A wink, a kiss
on the cheek, and he’s back to chatting with … Dee, I think her name tag says. She keeps stealing dreamy-eyed glances at him and I have to do my best not to reach over and smack her for it, but Jori doesn’t seem to notice, and if he does, he doesn’t care.
He doesn’t see anyone else except for me, and while I know I can trust him wholly when it comes to other women, I still get that jealous feeling when another girl is fawning all over him. Of course, that’s how I found out the truth about us. I thought he had been seeing someone behind my back all because of a simple thing like going through his bag in Ossining, and in his desperation to keep us together, he let the reason we’ve always felt so drawn to each other slip.
Not that it matters.
“You about ready, babe?”
I tear my cold stare away from Dee and glance up at Jori, giving him the biggest smile I can muster and nod. He raises an eyebrow curiously, then a knowing look washes over his handsome face. He shakes his head and rolls his eyes, as he takes my hand in his, thanks the girl with the stars in her eyes, and gives my ass a slap on the way out the front door.
When I realize he’s leading back to the car I give him a confused look. “So was it just a look around?” I ask a little harsher than I mean to, but he doesn’t seem bothered by it.
“Nope; just wanted to get us the best spot in the place so we have to drive a little to get there. Now get in the car cranky ass so we can go unwind some,” he instructs as he opens my door for me. When we’re both inside, he doesn’t start the car right away. Instead, he turns in his seat with a seriousness I haven’t seen in his eyes in over a year, and I steel myself for whatever it is he plans to say next.
“I really hope you enjoy this,” he begins stumbling nervously over his words, “because there’s a reason we’re here. I … Um.” He sighs and runs a hand irritably over his face before he grits his teeth and looks away for a moment. “Anyway, I just hope you like it.”
Jori turns in his seat again and starts the car driving the short distance to a cottage on the end of the property and I’m left wondering if there’s one more secret left between us.
And if there is, will he tell me or will I have to drag it out of him?
6
“Wow, this is better than our place,” Jori says once we step inside. He lets go of my hand and glances around the room, his arms crossed loosely over his chest, and lets out a low whistle. “Think they’d notice if we moved in?” he asks, glancing at me over his shoulder.
I grin as I walk over and give him a playful slap on the back, “I like our place just fine, Mr. Davidson.”
“Oooh! Mister! I like that, Red. It puts me in the mood,” he says as he looks down at me, wiggling his eyebrows.
I giggle and take a step away from him as I look around the place. It’s a small cottage house and I know that this put a huge dent in Hoyt’s life savings, but there has to be a reason that Jori spent this much money. He’s usually so damn meticulous with every dollar we spend down to the penny, that I’m sure there’s more to this place than meets the eye.
“Alright, Davidson,” I finally say as I put my hands on my hips and give him a critical stare, “spill it.”
He pouts at being called Davidson in the place of Mister, and I can feel the corners of my lips twitching, but I won’t give in that easily. He’s gonna have to work for a smile now that I know there’s still another secret lingering in the air somewhere.
“There’s nothing to spill—not right now, anyway,” he says carefully with a shrug. “Anyway, our shit is in the bedroom. You know, to answer your question about this being a day trip or not.”
I scrunch up my face.
This man has never planned a damn thing before in his life.
He makes his decisions on the spur of the moment and it only adds to his hot-headed charm, so when did he have the time to do this?
“Last weekend,” he replies with a sly grin. It’s almost like he plucked the question out of my mind, but a strong bond between siblings can do that sometimes. “Remember? You slept for like almost the entire day? Well, maybe you don’t remember,” he concedes as he scratches the back of his head.
He clears his throat, walks past me, and disappears down a short hallway. I turn slightly and crane my neck to see where he’s going, but when he stops just outside of a door and lingers with that damn Davidson smile on his face, I shake my head again and laugh.
The way he’s looking at me right now tells me that he’s standing just inside the bedroom and he wants some company.
The bedroom is bright, sunny, and welcoming.
And because of that, Jori closes the blinds and draws the curtains.
I’ve never been a bright and sunny kind of gal, and he’s even more opposed to the bright side of things than I am.
It’s how we are and it works for us.
Besides, being the offspring of Hoyt Blackburn and Doreen Davidson never did include the sunshine and rainbows package in life and we’re just fine with that. I don’t think we’d be the people we are today if we grew up in a stable home, though Hoyt tried his damnedest to make it so. He just got slighted at every turn.