Enticing Interlude (Tempest #2) (25 page)

“It’s been nice to hear the sound of a child’s laughter,” Rheta shared quietly, her eyes straight ahead. “It seems like only yesterday that my boys were his age.”

“Thank you for having us. We’ve loved being here. You have a beautiful home and made us feel like family.”

“Thank you, but I’d be willing to bet that has more to do with Justin than with me.” She patted my knee and cleared her throat. “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”

“Yes.” There was no point denying it.

“He’s a good man. Did he tell you how it was for him and Avery growing up?” She took another sip before fixing me with a searching gaze.

I nodded. “A little.”

“He’s always looked out for her. He’s made some mistakes, no doubt, but one thing is sure about him he protects the ones he loves.”

I took another sip of my tea, mulling over her remarks and wishing we could prolong our stay. This had been such an idyllic weekend, a beautiful romantic beginning for Justin and me, but realistically I knew that there was work to be done if what we had started was going to last.

I heard the front door creak open behind me. Justin walked over; our duffles slung over his shoulders, looking fantastic in a grey Henley and faded jeans, his eyes twinkling as they met mine.

“I was just telling Bridget how much we enjoyed her visit.” Rheta rose and kissed his cheek. “I want you to bring them back soon.” She turned back to me, framed my face, and kissed my forehead. “Remember you and Carter are always welcome.” I imagine that she meant even if things didn’t work out with Justin. Which was sweet, but a tiny thread of trepidation tickled my spine.

On the trip back, my mood became progressively more somber. What would happen when we were back to our busy lives? I had pushed aside a lot of concerns this weekend, but making this work in the real world was going to be difficult. Justin had his life as the front man for a rock band soon to be on tour, and I was a single mom struggling to reestablish myself in a new city.

Back at the hotel, Carter and I shuffled out of the elevator ahead of Justin. I went straight to our door inserting the key card without looking back at him. I didn’t know what he expected from me. I didn’t want to make things awkward, but my chest burned with anxiety.

“Bridget.” Justin put a hand on my shoulder, stopping me from going in. I felt his body and his heat behind me, and there was nothing in the world I wanted more than to rewind back to last night. It would be so easy to lay my head back and lean on him.

“We need to talk.”

That sounded ominous. The anxious burn turned into consuming blaze. I could barely breathe, but somehow I managed to whisper, “Ok.”

Don’t look at him,
I told myself.
If this is over, it’s better to get it done quickly.
“Carter,” I called.

Already inside, he turned to look at me.

I set our duffles down in the entryway. “I’ll be in in a minute. I need to talk to Justin first.”

“Ok, Mom.” He stared up at me for a beat, frowned, and gave my hand a squeeze

I closed the door behind him. I didn’t want Carter to see or hear me if I broke down. Arms stiff at my sides, fingernails digging into my palms, I turned to face Justin.

Justin took one look at me, dropped his duffle, and yanked me into him. “No, dammit,” he said, his voice gruff near my ear. “Not that kind of talk.” He eased back to look at me, his eyes glittery, his mouth tight and his hands firm on my upper arms. “You’re gonna give me a complex with shit like this. Didn’t you believe me when I told you that I love you? I’m not like that asshole who abandoned you and Carter. I only wanted to talk to you about us moving forward.”

I nodded numbly. What else could I do? I’d taken the big plummet on the rollercoaster and my stomach and my emotions hadn’t caught back up with me just yet.

His expression darkened when I didn’t speak. “Are you having regrets?”

“No.” I shook my head, and I really wasn’t. Not about him. Though I was scared, I knew I had to take a chance with him or spend the rest of my life wondering what could have been.

“Good. Neither am I.” He touched his lips to mine and lifted his head. His eyes gentling he put his thumb on my wet bottom lip and gave it a tug. My mouth parted and my pulse started to roar in my ears. I wanted a real kiss, a kiss like last night with his tongue in between my lips. His thumb slid across the open seam. His eyes were nearly swallowed by black when they came back to mine. “I love you both you know.”

He hadn’t given me the kiss that I’d wanted. He’d given me more, exactly what I needed right then. My heart almost stopped, shocked, and restarted by those devastatingly beautiful words.

“I know you’ll want to be careful how you tell Carter about us, but do it soon, babe. I don’t like the idea of waiting. I want to be with you and not being able to doesn’t make me happy. You and I need to figure out how to make that happen in the short term.”

“Yes,” I admitted breathlessly. “I want that, too.”

He nodded. “Then I’ll tell you some other things I’d like to have happen. I’d like you to let me take Carter to school in the mornings. I’d like you to let me pick you up at work in the afternoons. You have an hour before you have to pick Carter up from school, and that hour’s going to be mine. I’d like to continue to have guy time with just me and Carter on Wednesday evenings and Friday afternoons. That’ll give you a chance to spend time with Lace, take a walk, take a nap, swim in the pool, whatever you want.” He pulled me into his body, cradling my head to his chest. He’d obviously done a lot of thinking about this. My head was spinning. I felt his lips touch my hair. “Now for the really important stuff.”

That other stuff wasn’t important?

“I want you to keep the door wide open between us at all times. No more doubting my intentions. There’s nothing casual about what we’ve got building between us. I want you to be honest with me. Tell me how you feel. When you’re tired, tell me so I can help you. When I do something wrong, tell me so I can fix it.” His voice was so deep it rumbled in my ear. “No more barriers, Bridget. I want it all with you. Everything.”

