He blinked when she said his name. He hadn’t realized he’d been staring at the sight of her belly and hips sparkling with droplets of water.
“Hmm?” he asked.
She shook her head and laughed. “You’re a lecher, you know that?”
“If I am, it’s with good reason,” he muttered as he reached into Mari’s bag. “I’ve waited a hell of a long time.” He regretted his words when he saw her expression go solemn. He held up the infamous bottle of suntan lotion from the day before. “Time to oil up.”
Her serious look disappeared as she collapsed into giggles. When he started to smooth the lotion onto her soft, warm skin, though, all the tension he’d felt yesterday returned. His smile faded and Mari’s laughter quieted.
He managed to cover her upper arm and right shoulder with lotion before their stares met and held. They both stood by silent mutual agreement and grabbed their things. He took her hand and led her back to his condo.
The fact that they’d held themselves on such tight leashes the previous day added to their sense of haste. Perhaps it was half a lifetime spent apart that heightened their sense of need.
Maybe it was the dark worry that these were stolen days with Mari that added to Marc’s desperate hunger for her.
“We have to go back to Harbor Town tomorrow,” Mari whispered wistfully next to his chest a while later. They lay entangled on his bed, their hearts still thumping rapidly from their latest explosive joining.
He ran his fingers through her long hair and marveled once again at its softness. “That’s a long time away still. I’m taking you out to dinner tonight. We have more than twenty-four hours together,” he murmured. “That’s plenty of time.”
“Plenty of time for what?” she asked, pressing her lips to his chest.
“Plenty of time for me to convince you to spend the rest of your life with me.”
He’d said it lightly enough, but she must have caught the thread of seriousness in his tone, because she lifted her head. Her eyes looked dark, soft and velvety in the shadowed room.
“How can you be so certain that’s what you want?” she whispered.
“You know me. I’m a decisive guy,” he said, smiling in order to lighten the moment. He
didn’t like the anxiety in Mari’s eyes.
“But…but you and Sandra divorced only a year and a half ago, and what about—”
“Are you implying it’s a complete impossibility?” he asked as he stroked the nape of her neck.
“Well…no.”
He met her stare. “There’s still time, then.” He pressed gently with his fingertips and she put her head back on his chest. “I think there might be time for a little nap, too. You wear me out, Mari.”
He smiled when he felt the vibrations of her small chuckle.
She lay awake and watched Marc sleeping, detailing every line of his face. It was true she had an ocean of doubt about their being together, but she had faith in Marc.
She tried to imagine his expression tonight at dinner when she told him about the baby. She drowsily pictured his look of incredulity slowly morphing to one of amazement and excitement.
And love?
Her eyelids opened heavily a while later. The sound of a cell phone ringing insistently had finally penetrated her deep sleep. She lifted her head.
“Marc. That’s yours. They’ve called back several times now, I think. It must be important.”
His eyes popped open. He scowled as he rolled over to the far side of the bed and reached for the phone on the bedside table. He glanced at the caller identification before he answered.
“Yeah?” he asked in a deep, sleep-roughened voice.
A long silence ensued. Mari glanced over at him. His profile was rigid with concentration as he listened to the caller. A sense of unease stole over her lassitude.
“How long has it been since she admitted her to the hospital?”