“For me,
too,” he assured her.
Tilting her head, she studied his expression. “You really enjoyed the charity thing? Some people might have thought it was a little cheesy. You know, casino games and karaoke.”
“Like your old buddy Pete?” He chuckled. “The guy looked like he’d rather be just about anywhere else, but was putting on a good face for some reason.”
“For career reasons,” she informed him. “Pete is all about the networking.”
“Well, I thought it was fun. Your friends did a great job putting it all together, and I’m sure they made a tidy sum for the charity.”
“And,” she reminded him with a grin, “I paid off my debt. Next challenge we make, I expect to win.”
“You’re on.”
She reached for the doorknob, knowing if she didn’t leave now, she would be too tempted to stay.
He followed her to stand in the open doorway when she stepped out onto the porch. At this late hour, the area was mostly quiet—partially because resort rules required courtesy to other guests after 10:00 p.m. The sounds of only a few voices and car engines drifted their way over the frogs, insects, lapping water and other familiar outdoor night noises.
“There was one thing Pete did seem to appreciate tonight.” Though he spoke quietly, lightly, he didn’t seem particularly amused. “He couldn’t take his eyes off you.”
She laughed skeptically. “Even if that was true, it would probably be because he didn’t expect to see me there, especially with you.”
Knowing Pete, he would wonder what Aaron saw in her—or if Aaron, too, considered her to be a great “pal” with whom to spend a pleasant evening.
“More likely because he was wishing you were there with him instead of me.”
Aaron’s rather grumpy comment made her raise her eyebrows. If she didn’t know better, she would think he actually sounded a little jealous. Which, of course, was ridiculous.
“Save the performance for the family,” she teased him. She wanted to make it very clear that she wasn’t expecting anything after their lovemaking tonight. From the start, it had been important to her to hold on to her pride during this...whatever it was between them. “You can flirt with me in front of them tomorrow, and I’ll be suitably flattered. And then when I eventually, very politely and somewhat regretfully dash your hopes, they’ll be even more convinced that I’m not trying desperately to catch a man.”
Though his answering smile looked a little forced, she told herself she’d struck the right note. If Aaron was worried that she would make it awkward for him to leave when he decided it was time, she wanted to reassure him she would not. Just as Andrew had driven away with a friendly, standing invitation to return any time he liked, she wanted Aaron to always feel welcome here. By all of them. If she had a few pangs about wishing things were different, that he could be more than a long-distance friend who popped in and out of her life occasionally—well, no one needed to know that. Especially him.
Both of them jumped when a car door slammed unexpectedly in the next driveway. Shelby hadn’t seen anyone get into the vehicle, but she’d been looking at Aaron. She doubted that he’d gotten a look at the driver, either, before the car backed out of the drive and sped away faster than the posted resort speed limits would have sanctioned. She looked at the front door of Cabin Seven, thinking she might see Terrence Landon, but the door was closed. There was no way to know if he’d seen her and Aaron.
She glanced at Aaron, who gave her a wry shrug, which she returned. Getting into her own car more quietly than the other driver, she made the very short drive home, noting in relief that all the windows were darkened in the family houses she passed. It wasn’t that she owed any explanations for where she’d been or what she’d done, but some things just needed to remain private. Privacy was in short supply here in the family compound, she thought wryly. It was something she’d accepted when she’d made the decision that she wanted to work in the family business. Maybe someday she would get a place outside the resort and drive in to work every day, as Hannah had done when she’d been married to the evil ex, but for now Shelby was content where she was. Even if she had to sneak into her trailer at nearly 1:00 a.m. just to avoid those knowing looks tomorrow, she thought, doing just that.
She didn’t expect to get much sleep that night, but she didn’t mind. She would be quite content to lie nestled in her bed, the extra pillow cuddled in her arms, a blissful smile on her face as she drifted in replays of the most perfect night of her life. No thoughts of the past or future allowed, just a mental replay of every touch, every kiss, every husky groan. Even if she never had the pleasure of making love with Aaron again, she would commit each one of those precious moments to her memory.
* * *
Aaron was half surprised that he didn’t smash his thumb with a hammer sometime before lunch on Saturday. As experienced as he was at laying shingles and driving nails, his inability to direct his entire attention to the task put his digits at risk more than once. Fortunately, he was able to hide his concentration issues from his boss for the day. Bryan Bell seemed satisfied with Aaron’s work as the morning progressed.
The roof decking was in good shape, so the prep work went fairly quickly. Cabins One, Two and Three were all standard truss-roof construction, which were easier to reshingle than the A-frames closer to the lake. When Aaron offered initially to be the one climbing around on the roof, Bryan set him straight quickly enough. “I’m fifty-three, boy, not a hundred,” he said flatly. “We just got Dad to quit climbing up on roofs last year, when he turned eighty.”
Aaron smiled apologetically. “I wasn’t implying that you were too old to be up here. Just volunteering to do the grunt work.”
Bryan dropped a heavy bundle of asphalt shingles on the roof and pulled his hammer out of his tool belt. “I’ve been doing grunt work around here since the place opened when I was in junior high. Never wanted to do anything else.”
Nodding, Aaron ripped the wrapping off the shingles and got to work, trying to focus on anything other than his complicated feelings about Shelby. It helped that he and Bryan talked easily while they worked, mostly about fishing and hunting in east Texas, two of Bryan’s favorite hobbies. The resort was busy on this nice Saturday, and the sounds of voices, cars and boat motors underlay their conversation, but Cabin Two was in a somewhat secluded spot across from the motel, not on the water, so they were able to work in relative privacy. From the rooftop Aaron had a good view of the pool and the fishing pier, both of which were popular that morning.
Bryan didn’t bring up Shelby’s name, nor did Aaron, even though she was never far from his thoughts. He kept mentally replaying her cheery comments about her plan to “politely” and “somewhat regretfully” shoot him down to convince her family she wasn’t looking for a man. He’d tried for the rest of the night to convince himself that he was relieved she felt that way, that he certainly wasn’t on the market for anything more, himself, that he’d be a fool not to appreciate the no-strings-attached vacation fling Shelby seemed to be offering. Exactly what he wanted. Right?
Which didn’t explain why he’d punched his pillow a few times during the night as if blaming it for his inability to sleep.
It was just after one o’clock that afternoon when Bryan looked toward the main road and grunted. “That’s Lori’s car. Looks like she’s just getting home from last night. She tells her folks she’s staying with friends from college, but...” He shrugged.
Because he was pretty sure he knew exactly whom Lori had spent the night with, Aaron kept his mouth shut.