We don’t need to get into the weeds of my developing feelings. “Semantics, but yeah.”
She scoots closer. “I can be there when you need me, need to be seen, and what? On your arm?”
“On my arm, at events. Are you okay being the target of long lens cameras and being asked ridiculous questions that will sound insultingly personal?”
Pushing up on her hands, she kisses me. It’s too fast for my liking, but she instigated it, so I’ll take it. “Can I say no comment?”
“It’s best if you do.”
She grins. “Then I accept the job.”
“And the offer?”
Laughing, she playfully shoves my shoulder. “I’m not doing this for fun, you know.”
And therein lies the problem. Like she said, with good comes the reverse. I just traded a chance for a real relationship for one that’s made for public consumption.
I was never the prize. It was always the cottage. I shouldn’t be so surprised, then. I don’t think it’s a shock, though. I think it’s disappointment. Is this what heartache feels like? The connection I have . . . had with her opened my eyes to the possibility of dating.
Just like the sun setting before we could watch it, the potential for love slipped through my fingers before I got to hold on to it.Now, it’s gone.
CHAPTER 15
SUMMER
All was not lost even though we missed the sunset. “There will be more sunsets,” I say, sitting on the lawn, watching Spring push Roman on the swing.
We had a momentary break for grilled chicken and corn on the cob for dinner that he and Daniel devoured before Roman wanted to swing again—higher and higher by request. But Dolly insisted that we first go on what she calls a “digestion walk.” Fall even caught up to the group after a long shift at the hospital.
It’s hard for my sisters to coordinate their schedules and be in one place at the same time, so it was nice for Fall to show up in time to meet Daniel and Roman. And so tempting to pull her aside to share the details of the agreement. If I’m going to be photographed, I’ll need to warn them anyway. The words didn’t come when I needed them to, and where no one else would hear. If I voice it, it makes the situation real. And I think another night to sleep on it will do me some good.
We reached the marina at the edge of town, walking the docks, and having a quick chat with a friend coming off hisboat before turning back. Now, settled under the moonlight in the backyard watching the lightning bugs and the stars come out, I lean forward to peek over at Daniel sitting on the other side of Dolly. She plonked her chair in the middle of us for some unknown reason. That’s what we get for trying to pretend nothing is going on between us. I would rather be in his lap than in the grass, but so much has happened that it’s probably best that we keep it low-key for now. “I said there will be more sunsets,” I say louder as if he didn’t hear me the first time.
“Gracious. What in blazes are you shouting about sunsets for, honey?” Dolly grips the arms of her chair like she needs them to ground her after jumping out of her skin.
Daniel’s chuckling before his eyes meet mine. “There will be. Every night, technically.”
“I didn’t know if Daniel heard me.”
“Who didn’t hear you? I’m sure Mr. Taylor and Mrs. Browley up the road heard you.” Patting her chest, she sits back, muttering, “About gave me a heart attack.”
I think that’s my cue to get ready for bed. With Daniel being in the room, I need to get a head start anyway. Standing up, I dust the back of my shorts off. “I’m going in. It’s almost ten, and I want to do a face mask.”
Daniel appears to be working through my words like they’re code for something else. I add, “It’s a jelly mask.” I’m not sure that helped pull him from the path his mind was already traveling like a bloodhound on the scent. “Peach.Vitamin C.” I shake my head. “Forget it. Night, everyone.”
A chorus of “night” and a giggle from Roman is heard before I trek upstairs. I kind of want to take a bath. It would feel so good after running around all day. I glance toward the window that overlooks the others and decide. “A quickie.”
After turning on the water in the bath, I strip down and twist my hair up again, this time higher so it doesn’t get wet. I pull a mask from my mask organizer and smooth it on before dipping one foot, then the other, and slowly sliding under the water. The water hits the peak before it spills over, so I turn it off, then rest back on the bath pillow and close my eyes so the mask can do its job, and I can relax.
My muscles give in under the warmth of the water, but my mind is still swimming around the agreement Daniel and I made. Have logic and good sense gone out the window? Am I desperate enough to be one-half of a public spectacle of a couple to buy the cottage?
Yes.
And yes.
I’m not seeing any other way to get enough money in time to fight the other offer. I can’t ask my sisters. They have their own lives and dreams to pay for. This is it. Daniel is the only option I have.
Beads of sweat form at my hairline as the heated water sinks into my skin. I’m surprised to see some bubbles remain. Clearly, I’ve not been in long enough if those haven’t disappeared. Closing my eyes again, the worries of money and broken pipes, and faking it for the cameras fade away. But the idea of being on Daniel’s arm stays. Like the first time I saw him, the memory has me biting my lip. Counting those abs has my hand shifting under the water and between my legs. My heart thumps as my body embraces the desire I have for him.
