She did as she was told. Relief soaked through her as her soggy tennis shoes found the bottom of the lake.
He kept his arm around her shoulders as they stumbled to the rocky beach. “You don’t do things halfway, do you?”
She lifted her chin so their gazes met.
Concern filled his eyes. “You okay?” William slid a hand against her neck and pulled her forehead against his shoulder.
Oh heavens, this was nice. Too nice. “If I say yes, will you let go?”
He chuckled. “Not a chance.”
…
Lucy glanced up from the lunch she was unloading from the room service tray when the door to the cabin opened.
William stalked through. He scowled at the floor but didn’t say a word.
“You okay?” he finally asked, gruffer than usual. “From the lake.”
“I am.” Aside from the present hot flash thanks to his abdominal muscles currently on display.
He snagged his sandwich and leaned against the counter, his gaze focused on his bare feet. Five huge bites with very little chewing, and he finished. He tossed the plate in the sink, crossed his arms, and glared into space.
“Hey, if it cost money for the boat thing, I’ll pay for—” she started.
He pulled a small box from his pocket. She barely caught it when he tossed it to her. A gasp escaped her lips when she recognized the logo on the box as a prescription medication for erectile dysfunction.
“Why?” she asked.
“That’s my question.” His eyes were blank.
“What are you talking about?” she asked, breathier then she intended. Damn, but she already knew. Sarah. Rebecca. They got to him.
“Max caught me up at the lodge. Explained he’s a special kind of doctor. The kind that works with men who have particular issues.” He made air quotes at the last word as Rebecca had in therapy.
Lucy smacked a hand to her mouth.
“Seems his wife told him about our problems in the bedroom and asked him to help us out. Would you like to explain why you gave me syphilis?”
Uh-oh. Lucy took a deep breath and whispered through her fingers. “You weren’t supposed to know.”
“You give a guy an STD, he’s gonna find out.” His stony expression added to the shame piling up inside her.
She scooted backward, stopping when her legs hit the dining table. “Hang on. I didn’t give you anything.”
“Right,” he clipped. “You never told Sarahand our therapistthat I can’t get it up?”
“Well, now, the thing is…” She swallowed the lump of regret forming in her throat and licked at her lips. “I did kind of do that. It’s not what you think, though.”
He rubbed a hand over his hair.
“Ten days.” That muscle directly under his jaw twitched. “In ten days, there will be an announcement about my takeover of Crestone. Ten days, and this will be regional news. Crestone is a multi-million-dollar company, so it could even be national news. The last thing I need is for some yahoo to want his shot at fifteen minutes and announce that I have venereal disease. Which. I. Do. Not. Have.”
“Max is a doctor. He can’t say anything.”
“Technically, he’s not my doctor. Nothing prevents him from blabbing.”
Oh.
