“Yeah, I’m good. You?” she asked, lifting his hand and pressing her lips against his palm.
“Honestly? I’m feeling pretty great.”
She laughed, and he joined in. She wasn’t sure which she enjoyed more – the way he made love to her, or the easiness of their post-coital conversations. God, she was going to miss this.
So damn much.
“Can I take you out on Saturday?” he asked her. “There’s something I want to talk to you about. I thought we could go out for dinner, then maybe a walk on the beach.” He pulled his arms tighter around her. “If you’re free that is.”
It was impossible to ignore the sense of unease that tugged at her belly. “What do you want to talk about?” She swallowed, trying not to think about the fact he was going back to work at White City the following week, and that neither of them had spoken about what that meant for them.
He’d made no promises, given her no assurances. And that was okay, wasn’t it? She’d wanted to keep things easy just as much as he had. She closed her eyes, remembering that morning after they’d first slept together, how they’d both agreed not to put a definition on what they were doing. She’d felt so damn strong, so powerful. Liberated, even.
And now? All she could feel was this nagging sadness because she loved being in his arms. He was her first thought when she woke up in the morning, and the last person she saw before she fell asleep at night. Somewhere in the past couple of weeks she’d put her own definition on what was happening between them.
The thought of losing it all hurt.
Lucas pressed his lips against her head, breathing her in. “I’ll tell you on Saturday.”
“If I can wait that long.” Then a thought occurred to her, making her stomach drop even further into the mattress. “Oh no, I’m busy on Saturday. I’ve got a stupid party to go to.” Ugh, why had she ever agreed to go?
Ally’s suggestion of calling and saying she couldn’t go popped into Ember’s brain. Maybe she should…
“We could go out afterward, or on Sunday if that works better for you?”
“Even though you’re back at work first thing on Monday?” she asked him, surprised. “I thought you’d want to be well rested for that.”
“Maybe this is more important.”
“Oh!” She wasn’t sure whether she should feel hopeful or despondent. But she wanted the hope, she really did. And maybe if she had any of that girl power left she’d ask him right now whether they’d still have something between them once he went back to work at White City.
But she didn’t feel brave enough for that. Not yet. “Maybe you could come with me to the party.” She was surprised at herself for offering the invitation.
“Sure. Whose party is it?”
Okay, so maybe she was braver than she thought. “It’s at Janice Martin’s house.”
“You’re inviting me to a party at your ex-in law’s place?” He sounded amused.
She twisted in his arms, turning to look at him, wanting to see the truth that was in his eyes. “Yeah, that’s right. You want to come?” Her skin felt hot, like she’d been sitting out in the sun for too long without protection. She held her breath and waited for his reply.
“Sure I’ll come. What’s the worst that could happen?”
She could think of a few things. Everybody would be talking about them arriving together. Janice might want to know what was going on. And if Lucas planned on never seeing her again after this weekend, she’d end up looking like a complete fool.
But she knew him better than that, didn’t she? Lucas Russell was a good man. She knew that from how she’d seen him treat everybody around him. He was funny and strong, but above all else he was kind.
“Nothing bad could happen,” she finally replied, lifting her head up to press her lips against his. “Nothing bad at all.”
23
The temperature had been climbing all week, peaking on Saturday afternoon. Even once the evening arrived the air was still full of a dry heat that made Ember’s skin feel like a piece of tinder – only seconds away from igniting. She climbed out of Lucas’ car, taking his hand as he held the door open for her, and s
tepped out onto the sweltering road surface.
There was a breeze dancing in the air, but it brought no relief. Instead, it smelled of hot concrete and melting tar. It carried dry sand with it from the beach, leaving a fine layer of yellow on the surfaces surrounding them. She could feel it settling on her hair and eyelashes, causing her to blink to stop it from getting any further into her eyes.
She was still holding Lucas’ hand as he closed the door behind her and locked the car. There were a lot of vehicles parked along Paxton Avenue; enough to make them have to leave Lucas’ car around a hundred yards from the Martins’ house. But even from that distance she could hear the sounds of the party – a thrum of bass from the music, lifted by a higher pitched chatter that carried in the arid wind.