The Kiss on Castle Road (A Lavender Island Novel) (16 page)

And that thought made her happy. She couldn’t remember ever just
liking
a guy she wasn’t sleeping with. It was oddly relaxing, not having to be strategic or play defense. Elliott was just a nice guy. Maybe the first sincerely nice guy she’d ever let herself get to know. And she liked him. And that was okay. And she was helping him.

And that’s all this would be.

Elliott flipped on the Bunsen burner, reached for the newest vials of blood Jim had given him that morning, then tried to focus on determining the nucleotide sequence of the capsid protein gene. He was so close to finding homology between these sea lion virus serotypes and some other animals that lived on the island. Thank God Saturdays were filled with volunteers at the center, so Jim had given him the freedom to work on his own projects all morning. He’d stayed up late last night studying the gene sequences of other native animals, and comparing them with what he’d found, and had woken that morning with a slight buzz of discovery.

Well, that and a slight buzz from the memory of touching Natalie Grant on a starlit mountaintop the other night, and pushing the tendrils of hair from her neck, and kissing her there, and hearing the slightest moan slip out from between her lips . . .

Today he was on fire. His thoughts were coming clearer; he was excited about his discoveries; he was feeling confident, and “pumped,” as she’d said when he’d discovered her on his run. It had been fun to see her. He hadn’t realized she lived so close. His usual shyness had been tinged with just enough confidence now from the brief moaning memory to keep him talking to her with a degree of comfort. And now it was as if his tiny success with her was electrifying him and causing him to live just five bulbs brighter. He’d never experienced anything like this—being so inspired by another human. He wondered if it might be what artists meant when they called on a muse.

Not that it was going any further than this. He knew that. And he needed to switch his thinking to Becky at some point today. But for now, with memories of Natalie on his mind, and excitement from knowing she was coming to the center today, he could enjoy being on fire.

He put the culture tubes he was prepping in a rack and inoculated each tube, then swung back to the lab’s side table and furiously typed out some notes onto his laptop.

“Sherm?” Jim’s voice came over his shoulder.

“Yeah?”

“You have guests.”

Normally Elliott would be irritated or frustrated by the interruption, but this time—knowing who the guests were—he felt a jolt of excitement.

“Give me ten,” he said over his shoulder.

He typed out the last of his notes and raced the samples to the incubator, his heart pounding with adrenaline.

Then he headed out to the front area to see his new little friend, Lily; the torturing sister he could relate to; and his new muse.

CHAPTER 14

Natalie held Lily’s left hand as the young girl hugged her Elsa doll in the right, and they both stood on the brick path with Paige, waiting for Elliott.

She knew this was an intel trip for Paige, who was ready to gather info on whether she was winning the bet or not. Paige had been pressing Natalie for details all morning about Elliott while Natalie was planting the gerbera daisies outside the back door, where they could be seen from the nursery window. Paige seemed to halfway believe the “just friends” explanation because Elliott was not Natalie’s type at all, but she kept peering at her closely and said Natalie had a “funny look” on her face.

Natalie didn’t know about the “funny look” part—it seemed embarrassing, really—but she did know she was absolutely
not
going to fail at a mancation. When she remembered her slip from the other night, though, and the shivers from Elliott’s instructional kiss, she realized she might have to make the rules explicit.

“So what exactly constitutes a loss, here?” she whispered over Lily’s head.

“
See?
I knew it! I won, didn’t I?”

“No. I’m not saying that. I just want to make things clear. A ‘mancation’ might imply a vacation from all men in general, but I mean it to include only men I’m dating. Dr. Sherman is a friend, not a love interest, but I
have
been spending time with him.”

Paige frowned, clearly unconvinced. The frown remained as she asked Lily if she wanted to go closer to one of the fenced pools. Then she marched back to Natalie.

“Okay, the bet is off if there’s a kiss,” Paige whispered.

Natalie sighed. That’s what she’d supposed. She’d better come clean. “Well, there
was
a kiss, but—”

“
See?
I
knew
it!”

“Two, to be honest.”

“Okay, I won.”

“Wait, wait. I can explain. He’s a friend, and he needed help, and a mutual friend of ours was instructing him on how to end a date.”

“He doesn’t know how to end a date?”

“He’s not very confident.”

“So you
kissed
him?”

“He kissed
me
. Under the Colonel’s instruction.”

“The Colonel?”

“He’s one of the senior citizens.”

Paige looked at her sideways. “A senior citizen was instructing him on how to kiss?”

“The Colonel was instructing him on how to end a date. He was saying, ‘If you’re not interested, do this’ and ‘If you’re interested, do this.’”

“And which did he seem to be?”

“He practiced both.”

Paige shook her head and stared at the baby fur seals’ cage for a minute. “So what was the second kiss?”

