He shrugged, dropping his eyes to the ground a moment. “I had to go into town for a few things, but it’s such a nice day, I thought maybe I’d put together those chairs I bought last night and sit on the patio this afternoon.”
“Sounds nice. It is beautiful today, supposed to hit seventy-five. Can you believe it? In May?” Invite me. Invite me. Invite me.
He ran a hand over his short hair. “You mentioned wanting to see the cabin. I thought maybe—”
“I’d love to! Just give me one minute, OK?” Turning around, I went to unplug the sander when I panicked. I faced him again, my lower lip caught between my teeth. “Wait. You were going to ask me to come over, right?”
He laughed, his face lighting up. He looked so different when he smiled! “Yes. I was.”
“Whew. OK, good.” I put away the tools, and Sebastian helped me move the bookcase into the guest house, where I snuck away to quickly run a brush through my hair and rinse with mouthwash.
Not that I was planning on attackissing him again. But maybe he’d take the lead—I’d just do my best to let him know I was interested without being too forward.
“I like your house,” he said when I came out of the bathroom.
“Thanks. It’s my parents’ house, technically.” Recalling the conversation with my mother, I frowned.
“You don’t like living in it?”
“No, it’s not that. I just don’t…you know what?” I sighed, shaking my head. “Let’s not talk about it.”
His mouth fell open. “You don’t want to talk about something?”
I slapped him lightly on the arm. “Ha ha. No, I don’t. So let’s go, I’m dying to see your place.”
“Yours is much fancier,” he said as we walked outside. “Mine’s going to look very bare to your eye.”
I’d like your ass bare to my eye, I thought as I followed him to his truck. “Hey, do you want me to drive myself? That way you won’t have to bring me back.”
He opened the passenger door for me. “I don’t mind bringing you back.”
“OK. Thanks.” I climbed into the truck, feeling his hand brush my lower back. My entire body jittered with excitement, and I felt like a kid who just learned school is canceled for the day. There was some kind of new current between us—I couldn’t put my finger on i
t exactly, but I thought it had to do with the difference in him…he was so much more relaxed than he’d been at the end of the date last night. Did this mean he was up for seeing where this might go?
I told him to take the long, winding drive around the orchard before heading back out on to the highway, and I pointed out all my favorite spots on the farm—the best trees to climb, my favorite shady spot for reading, the perfect hiding places for hide and seek or ducking chores.
“You must have missed all this when you moved away,” he said, turning onto the main road. “Sounds like you really love it.”
“Yeah, I do. And I did miss it.”
“Think you’ll stay here for good?”
“Probably,” I said, staring out the window at the familiar landscape—the rolling hills, the orchards and vineyards, the old red barns with their peeling paint, the new faux chateaux of stone and brick. “What about you?”
“Staying. At least, that’s the plan for now.”
I asked him if he’d liked living in New York, and we both agreed it was great in some ways and difficult in others. He confided that the pace of big city life and the demands of his job probably contributed to his relapse. “I like the outdoors a lot,” he said, a little wistfully. “Hiking, fishing, camping. And I didn’t get the chance to do those kinds of things very often. Plus my ex-girlfriend wasn’t into them.”
I was surprised he mentioned her. “A city girl, huh?” I questioned, totally curious.
“Yeah.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him rub one finger along the stubble beneath his lower lip. After a moment, he went on. “Actually, she was my fiancée.”
I risked a sideways look at him. “Wow. It was pretty serious then, huh?
“Felt like it. For a while.”
“What happened?”