Nerd and the Marine (37 page)

The hot water and the good water
pressure against his skin felt wonderful. He shut off the shower
and enjoyed the scent and feel of fabric softener. The softness of
Lainy's bed and the warmth of her body pressed against him while he
slept had been another luxury.

He hoped to talk her into sharing the
bed with him tonight. They were well chaperoned with Will and
family in the house and he accepted Lainy still needed some time.
He had to remember those two disastrous relationships. He had to
take things slow. She’d been hurt enough. Still, that didn’t stop
him from hoping she’d spend the night with him.

With the last swipe of his towel, he
dressed and left the bathroom. To have his own room again was nice,
but sharing it with Lainy would be nicer. He wouldn't have to share
with eleven other men, at least. To have a bed was wonderful. The
cot had been okay, but even that he hadn't enjoyed much. A fan was
sheer bliss. No sand was even better.

When he entered his room, Lainy waited
on the window seat. She'd showered and changed into a T-shirt and
pair of athletic shorts. He thought he caught a glimpse of a sports
bra beneath the shirt.

He dropped his stuff and held his arms
wide open. She crossed the space between them in about two seconds.
He picked her up and yanking the covers back, placed her gently on
his bed. Then he crawled in beside her and pulled her close. He
inhaled her scent and realized he'd never savor enough of this
woman. There wasn’t time.

That was his last thought as his eyes
closed and his brain shut down. The feel of her exquisite curves
against him and her scent enticed him all night. He slept well, and
when he woke in the morning, he was ready for anything.

Until he looked down and saw one of
them had removed her shirt during the night. She did indeed wear a
sports bra and while the cloth covered everything, it was tight.
Which meant it highlighted all of her luscious curves. He stared at
her, and gently pulled the sheet down. She was still attired in
athletic shorts, rather than the spandex he thought she usually
wore, but the shorts weren't long and lying on her side, they
embraced her figure.

Sure enough, her bottom was curvy but
firm and her arms long and slender. Her legs were also long and
muscular. Her stomach revealed sexy muscles he wanted to explore.
So he did.

But slowly, because he didn’t want to
scare her. She was all sleepy, sexy female. Dipping his head, he
kissed the taut skin over her stomach and felt her quiver. He
thought she was still in that state between sleep and awareness and
kept up with his explorations.

She gasped and then her fingers
tunneled in his hair. She tried to tug him up to her, but when that
didn't work, wriggled in the most enticing way down to him so their
lips met. He used all his willpower to keep himself in check. He
would not hurt Lainy. She deserved far more.

Her eyes, still sleepy, were beacons
of blue and green. They sparkled like those of a woman in love. And
how he hoped she was.

With him.

She didn’t give him more thinking
time, but instead tugged his head to hers and offered him a most
wonderful good morning kiss.

*****

Later that day, as Lainy showed him
some of her sibling’s cabins, Mitch paid extra attention to Will's
place. When they reached a hall he recognized, he wiggled his brows
at her and looking around, opened the door to the linen closet. He
entered and tugged her in after him.

The space contained shelves on three
walls and the door behind them on the fourth. Each shelf ran the
height and width of the wall. Stacks of linens and beach towels and
what appeared to be some broken toys lined the shelves. And he
noticed a well padded, hip high ledge that he realized would be
perfect for certain activities. No wonder this was such a popular
space for couples.

He also noted there was plenty of room
for kids and canines in the center of the closet. Mitch didn't
think they'd be interrupted. No one had seen them.

Or so he hoped.

Mitch smiled to himself as he finally
realized he was in Will's linen closet. With Lainy. Gazing down at
her, he wondered how she'd react if they got company. Ben said
Treeny had giggled, and he thought it'd be okay if Lainy followed
suit. He’d laugh with her. The thought didn’t stop him from kissing
her though.

The door swung open just as his lips
settled on hers. They hadn’t even had a chance to try out the
ledge. He felt her grin and his lips curled into a similar
motion.

“
Detour, detour,” they
heard someone intone and the closet filled with kids and
dogs.

“
Aunt Lainy, it’s one thing
having to come in here for Mom and Dad, but you?” the chubby kid he
remembered from the video grouched.

“
Well, Chad, sometimes this
is what happens,” Lainy replied, and her lips found his
again.

“
Uncle Mitch, we thought
you'd have more sense than this,” a little girl commented pithily.
Mitch thought her name was Marissa.

“
They're not answering,”
another kid commented and Mitch thought the tyke rolled his
eyes.

More dogs and kids entered the closet
and he caught sight of Laurie, Ed, and Max ushering the herd into
the closet.

“
Let’s get this closet so
full of kids they won't be able to move,” Laurie stated.

“
That could defeat the
purpose,” Ed replied and stroked his beard before they slammed the
door shut and Mitch heard the sound of a lock being
thrown.

Lainy laughed and he joined her. The
kids added to their general glee.

When the door finally swished open,
and they were released from the closet, Mitch stood face to face
with Lainy's grandfather. The stern faced man smiled and held out a
hand.

“
About time Lainy got
caught in her own trap,” he commented mildly and Mitch took the
proffered hand.

“
I've wanted to do this
since I saw Ed's video,” he admitted to her grandparent.

“
We're pleased she could
have this opportunity. Now, scram,” Grandmom Melody
ordered.

He and Lainy cleared the room after it
emptied of kids and dogs and Lainy asked, “Want me to lock the
door?”

*****

They swam every day and napped
together, and were inseparable. Talking and laughing, Mitch was
opening up to her like she was with him. Lainy was proud she hadn’t
gone into Ice Princess mode at all. Not once had she felt
uncomfortable around him. Not once had she thought this wasn’t
right. She was still scared, but couldn’t figure out
why.

