fight a lot—maybe it works for them.”

Gemma didn’t know what to say.

“So what do you think?” he asked.

She didn’t know what to think, or what Drew was really asking. “I don’t know.” Why did he want to go out on a date anyway? He had a million women to choose from—most of them supermodels.

His voice went quiet. “What don’t you know, Gemma? Is it... because of Randy?”

The mention of Randy was like turning on a blinding spotlight. This couldn’t be happening. Drew couldn’t really be interested in her like
this
. She clutched the pillow in her lap.

“To be honest…” She took a deep breath. “I’m not really sure what you’re saying. You and I have been friends forever. I just... Sorry, my brain is slow right now. You have to tell me what you mean.”

Drew was silent for a moment. He closed the laptop and set it on the floor. The only light came from the kitchen now. He turned toward her and moved his hand to her shoulder. Gemma’s heart fluttered at his touch. When his fingers brushed her neck, she thought she might ignite.

“What I mean is that I want to take you on a date.” His fingers moved behind her neck, touching her hair. “A date that’s between two people, in which the guy likes the woman, and the woman might like the guy.
Hopefully
she likes him. Hopefully it will be fun, and maybe there will be another date after that.” His eyes burned into her.

Gemma wasn’t sure if she was breathing; she could barely think when he was touching her like that, but she managed to move her mouth and say, “Oh.”

His voice lowered to almost a whisper. “Is that a yes? Will you go on a date with me?”

This isn’t really happening.
It was impossible. This was Drew—
her
Drew—her friend and the man who was pretty much the most gorgeous person she knew. No one would believe that Drew was interested in her. But the way he looked at her right now almost convinced her that Liz had been right.

“Okay,” she whispered back.

His mouth moved into a half smile, and his eyebrow rose. “Okay?”

She nodded, not trusting her voice.

“Then can I ask you another question?”

Gemma nodded, her mind reeling. Every perception she’d had of Drew had changed in an instant.

“Can I kiss you?”

Gemma couldn’t believe the words coming from his mouth, but as he said them, she realized she wanted him to kiss her—more than anything she could ever remember wanting. Even though one part of her shouted that she probably shouldn’t kiss Drew for a million and one reasons, the other part of her wasn’t listening—the part that was burning beneath Drew’s touch.

She stared at him for a moment then moved her hands to his shoulders and pressed her mouth against his. If he was surprised, he got over it quickly. His lips parted, and soon she was lost in his warmth and heat. He pulled her onto his lap, and his kisses became more demanding as he drew her closer.

Gemma couldn’t believe she was kissing Drew, that he was kissing her back as if he’d been waiting for it a long time. It was as if his patience had finally cracked, and every moment of waiting was now poured into his kiss. The more she kissed him, the more she realized she’d been waiting too—she just hadn’t realized it.

She moved her hands along his chest, then to his stomach. He tugged off his shirt, and the heat from his body made her want to melt.

“Gemma,” he said. “You’re so beautiful.”

His words caused her throat to hitch. Drew thought she was beautiful. Coming from him, that was amazing.

“You’re the one who’s beautiful,” she whispered against his mouth.

He laughed and rotated her until we were both lying on the couch, their legs intertwined. “I can’t believe I waited so long to kiss you.” His lips pressed against her neck, then moved up to her jaw. When his mouth met hers again, his kisses were slower, more patient.

Gemma nestled against him, fitting her curves against his body. She’d always thought he was pretty much perfect, but she hadn’t realized how amazing it would feel to be pressed against him. His hand moved to her waist, touching bare skin where her shirt had ridden up.

Gemma inhaled, furious heat pulsing through her, and Drew lifted his head, his eyes on her. Things were moving fast, really fast, and her heart pounded even harder when she realized she wanted them to keep going.

Drew brushed his lips against hers then sighed. “I think I need to take a cold shower before you slap me.”

“I’m not going to slap you,” Gemma said, breathless. She ran her hands along his arm, then to his chest. He was right. This was new. And this was moving extremely fast.

Drew pulled her into a hug, and Gemma clung to him for a moment, feeling their hearts beating together. When he released her, she didn’t stop him from climbing off the couch. She stood, smoothing her clothing and running a hand through her hair. Before she knew it, she was in his arms again.

This time he didn’t kiss her, just held her. When he stepped back, he stroked her cheek and said, “Good night, Gemma.”

“Good night,” she whispered, her throat too thick to speak aloud.

