Chapter Four
By the timeCaleb caught up with Leah, she’d made it past the tennis courts and nearly to the boathouse. He started to speak, but thought better of it. He could tell by the look in her eyes a few minutes ago that she’d been caught off guard by what had passed between them back in the gazebo.
Hell,he’dbeen caught off guard. After Leah revealed that she was no longer engaged, Caleb had decided to test out whether the attraction he’d felt this past year could possibly be mutual. He hadn’t expected it to be returned with such force. Whatever had passed between them back in the gazebo had been too strong to ignore.
But he wouldn’t bring it up just yet. He knew better than to push her into acknowledging anything she wasn’t ready to see. They had the entire weekend together. He would take this slow.
They arrived at the clearing where tonight’s mixer was being held. A huge fire pit sat in the middle of the grounds, surrounded by groupings of handsome Adirondack chairs with plush cushions. They added the same touch of opulence that was evident in the main dining hall.
Caleb recognized most of the couples milling about from this morning’s welcoming session. Thankfully, Marcy and Mark, who’d joined them at lunch, were already deep in conversation with another group. He didn’t have anything against the husband and wife, but they were so sugary sweet he was afraid he’d get diabetes if he hung around them for too long.
Instead of claiming one of the empty seats, he tipped his head to the fire pit. “It’s a marshmallow roast. I guess that means we should roast marshmallows.”
“I guess so,” Leah said. The small smile she sent his way didn’t reach her eyes. Yeah, she’d been spooked by that surge of attraction that had passed through them earlier.
They went over to the pit and Caleb lifted two metal skewers from a tall, slender, galvanized bucket. He stuck a jumbo size marshmallow on the end of each skewer and handed one to Leah.
“This is a treat,” she said. “I’ve never done this before.”
“Roasted marshmallows? My childhood was made of stuff like this,” he said.
“I didn’t realize roasting marshmallows was such a huge thing in D.C.”
“Nah, not in D.C. I spent my summers down in rural Georgia with my grandparents,” Caleb explained. “My older brother and I would go camping in their backyard all the time. We’d roast marshmallows while my uncle Leroy did his best to scare the shit out of us with his ghost stories.”
Leah burst out laughing. “Somehow I just can’t picture you being afraid of ghosts.”
“Believe it. I was a total scaredy cat, and not just of ghost stories,” he said. “But I hated admitting that I was afraid of anything, so I’d make myself do whatever I had to do to get over the fear. That wasn’t always the smartest thing either,” he said, wiggling his right arm. “Broke this when I was eight years old, trying to prove to my cousins that I wasn’t afraid of heights. Fell right off the roof of the chicken coop.”
She laughed so much that tears started to form in the corners of her eyes. “It sounds like you grew up more of a country boy than a city boy,” Leah said. “Now I understand why you were so upset about your friends bailing on you this weekend. You’re overdue for some outside adventure time.”
“Long overdue,” Caleb agreed. “I don’t get to do this kind of stuff nearly as much as I’d like to. I just wish I could make it down to Georgia more often. It’s beautiful there. Give me a clear night, and I’m satisfied. I’d just lay back on the grass and stare up at the stars. They’re so brilliant and bright. Nothing compares to it.”
“It sounds lovely,” Leah said. “I’ve lived in the city my entire life. I’ve never experienced anything like that.”
Caleb reached over and swiped his thumb along the edge of her mouth, wiping away a piece of marshmallow. “I’ll add that to the list.”
Her eyes followed his hand as he sucked the marshmallow off his thumb.
“What list?” she asked, her voice low. Husky.
“The list of experiences I plan to show you.”
Her brows rose. “What type of things are you putting on this list?”
“Everything you’ve wanted to do but haven’t because of your ex-boyfriend.”
“It’s not all Derrick’s fault,” she said.
Caleb put a finger over her lips. “Shhh,” he whispered. “I’m instituting a new rule for the weekend. No more mentions of the ex’s name. Unless you call him Mr. Lexus.”
He felt her lips curve into a smile.
God, what he wouldn’t give to kiss her right now. What he wouldn’t give to skip over this part where he had to suss out her feelings and take things slow. He wanted to jump right into it. He wanted to make her his.
A tinning sound rang out around the clearing. Caleb turned to find Geoff hitting his ring against a wine glass. He and his wife stood next to a table that held several ice buckets brimming with bottles of wine.
“We hope everyone is having a great time so far,” Geoff started. “As Katherine explained in this afternoon’s short orientation, today is all about getting to know your fellow couples here at this weekend’s retreat. We encourage you all to mingle. Some of you have attended our retreats before. Share your experiences and why you felt the desire to return. Tomorrow, we will start to get into the nitty gritty of Relationship Excavation 101.” He smiled. “By the way, Katherine deserves the credit for the title of this weekend’s retreat.”