“Much of the same. Instructional. I just showed him the erogenous zones and let him kiss me on the neck as an example. It wasn’t a shared kiss.”

“
What?
Erogenous zones? Natalie, a shared kiss is a technicality at that point. Were there closed eyes? Heavy breathing?”

“Paige! Stop! No.”

Natalie tried not to think about the goose bumps she’d gotten, or the fact that she hadn’t stopped thinking about the kiss since it had happened, but she pushed those thoughts aside and reminded herself of the reality of the situation: “He’s going out with Becky Huffington, actually.”

“He’s going out with
Becky
? Olivia’s friend?”

“Yes. Now hush. Here he comes.”

Paige seemed vaguely mollified. Or maybe confused. Or something that made her close her mouth and peer at Elliott more carefully when he came down the path.

As soon as Lily saw Elliott, she lunged for his hand. “I brought Elsa to see Larry, Curly, and Moe!”

Elliott glanced at Paige and frowned in confusion. “Elsa?”

“Elsa!” Lily thrust the doll forward.

“Oh.” He laughed. “Well, I think Elsa will like meeting the sea lions.”

He motioned for Paige and Natalie, who followed behind him and Lily all the way up the path, Lily gripping his hand and talking the whole way.

Over the next hour, he showed Paige the feeding area, and Lily showed Paige how she made the formula. They went to the private pool where Larry, Curly, and Moe were, and Elliott let them all watch a volunteer named Theresa feed the pups. Eventually, Theresa got Lily into her own apron and gloves and let her help while Paige held on to Elsa for her near the pool.

Farther back along the fence, Elliott leaned next to Natalie. Her heart picked up just at the nearness of his lab-coated forearm, especially when she remembered how muscular it was under that material. She moved away slightly to preserve her sanity and dignity. And the bet.

“We never got to go over the last dating tips you were going to give me,” he said so they couldn’t be heard. Ahead of them, Lily took the baby bottle from Theresa and held it up.

“No, we didn’t,” Natalie whispered. “But you should do fine. Becky clearly likes you. And you have your antihistamines, right?”

He dropped his head and chuckled. “I do, yes.”

They watched Lily for another few minutes. Her face was lit up with the responsibility and wonder of healing the little sea lions. Suddenly, she turned and looked back at them over her shoulder. “Which one’s Larry?” she called to Elliott.

He pointed to a pup in the corner.

“How do you remember which one’s which, with nearly fifty pups in here? They all look the same,” Natalie said.

“You get to know them. They’re also marked, but Larry’s the biggest, so he’s easy to spot.”

“Thank you so much for doing this for her.”

“Not a problem. We like when rescuers follow up. I hope you’ll keep bringing her.”

The comment was a bit vague, but Natalie liked it that way. She pretended he meant he was glad that she herself had come.

“So. You never told me why you’re on a mancation,” he said suddenly.

The comment took her by surprise, and she wasn’t sure how to respond. She hadn’t told anyone. Not even Olivia or Paige. The low chain-link fence they were leaning against shook as she shifted uncomfortably and willed her stomach to stop knotting. “I’m not sure I’m ready to talk about that.”

Elliott turned and looked at her. She had the sensation of being under a microscope and tried to move away. The sea lions squawked quietly in the background, not strong enough for full barks yet.

Natalie played with the rings on her fingers as Elliott leaned down, as if to encourage eye contact. “Natalie, did someone
hurt
you?”

His voice was low, tolerant, comforting, indignant. It wrapped around her like a warm blanket, and she wanted to lean into it, or lean into him, and finally tell someone her story. His eyes searched her face as he waited for an answer. She glanced up once and met his gaze. It was so filled with understanding, so filled with compassion, so filled with invitation that she knew she could probably tell him anything right now and he’d listen.

But Paige looked back then, and Natalie remembered that she was supposed to be keeping a distance from Elliott. She could be friends with him, but leaning into the warmth seemed like a line she couldn’t cross. She didn’t even tell her sisters these kinds of things. Or her girlfriends. Or her mom. Somehow Elliott’s offer seemed dangerous—something she’d never allowed herself, and something that would change everything, maybe make her lose herself somehow. She took an additional step back.

“We should be going,” she blurted, stumbling just a bit and moving toward the fence opening. “Lily? Paige? Are you ready?”

Elliott dropped his head and stayed by the fence while Natalie and Paige helped Lily give back the gloves, apron, and bottle.

When they were all ready, Elliott ushered them through the next two stations that Larry, Curly, and Moe would be going through, then to the front of the center, where the barks of healthier sea lions filled the air.

“Thank you, Elliott.” Paige shook his hand. “You seem to be taking great care of the sea lions. And Lily when she visits. And my sister.” Paige winked at him.

