Chapter 10
Frank watchedthe rest of the show with his arm wrapped tight around Grace. When it ended, she had to disappear for a minute to confirm with Heather that the guy would be back the next night for the wedding guests, and then she was all his.
He took her hand and led her out the side door, away from the crush of campers returning to either the main lodge for more partying or the cabins beyond.
“Let’s take the long way around,” he said, squeezing her fingers gently. “It’ll take a bit longer, but we won’t have company on the walk back.”
“Now that you’re famous for staring down a magician, that’s a smart choice,” she teased.
“You liked that?”
“I loved it. I was worried at first, though. I’m sorry for giving you away.”
He laughed gently. “It’s fine. Really. I don’t mind.”
She stopped and reached up, touching his neck. “Your neck turned red. I thought you were embarrassed.”
“Oh, my sweet wildflower, I don’t embarrassthateasily.” He caught her hand and kissed her fingertips. “Can I tell you something personal?”
“Of course.”
“Bianca used to notice the neck thing, too. It usually means I’m happy. Sometimes it’s a tell if I know I’m going to be good at something.”
Her mouth dropped open and her eyes sparkled. “Really?”
“Yep.” He set his mouth, trying hard not to smile back. He failed.
“That’s kind of neat. And here I took you for an introvert.”
“Like you?”
Her mouth quirked to the side. “You figured that out, huh?”
“Kind of obvious. But no, thirty-seven years as a career officer in the United States Navy. Any natural introverted tendencies I may have once had have been drummed out of me.”
“I guess so.”
“I don’t like people right now because I’m—” He cut himself off. He’d been about to say he wasn’t happy, but that wasn’t exactly true. “Because I spent a long time stuck in grief. And terribly unhappy.”
“Of course, you did. I remember—and I’m not saying it’s the same, at all—but after my divorce, I went through a grieving process of my own. It lasted foryears. I probably should have gone to counselling or something, but instead I poured myself into planting fields of lavender.”
“That sounds like pretty good therapy to me.”
She smiled, and he realized with a start he was hoping she might invite him to her farm.
Instead, she turned and started walking again, tugging him along. Fair enough. They hadn’t talked about anything beyond camp. And really, they hadn’t talked about camp itself. They’d simply gravitated toward each other and now he couldn’t imagine not seeing her again after the wedding.
But maybe that was a problem for tomorrow.
Tonight, he wanted to make her feel good.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked, glancing at him sideways.
“The future,” he said simply.
“Post-retirement?”
“I guess so.”
