“I hadn’t thought about that. Yes it’ll have to be tomorrow then. Still I am sure we will find plenty to do around here.” He arched his eyebrows playfully and I smacked his bottom in reply as we both went our separate ways. It was nice having the cabin to ourselves without Rafe and Eve dropping their clothes everywhere.
As I turned on the hot water and shimmied out of my clothing I had time to think about all that happened this past weekend. Was this really happening? Was the guy I made love to this morning the real Bullet? I sure hoped so. I was running out of second chances to give him. This would absolutely be the last one. If he couldn’t behave himself then I would have to say no to continue our relationship—or whatever this was. For now, I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, he did open up to me and share some painful parts of his life. I couldn’t believe how similar our pasts were and even more so, how differently we handled grief and personal tragedy. He was showing me that he could be a real man, a real guy, not just a caricature of himself. As I soaped up my body and stood under the hot water, I had to admit that I was conflicted. My brain, heart and other parts of my body were not in agreement at all on the topic of Bullet. For the moment, I was listening to my heart. It was hard to do — I barely trusted it and yet I did plan to trust it one more time. I wondered what his intentions were. I guess only time would tell.
I stepped out of the shower and wrapped my hair in a towel. I dried off my body and reached for my silky, black robe. I loved this luxurious garment. What a thoughtful gift! With my phone in hand I sat on the edge of the bed. A few emails and a couple of pings on my social media sites but nothing else, not even a voicemail. I thought about calling Kate but there was so much to tell I knew we would be in for an hour-long conversation and I did not have that kind of time to invest right now. Instead, I tapped in a text message. What a weekend! Chased by a bear — not kidding. I’m okay, spending a few more days with B. TTYS I quickly added, PS don’t get married without me! Love, Lilly
I waited a few minutes to see if she would respond, but as usual, nothing. It was Sunday and it was kind of early for Kate to be up and about. I imagined she was still snuggling with her man, Riley. I wondered how that was going. 15 minutes later, I was dressed in a fresh pair of blue jeans and a fitted, long-sleeved T-shirt. I slipped socks on my feet to keep them warm but didn’t bother putting on any shoes. I suspected we would be hanging around the cabin today but I was not sure what Bullet had in mind. I guess I would find out.
I was not surprised to see I was the first one downstairs. Bullet had major shifts in his schedule to contend with. I wasn’t convinced that all of his clients would be as happy about his impromptu vacation as he was. However, I had spoken with Page before, and she was both efficient and dedicated. I was sure she could handle it. Curiously, I opened the refrigerator looking for something to cook for a late breakfast. I found everything I needed to make some ham and cheese omelets. I may not be the best cook on the planet but I could cook a mean omelet.
I melted butter on the stove and prepped the cheese and ham. The eggs were ready to go and about the time the first omelet was completed, my cabin mate walked into the kitchen with his phone to his ear. He had also put on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. I was happy to see him looking so relaxed and casual. “Yes, yes. Tell her we can do that. Wednesday works fine for me,” he looked over my shoulder appreciatively and gave me a thumbs up. “Did we receive the blood work back from last week? Right, Pendleton and Henson — those two. Well if they can’t speed it up we will have to find another lab. Will you stress that to them when you talk to them again? Yep. Let me grab a piece of paper and pen.” Bullet searched his kitchen looking for a notepad. I remembered seeing one by the refrigerator and pointed to it. He wrote down a phone number and promised Page to call a client who had some questions about an upcoming procedure.
I scooped the omelet out of the pan and slid it onto a plate. We had not used the dining room very much on our trip so I thought it would be a nice treat this morning. I set the table as Bullet stepped out of the room to make his phone call. I understood the need for privacy and respected him for it. I took the orange juice out of the refrigerator placed it on the table — Andre was such a thoughtful chef. I wondered if he had squeezed this juice himself. I didn’t stand on ceremony, I was starving. I dug in, enjoying the buttery flavor of the omelet. I felt like I had not
eaten in a month!
“Sorry about that. I think everything is squared away now. Wow, this looks great. Thank you.”
I poured myself some juice and offered him some too. “No problem but I have to admit this is about the extent of my culinary skills. Unless you want omelets morning, noon and night, you better plan to cook the next meal.”
He took a big bite. “Mmm…delicious, I could eat these three times a day.”
I frowned at him. “Okay now, total honesty from this moment forward. Even I know my omelets aren’t that great.”
He chuckled at first but then gave me a serious stare. “So, totally honest, from this point on?”
I blushed knowing that I had probably embarrassed him. I did not mean to keep dragging up the past. I knew he had lied to me about a few things and I was willing to let that go. I had not intended to bring it up again, if that was what he was thinking. “I was just making a joke. I’m not asking for commitment — I promise.”
“What if I told you I was willing to try to be totally honest with you? Could you handle that? I mean total honesty can be hard to hear.” He cut into his omelet and took another bite. “I don’t mean to clump you into the category of ‘most women’. But in my experience most women don’t want to hear the truth. Are you one of those women? I mean, if I were to be totally honest with you would you condemn me for it? Would you hate me?”
I put my fork down and wiped my face with a napkin. “Let me ask you this? When was the last time you were completely honest with a woman and I don’t mean your assistant, Page?”
To his credit, he thought about the question before he answered it. “Talk about hitting all the sore subjects — I guess that would have been about six years ago. That did not go so well.”
“Really? Was that the last time you were serious with someone?”
Bullet took a big swig of his orange juice. “Yeah, it was about that time. I am willing to be honest with you, Lilly but it won’t be easy and not because I want to lie to you. I have done a lot of things that I am ashamed of — you know, things you do not want anyone else to know about. I have been a man of the world and I have enjoyed it. Being honest with you could definitely put me in a bad light. Are you prepared to be shocked?”
With wide eyes and an incredulous look I asked, “After this weekend with Rafe and Eve? How much more could there be?”
Bullet leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. He lingered a few inches from my face and whispered in my ear. “That is just the beginning of who I have been. I don’t know why, but I care about what you think. Do not judge me too harshly.”
I smiled nervously at him. “I am a big girl — I think I can handle it. You know, you are not the only one with secrets. I might just shock you before this trip is over.”
With the throaty laugh Bullet said, “I bet you will. I look forward to it.” I knew exactly what he had in mind.
Chapter Six
Bullet
We walked along the shore of Blue Lake. I threw rocks and tried my best to impress her by skipping them across the lake. It had been many years since I skipped rocks and my lack of skills was obvious. It took a bit of convincing to get her outside again. I assured her that the bear had been found and taken away and that the animal control folks assured us that no other bears were in the area. “Besides, that was quite a ways into the woods; they don’t come to the shore of the lake, at least not that I have ever seen.” In the end, I had to promise to bring my pistol so I did.
A crisp breeze blew off of the lake. I thought about taking the boat out again but it would be kind of chilly out on the open water. Plus I wanted Lilly to forget about our recent trip to Taylors Island. Those two were ridiculous. I was glad they were gone. “So what shall we do since we can’t go into town until tomorrow? Did you happen to bring your violin?”
She laughed — it was a pretty sound from a pretty woman. Her wild blonde waves tossed around in the wind. Her small nose and cheeks were pink from the fresh air. I was glad to be here with her and a little surprised that she was still here. So what did that say about her? Don’t be so damn negative, Bullet!
“Have you ever heard of truth or dare?” She slid her arm through mine as we walked along the sand.
I looked down at her puzzled. “You mean a kids game? Sure, I think I have heard of it. What did you have in mind?”