Since he’d arrived home, she knew far
more about him than she had learned from their correspondence.
Lainy still had to pinch herself to believe this was her reality.
She wanted to enjoy their time together for as long as she
had.

Mitch had been granted a
month from work because of his year of military service. The first
three weeks passed and her family left and arrived at intervals
during the time. She liked having him to herself. She wanted her
relationship with Mitch to be permanent,
but
, she couldn’t believe that would
happen, or she’d be devastated when the end came. Lainy Morrison
didn’t attract gorgeous men like Mitch Monahan. This was an
aberration.

*****

Lainy and Ed accompanied Mitch to buy
a new vehicle during the third week. He'd sold his previous truck,
not wanting it to sit for at least a year. They found a nice used
SUV he liked that had plenty of leg room for him and enough space
for Bentley. Lainy and Ed looked the vehicle over and declared it
acceptable, so he bought the truck.

The previous owner, a former Marine,
gave him a fair price, and he drove her back to the lake in his new
vehicle. He was putting down roots. How long did they have
together? Lainy feared the tide would change at any
minute.

*****

Later that week, Mitch left Lainy for
the first time to run an errand. He had a good idea what he wanted,
but took one of her sisters. The shopping proved easy enough, since
Melly knew Lainy quite well. He also stopped by a flower shop and
selected a bouquet of roses in various shades.

When they returned to the lake, he
thrust the flowers into Lainy’s hands.

“
What's this?” she asked
with a smile, eyeing the roses as though she'd never seen such
beauty before.

“
Roses, for you. I haven't
been able to give you flowers before, but now I can.”

“
Oh. Thank you.” She
started to cry. He’d picked her some flowers already, but she’d
never received any from a store.

Mitch pulled her into his arms, handed
the flowers off to Melly, and held Lainy.

“
I've never gotten flowers
before.” She sniffed and held on tightly, as though fearful he'd
slip away.

“
Well, now you have, and I
expect you'll get more in the future,” he assured her with a
grin.

She hiccupped and then giggled and
after wiping away her tears with a swipe of her hand, gave him the
sweetest kiss he'd ever known.

“
Thank you.”

“
Thank you.” Her eyes were
naked and Mitch saw her love for him there.

“
Lainy?” he whispered and
she cocked her head.

“
What?”

“
Will you,” he swallowed,
because he didn't want to mess this up, “Will you marry me?” He
drew out his other purchase and opened the tiny jeweler's
box.

He showed her the simple, elegant
solitaire resting in diamond splendor against the black velvet. But
she tensed.

Lainy's mouth opened once and then
twice and she shook her head. His heart clenched.

“
Mitch, I love you, I do,
but I can't marry you.”

“
What
?” Her words didn’t make sense to his jammed brain. His
stomach bottomed out.

“
I need time.”

“
You just told me you love
me,” Mitch pointed out with desperation. Fear curled around his
guts, fear like he’d never known before. Even the toughest mission
hadn’t prepared him for her negative answer.

“
I do. With all my heart.
But I don’t trust love, Mitch.” Lainy's shoulders sagged, her eyes
dropped, and he didn't understand.

“
You don’t trust
me?”

“
I trust you more than I’ve
ever trusted any man. I love you, I finally know what that means,
but I can’t marry you,” she cried, then spun and left him. Her eyes
full of more despair than he’d ever seen. He stood there in the
dust with a ring that should be on her finger but remained in the
box.

Mitch stared after her, without a clue
what he should do. Fear threatened to cut off his air.

“
Want to take a walk?” Max
offered beside him.

Mitch stared at him blankly and then
put the ring and flowers back in his new truck and followed
Max.

“
I figured things would go
down exactly like they just did,” Max said and Mitch didn't know
whether to be grateful or angry.

“
And?” The silence
stretched before them and he ached for Lainy. What had he done
wrong?

“
Lainy's previous
relationships were disasters and left scars. She won’t tell us
about them, but we know that much. I think she thought she’d remain
single. And then she takes in your dog and sends you an e-mail, a
medium with which she's comfortable, and she opens up to you like
she hasn’t since college.” Max nodded as though to himself before
he continued.

“
Of course you fell in love
with her. Which, by the way, you didn't tell her. What's not to
love about her? The same could be said for you, too, from her
perspective.” Max skipped a stone across the surface. “But it’s too
soon for her. She’s still getting used to the idea.”

Mitch gaped at him.

“
Yeah. Which is weird since
she’s grown up in this family. You grew up without a family, but
you're brave and strong and smart, and you learned how to love this
past year. Lainy hasn’t caught up yet, even though she had the
advantage of growing up a Morrison.” Max shoved his hands into his
pockets.

Lainy’s brother stopped and
looked out over the lake before he continued. “Now, don't get me
wrong, I think you're exactly what she needs. I believe the two of
you were made for each other, but I also think you're going to have
to
show
Lainy. Or
at least get through to her in a way she's comfortable.

“
And person to person
probably isn't that method right now. She's just come to know you
as a real person for the last three weeks. But you're ready to
settle down, so you began the process.” Max skipped another pebble
across the lake before he continued. “While you know how you feel
and where you stand, you've got to convince Lainy. She’s seeing a
huge risk with no guarantees. And that's scary.”

“
That's right,” Mitch said,
not certain he followed Max's reasoning. Yet the man made sense.
Her other boyfriends had taken everything, but given nothing.
He
hadn’t
told her
he loved her.