The first couple of days back in Vancouver went better than I expected. Though not nearly ideal, we’d established a routine that worked for us. First thing every morning, I went to Lace’s and let myself in. I had my own key now. I liked seeing Bridget as soon as she rolled out of bed, her hair messy and her eyes unfocused. I only wished I could go to bed with her at night and wake up right beside her.

In other words at the moment I was settling for good and in a holding pattern on completely awesome.

“Good morning,” she mumbled, shuffling directly to me. She wrapped her arms around my waist, and I hugged her back thinking maybe settling wasn’t so bad.

I kissed the top of her head and let her go, knowing how badly she needed that first cup of java. She poured some, took a long slip, and sighed blissfully. Unfortunately that sigh was a potent stimulant for me after days of deprivation. Remembering how she’d looked naked had me wanting to sigh too…from frustration.

I moved behind her and pulled her into the cradle of my thighs. Even through her thick terrycloth robe I’m sure she could feel what she did to me. I brushed her hair to the side so I could kiss her shoulder. She sighed again, more like a moan this time, rested her head back on my chest, and rocked her ass over me. “Babe,” I warned watching the front of her robe come open. Not one to waste an opportunity, I started to reach my hand inside when Carter wandered in.

Bridget stepped to the side. I stepped back. Disappointed vibes filled the air.

By the afternoon, I’d made my decision. Things were going to change.

The hustle bustle sounds of downtown surrounding me, I leaned against my bike and pulled back the sleeve on my leather jacket, checking the time on my watch again. Bridget was ten minutes past the end of her shift. Impatient, I ran a hand through my hair and was just about to go in the coffeehouse to get her myself, when she emerged, the afternoon sun glinting off of her platinum tresses. She paused on the steps to undo her hair.

Beautiful
.

I watched transfixed as she shook it down around her shoulders. A couple of guys on the sidewalk stopped to enjoy the show with me. I knew how they felt. I knew what they were thinking, too. But even though I understood the fascination, I wasn’t happy about it.

When Bridget spotted me, she smiled and zigzagged across the crowded sidewalk straight to me. She grabbed the edges of my jacket and tugged me toward her. I dug my hands into that silky hair, cradled the back of her head, and crushed my lips to hers.

I immediately swept my tongue inside to taste. She’d had an afternoon cup of coffee. That was good. She didn’t usually, but she was going to need that extra energy. I had an ambitious itinerary planned. I lifted my head and ended the kiss way before I wanted to. Just when it was starting to get interesting. Just after she’d moaned into my mouth and gotten all soft in my arms.

I moved the collar of her t-shirt aside, dipped my head, and ran the tip of my tongue along the skin at the hollow of her shoulder. That would have to be enough to tide me over until later. Stroking a gloved finger down her cheek, my voice was gruff when I looked into her dreamy eyes. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” she replied, cheeks charmingly flushed. “How was work?”

“Same ole, same ole.” I handed her the helmet. She took it without fussing at me today. Usually she gave me grief about not wearing one myself. “We made some progress on the new song.” There was still something missing though. We all felt it, and it wasn’t just with the music. I should’ve probably been working harder at fitting in with the guys, too, but lately, I only wanted to spend any free time I had with her or Carter.

She threw her leg over the bike and settled in behind me, cheek on my shoulder, arms threaded under my shirt and around my waist.

Yeah, this was my favorite part of the day.

I turned my head. “We’re spending the rest of the day together. Just you and I babe.”

“But what about Carter…” she protested, lifting her head to look at me.

“All arranged,” I finished. “Lace is picking him up after school and they’re having dinner together. Don’t worry. I’ll have you home in time to tuck him in.”

“Ok.” She licked her lips. I wanted to swivel around and have another taste of her, but I gripped the handles and kicked the stand up instead. She snuggled in close again as I entered the flow of traffic. I drove us around the museum and down a couple of blocks before I turned back onto Robson Street and parked.

She took off the helmet and shook out her hair. I don’t think she had any idea how provocative those subtle feminine gestures were. All part of her understated appeal. But I had it in mind to accentuate that inner beauty with a few things.

I tucked my gloves in my pocket and grabbed for her hand. When she saw where we were going, she stopped and shook her head.

“No, Justin.” Her chin dipped. “I don’t need to go in there. I’ve got plenty of clothes already.”

I put my finger under her chin and tilted her face up. “I’m buying.”

“I can’t let you do that.” She tried to pull away, but I held onto her. “I’m sorry if my clothes embarrass you.” Her eyes glossed up.

“Babe.” I slid my hands to her shoulders. “It’s not that at all. I love you. Whatever you wear, you’re beautiful to me. It’s just that I love to look at you. So you see it’s really a gift for me. Let me do this. It makes me happy, ok? Just a couple of things.”

She bit her lip.

“Don’t make me give you the Carter eyes. He’s been giving me pointers on the fine art of persuasion.”

“Oh, no.” She put her hand to her chest and rolled her eyes. “Like you need any pointers in that area.”

I grinned, sensing I was about to get my way without even really trying.

“Ok.” She sighed and moved toward the entrance to Guess. “Let’s do this.”

Just as I’d surmissed, the new ultra skinny jeans at Guess looked fantastic on her. I talked her into wearing a pair out of the shop. While she wasn’t looking, I paid for a couple of pairs of low rise leggings, and a pair of destructed jeans. I had them sent back to the hotel along with her old ones.