He let go of her hand and cupped the side of her jaw, while his other hand pressed against her back to hold her close. Not that she wanted to go anywhere. Her entire world was the warmth of his hands and the hunger in his kiss.
A breeze kicked up suddenly, and the amount of mist it brought their way was like a cold shower from Mother Nature. They broke apart, and Rob chuckled as he wiped the wetness from her cheeks.
“It’s still a little chilly to get wet,” he said, and when she nodded, he made his way back across the rocks.
This time, when he took her hand to help her across, he didn’t let it go. They retraced their steps down the path, at a little less leisurely of a pace this time because the wind was cold.
And they were both quiet. Hannah thought it was an easy silence, but she couldn’t help but wonder if he was thinking the same thing she was.What does this mean? What comes next?
She told herself to relax and enjoy the moment. She’d shared a first kiss with the first guy she’d liked in a very long time in what had to be one of the most romantic spots in the state. Tomorrow would be a good day to worry about tomorrow.
They were almost back to the truck when his phone chimed, and it was in the pocket he could reach with his free hand, so he pulled it out. Hannah didn’t get more than a glimpse of the text message—and that was an accident, since she tried not to be nosy like that—but she saw that it was from Brian.
And she also saw her name.
Rob made a low growling sound and shoved the phone back in his pocket without replying. “Work stuff.”
“Involving me?” she asked, and he sighed. “I wasn’t trying to look, but I did catch my name on the screen.”
“He wants me to come back and help him with something. Where your name came in was the added not-so-subtle reminder that I’m not supposed tofraternizewith the campers,” he said, complete with half a set of air quotes, since he still hadn’t let go of her hand.
“Then we should probably keep this little field trip to ourselves,” she said.
“Pretty sure that ship sailed when I drove out of the campground with you in the passenger seat.” He squeezed her hand. “But they don’t need to know everything.”
Yet, she thought. They didn’t need to know everythingyet. She suspected it wasn’t easy to keep secrets in the Kowalski family.
Chapter Thirteen
Rob hadn’t brought his camera when he and Hannah visited the waterfall almost a week ago. He kept a small, cheap digital camera in the truck’s console storage compartment, but he hadn’t wanted to focus on anything but her in that moment.
But not having photographs didn’t stop a slideshow of memories from playing through his mind. When he was working. When he should have been sleeping. Anddefinitelywhen he was showering. No matter what he was doing, the memory of kissing her played on repeat in his head.
Brian and Stella had been outside when they’d pulled back into the campground, so all he could do was tell Hannah he hoped she’d enjoyed visiting the waterfall, and she’d smiled and thanked him.
“We’re giving tours to the campers now?” Brian had asked with an edge in his voice.
“It’s a cool spot. I thought she’d like it. And she did.”
“Maybe some of the other campers new to the area would also like to see it.”
“Then I’ll take them, too,” Rob snapped, and that had been the end of the discussion—for the time being.
But now it was Friday and he hadn’t really had a moment alone with her since they got back. And to make it worse, he wasn’t sure how to make that happen. There was very little privacy in the campground, and every time he turned around, it seemed as if Brian was watching him. And Joey had shown up yesterday to spend a few days helping out as they welcomed transient campers for the long weekend that kicked off the summer season. Rob welcomed another set of hands, but now he had to share the bedroomandhe had two brothers watching him like he was a teenager about to sneak out his window in the middle of the night.
“You look pissed,” Brian said, breaking into his thoughts.
They were in the living room, taking a breather before the campers who’d had to work a full day or got stuck in city traffic straggled in. The day had been chaotic and they probably would have been too tired to eat if they hadn’t been smart and thrown chili makings in the Crock-Pot first thing that morning.
“It’s been a long day and it’s not over yet,” Rob said, not wanting to get into how annoyed he was with them.
“Definitely been a long day.”
The seasonal campers, once they were set up for the summer, were pretty low-maintenance. They occasionally needed propane or firewood or conversation, but for the most part, they kept to themselves.
Having weekenders coming in was an entirely different ball game. They all had to be checked in and told the rules of not only the campground, but also the ATV trail system. Because the dirt roads through the campground were barely more than a lane wide and turning around could be a problem, Brian guided many of them to their sites. And then came requests for ice and firewood, and they’d already sold a set of tent pegs to a guy who’d told his wife four times that yes, he’d remembered to pack the tent pegs.
“But you don’t look tired,” Brian insisted. “You look pissed.”