Elliott’s gaze dropped to his shoes, but he smiled. “I hope you’ll all come back,” was all he said.

Natalie wanted to shove Paige through the gate. Didn’t she already explain that Elliott was seeing Becky Huffington? What was wrong with Paige? Was she just goading them now, wanting to win the bet that badly?

But Natalie tried to ignore the spirals of irritation going through her. She and Paige were always competitive, and that’s just how it would always be.

“Where are you and Becky going tonight?” she asked loudly, to remind Paige to mind her manners. She wrapped her arms around Lily.

“The Bars and Barks Event.”

“I’m going tonight, too!” Paige said. “And Natalie is. We’ll probably see you there.”

“I hadn’t decided, for sure . . .” Natalie injected.

With a new kind of discomfort swirling between her and Elliott right now, and his insightful guess to the reason for her mancation, she wasn’t sure she wanted to be so near him for an entire evening. And she definitely wasn’t sure she could watch him on another date. Especially one that would probably end with him leaving with Becky. And she definitely,
absolutely
,
wasn’t in the mood to have Paige staring her down all night, watching her every move.

“Don’t be silly!” Paige said, turning toward her. “You said your senior citizen friends were all expecting you there.”

Elliott was watching Natalie with what looked like sympathy.

“Elsa wants to leave,” said Lily suddenly, lifting the doll for proof.

Elliott laughed. “I’m sure she does.”

Natalie herded Lily through the front gate and wondered how she could get out of going tonight.

It was starting to feel like supreme protection for her heart.

Elliott ushered Becky through the packed Shore Thing bar, waving to several people this time.

The bar was decked out. Elliott had been to three of these events now, and he knew that when the seniors threw their Bars and Barks Events, they always pumped the 1940s music from any nearby jukebox or speakers, heavy on the trumpets and Tommy Dorsey.

This event had a clear USO theme going on, with army-khaki colors everywhere; festive red, white, and blue bunting along the walls; and star fabric covering the tables. Along one wall, a table had been set up with snacks in large tin cans, where guests could use “ration tickets” to get candy, popcorn, nuts, and Cracker Jack—a big part of the fund-raiser.

He handed his ticket to a young woman dressed in USO clothing and bought another one for Becky. The Andrews Sisters sang “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” from the jukebox, and Becky swiveled toward the back of the room to the jump-blues tunes.

George approached in a pointed army cap and suspenders and clapped Elliott on the back; Marie had on a USO-girl sharp suit with bright-red lipstick, and she came over and squeezed Elliott’s wrist; Doris, in 1940s roll-curls and lipstick that outdid Marie’s, rushed toward him and pulled his face down to kiss his cheek.

“This looks great,” he said. “Where’s the Colonel?”

“He’s the guest bartender for an hour,” Doris said.

“No kidding?” Elliott peered over everyone’s heads.

The Colonel would have to stand on a box or something to tend bar, but he did claim to make a mean cocktail. Through the crowd, Elliott caught sight of the neatly combed tuft of white hair. The Colonel was decked out in a service shirt, with medals hanging in colorful rows from his chest.

“Let’s order a martini,” he said to Becky.

Becky looked nice tonight. She hadn’t dressed for the theme, but she wore a sophisticated, flowing, white-pantsuit thing, with lots of necklaces. Elliott hadn’t sneezed once in her presence. He tried to stay as focused on her as possible, even though in the back of his mind he’d thought about work at least fifteen times already. Plus, he knew he was going to react all night to anyone of Natalie’s height and hair color that came into his peripheral vision.

He told himself to
focus
and steered Becky through the crowd to the bar.

Halfway there, Jim and Nell caught his attention from a corner booth with red, white, and blue carnations in the center and waved them over.

Elliott groaned. Nell had been too excited on the phone earlier that he had a second date with Becky. He didn’t want to come under interrogation from her, or too much pushing, but Becky had already spotted her and was shimmying over to the music.

“Hell-oooo! How
are
you two?” Nell asked.

“I thought you weren’t coming,” Elliott said.

“I found a babysitter, after all, at the last minute.”

“After a thirty-minute interrogation and rundown,” Jim added, winking.

“It was
not
an interrogation,” Nell said. “You just have to be careful these days.”

“I know, love. You’re a good protector.” Jim scooted farther back in the booth and slapped the seat next to him. “Have a seat, you two.”

Becky slid in next to Nell, and Elliott sat across from her. He didn’t really want to sit with Nell and Jim. He wanted to be free of Nell’s analysis of how he was doing on this date and just have a relaxed time. As relaxed as it could be anyway, with a bunch of sick sea lions in the center. But—on the other hand—Nell and Jim’s company might make the evening go by a little faster so he could study his notes tonight.