"I figured I owed you for last night," I said, linking my fingers through hers so I could drag her to the waiting blanket and picnic basket perched on top of it. "This way we can knock two of those items off that list you have," I added as she looked completely transfixed by the lanterns.
"Two?" she asked with a catch in her voice.
"A canoe ride beneath the stars," I answered, pointing to the aluminum canoe I'd finally been able to track down. "I'm hoping the clouds will give us a break," I added wryly.
"This is too much," Ashton said, not looking ecstatic like I had pictured she would be.
"What do you mean, sweetheart?" I asked, placing my hands on her shoulders.
She shrugged them off. "This," she said, pointing to the picnic. "And that," she added, pointing to the canoe.
"Why is it too much?" I asked confused. Sure, I might have gone a little overboard for this date, but the end result would make it all worth it. Somewhere between deciding not to turn her over to my client right away, and making her mine, I decided I wanted to get to know her better. I wanted to know why she had run. I had to know why her eyes occasionally clouded over with hopelessness, and what lurked behind the passion that flared up in those same eyes. She was like a rare treasure that begged to be discovered and explored.
"Because, we're not a couple," she said. "We're not even lovers yet," she added through gritted teeth before turning and stalking off for the vehicle.
"Hey, wait. I know we're not," I said, snagging her hand after she'd only taken a few steps. "But that doesn't mean we can't get to know each other and enjoy the time we have together," I said, cupping her face with my hands. "I just want to enhance what we have going on here."
"You're trying to make me fall in love with you," she said with trembling lips. She looked as if she was fighting back tears.
"I've already been down the heartbreak route, and have no plans to travel it ever again, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to enjoy what we have going on here. You yourself have to admit that the connection between us is more than lust," I said, pulling her closer. "I say let's explore it and just enjoy it. There's no reason we need to rush any of this. We can let the anticipation build up before we finally let it crash over us. I've taken the next few weeks off from work. Spend them with me," I pleaded.
"This was supposed to be just an affair," she said, her eyes shining brightly with unshed tears.
"And that's what it will be. That doesn't mean we can't have fun discovering each other along the way."
"What if you fall in love with me?"
"You keep asking that. Trust me on this. My heart is too hardened to ever love again," I said, running my hand up the side of her face. Pulling her close, I placed my lips to hers, probing with my tongue until she opened her mouth fully. Our lips caressed each other until the rigidness in her arms disappeared and she melted against me. "Tell me you'll spend the next few weeks with me," I said, pulling back despite her protests.
Her answer was a small nod before she brought my mouth back to hers.
Chapter 13: Caught in the rain
Ashton
I was a goner. I knew it the moment we pulled into the clearing and I saw what he had done. Unintentionally or not, he was slowly chipping away at my resolve to treat our relationship casually. It was if he saw through my carefree facade where I contemplated one-night stands and treated affairs like I was ordering dessert. Somehow he had figured out I wasn't that kind of person. He was offering to take it slow, and obviously planned on wooing me if the scene before me was any indication. It was like a fairytale. What girl didn't dream about a candle-filled evening with a man who made your pulse race and your heart skip a beat? The problem was I shouldn't want any of it. More accurately, I shouldn't be allowed to want it. I tried to leave, but somehow, standing in Nathan's arms with him begging me to stay with him for a few weeks crumbled my resolve.
"Let's eat," Nathan finally said, breaking the kiss.
"Okay," I answered, letting him lead me to the heavy quilt that was stretched on the ground in front of us. I sat down and watched as he unpacked the large picnic basket, doing my best to hide my surprise when each new item he pulled from the basket seemed to be a favorite of mine. There were chocolate-covered strawberries from Haley's Delectable Eats bakery, several varieties of cheeses and crackers, artichoke dip and pita slices and a bottle of my favorite wine.
"You did your homework," I said, trying for blasé. I didn't want to admit what his attention to detail meant to me.
"I may have had help," he chuckled, popping the cork off the wine and pouring me a glass.
"I suspected as much," I said, sweeping my eyes around. "Tressa?"
"That would be the one. She jumped at the chance to help me out."
"I bet she did," I said, smirking at him.
He laughed. "She's a character, for sure. I don't think she has a shy bone in her body. I got the whole lowdown on her ex and the new guy she's going out with this weekend," he said wryly, shoving a cracker in his mouth.
I laughed. "Yeah, Tressa's not shy by a long shot. And her ex is a total douche," I added.
"He sounds like it, and his mom doesn't sound like much of a winner either. I'm not sure what I would have done at his age if my mom tried to cockblock me," he said just as I was taking a sip of wine. His words made the wine go down the wrong tube and I choked, nearly covering him in a combination of wine and spit.
Nathan pounded me on the back as I coughed like an eighty-year-old smoker. "Not cool to say something like that when I'm trying to drink," I chastised in between coughs. "You gotta give a person warning."