A big gust of wind caused the sand to kick up, and she remembered they weren’t behind closed doors. Painfully she felt him loosen his grip on her waist and slowly settle her back to the ground. Their lips were the last to part.
Panting, she said, “That . . . definitely . . . worked. If you . . . hadn’t stop . . . I might have . . . overheated.”
Gareth smiled down to her, “Then I suggest we go pack. I have a remedy for that problem.”
I’m sure you do.Her heart was pounding and her mind was telling her this was foolish. All they were ever going to have was this one week. The clock was ticking with only two days left. Was she out to break her own heart? It sure would’ve been easier if Gareth had been working on the pipes today, but definitely not as much fun.
Okay heart. Get ready for your high and then prepare for the crash.
This was promising. Brooke seemed thrilled with the idea of a little getaway. And damn, that woman was passionate. Gareth couldn’t wait to get her into bed, but he didn’t want her to think that was all he was interested in. She was so much more than that. So he made sure the inn had a private candlelight dinner for two ready on the balcony where they could sit and talk.
He wanted to get to know her better. Although he actually knew more about her than any woman he’d dated. That was sad to admit, even to himself. Was he really so shallow that he never cared before what type of music they liked or what their favorite movie was? But those women didn’t seem to mind. As long as they were wined and dined and well taken care of, they were happy. They were . . . relationships of convenience. Never thought about tomorrow, because most likely they weren’t going to see each other again.
That was not how he thought of Brooke. He was looking forward to waking up to her in his arms. Crazy thoughts, coming from him. He hadn’t slept with her yet, and he already didn’t want to let her go. As they approached the inn, he began to wonder if it was a good idea. If he was feeling like this, he could only imagine what Brooke must be thinking. Gareth didn’t want her to get the wrong impression. He wasn’t looking for anything permanent. Yet he knew he wanted something with more sustenance, but he wasn’t sure what that was exactly.
“You seem like you’re a million miles away,” Brooke said. “Are you worried about leaving New Hope and something going wrong?”
Hardly.“They have managed this long without me. I’m sure I’m not needed now.” But it had felt good to be needed. Getting his hands dirty, back on the job like the old days, had felt right. “I guess I missed it.”
“Missed what?” she asked.
“When I was in college, I took a summer off. I wanted to work on one of the construction sites as a laborer.”
“You did? Why?”
“To get a better understanding of what they are faced with when installing the steel we manufacture. It was eye-opening.”
“In what way?”
“Just about every way you can imagine. Right down to how we stack the beams, to what safety equipment we send along with them. I have to admit, part of me misses the physical hands-on part. A desk job was never for me.”
“Then why do you do it?”
He laughed. “Because Lawson Steel has been around since 1808. It’s a family-owned business, and it’s my generation’s turn to run it.” There was a time when he would’ve said proud family, now he wasn’t quite so proud. At least not about the past.
“I thought you had a bunch of brothers. Aren’t they able to run it without you so you can do what you want to do?”
That seemed like such a simple question. One he’d thought about many times. He had tried not being heavily involved with what was going on at the office. All that did was make Charles drag him in harder. He’d never really had a conversation with any of them about leaving.
“You think it’s that easy, do you? You haven’t met my brothers. They aren’t as easy-going as I am.”
“Oh God help the world,” she teased.
“Hey. What’s that supposed to mean?”
With a soft giggle she replied, “I hadn’t realized you were easy-going.”
“For the record, I’m not. I’m an arrogant ass. On a scale of one to ten, I’m off the charts. I can make a person squirm with just one look. And—”
Brooke burst out laughing. “You had me squirming with just one kiss. But one look? Please, you’re not scary at all.”
“I’m glad you feel that way. Most people don’t.” He was worried she was going to call him a big teddy bear next. What were those sunglasses blocking out? Or did she choose to see what she wanted? Granted, he could be easy-going when he wanted to be, but in the world he lived in, if he was as soft as she made it sound, he’d have been walked all over. Even by his brothers.
“I guess you let me see a side that you keep from everyone else,” she said.
That scared him more than being compared to a teddy bear. Mostly because she was right. He was different with her. But everything about Tabiq made things feel . . . different. That was something he needed to remind her.
“It’s like being in another world over here. Nothing feels like it does back home.”