She stood there, listening to him go up the stairs. When she heard the shower running, she smiled, sinking onto the couch. Pulling the blanket around her, she lay down and clutched a pillow to her chest. She and Drew had broken every rule of the Five, but she didn’t care. She had quite possibly had the best night of her life.

Chapter Six

The sound of sizzling woke Gemma, not to mention the overpowering smell of bacon. Gemma’s stomach growled in response, and she opened her eyes.
Why am I on the couch?
Then she remembered.
Drew.

Heat shot through her as she thought about the night before. She sat up, madly combing her fingers through her messy hair and wondering how she’d let herself fall asleep on the couch. Drew had probably walked by a dozen times, viewing her in her sleeping state.

She was afraid to check whether he was in the kitchen. No voices came from there. Maybe Liz was still asleep, or maybe
she
was cooking breakfast, and Drew was still asleep. Hoping that was the case, Gemma crept up the stairs. Drew’s room was across from hers, and the door stood open. From the top of the stairs, Gemma could see his bed already made. So Drew was the bacon cooker.

Gemma went into the bathroom, and took a quick shower, then changed into fresh clothing. She headed downstairs to the kitchen, bracing herself. Would seeing Drew be awkward? Sweet? Gemma didn’t feel ready to face him, but putting it off would only make the knot in her stomach tighter.

She entered the kitchen with a ready smile, only to see that it wasn’t Drew cooking the bacon. “Liz?”

“Good morning. Thought this would wake you up.” Liz slid a couple of pancakes onto a plate. “The bacon’s almost done.”

“Thanks,” Gemma said, the brightness of her voice sounded false. “So where’s Drew?”

“He had to take off. Something about a photo shoot that went wrong with his competition, so when they called him, he couldn’t turn it down. Said he’d be back tonight, or maybe in tomorrow morning at the latest.” Liz poured orange juice into a glass. “I told him we needed girl time anyway.”

“Oh, yeah,” Gemma said. Her stomach felt like a rock. He hadn’t even said good-bye. “What time did he leave?”

“I don’t know, about an hour ago? Maybe 8:00?” Liz turned toward the fridge then whipped back around. “What happened between you two?”

Gemma cursed the heat spreading to her neck. “Nothing. Why?”

Liz narrowed her eyes. “Because he told me to make sure to tell you he was sorry. Which I didn’t think anything of, until now.” She folded her arms. “Out with it.”

Gemma sat at the counter and dropped her head into her hands.

“You... didn’t,” Liz said.

Gemma lifted her head. “We didn’t, but we might have kissed a little. Or a lot.”

Covering her mouth with her hand, Liz stared at Gemma. “Oh. My. Gosh.” She rushed around the counter and threw her arms around Gemma with a squeal.

Gemma felt like she was being crushed. Why did she tell Liz? Now everyone in the Five would find out. Mortification pounded through her. It was all weird, and new, and maybe it wasn’t real. Maybe that’s why Drew left.

When Liz relaxed her vice grip, she said, “Tell me all of it. Every minute.” Her eyebrows pulled together. “Was it after I went to bed?”

Gemma nodded, then closed her eyes and blew out a breath. “Maybe it was just the moment. I was so tired and not in my right mind. One minute Randy breaks up with me, and twenty-four hours later...” She couldn’t finish. Letting out a moan she stood up. “I don’t know what to think.”

“I’m so happy for you guys,” Liz gushed. “I always thought you’d be great together.” She sashayed around the corner and turned off the element beneath the frying pan. She used tongs to remove the bacon then set the pieces on a pile of paper towels.

Gemma swallowed against her tight throat. She wasn’t hungry anymore. “How long have you thought that? Does everyone else think so too?”

Liz shrugged. “Maybe we talked about it a time or two, but I guess we figured that if you guys were smart, you’d see the light.”

Gemma ran her hand through her still-damp hair. “So everyone was in on this but me?”

A grin spread on Liz’s face.

Looking at her hands, Gemma thought about last night. Did Drew truly care for her that much? Had he been waiting for her to break up with Randy? Images of all of all the girlfriends she’d met flashed through her mind. Last night’s memories pushed them out of the way.

“Look at you,” Liz said. “You’re blushing.”

Gemma touched her warm cheeks. “I’m confused.”

Liz put a couple of pieces of bacon on Gemma’s plate. “That will clear up. Maybe around the time Drew gets back.” She laughed. “Seriously, Gem, this is awesome.”

Gemma’s phone rang, coming from the direction of the living room. She scrambled to find it, thinking it might be Drew. By the time she grabbed her phone, it was on its last ring.