He ducked his head and kissed her. “Next time you mention my fast hands, you could say something about how big they are. And my feet too.”
She laughed. “Big feet. Big hands. Big… heart.”
“Exactly.”
Jane hopped on the bike behind him, and they headed for Snoqualmie Falls. It was fifty-eight degrees, and Jane wore jeans, a sweatshirt, and a pea coat for the thirty-minute ride. The falls were nothing new to Jane. She’d seen them many times, mostly on field trips in grade school, but she never got used to the awesome power and beauty of the 270-foot falls.
They were alone on the observation platform, and Luc stood behind Jane and wrapped his arms around her. The noon sun shot rainbows into the spray rising from the mist below. Beneath their feet, the platform shuddered with the force of nature. Within Luc’s embrace, Jane’s heart shuddered too, helpless against the natural force that drew her to him. She melted back into his chest as if she belonged there, wrapped in his arms.
He rested his chin on top of her head, and they talked about the falls and about the hockey season. The Chinooks had won forty out of sixty-one games and unless they totally unraveled before April 15, they were pretty much assured a playoff position. Luc’s goals against average had risen to an impressive 1.96, the best of his career.
They talked about Marie, who seemed to be making friends and adjusting a bit to life in Seattle with a brother she hadn’t known until a few months ago. They talked about boarding school, and how he still hadn’t made a decision concerning that. And they talked about growing up, and to her surprise, Luc hadn’t been rich and famous all his life.
“I drove a rusted-out truck,” he said. “I saved for a whole year to buy a stereo and brand-new Playboy mud flaps. I thought I was something. Too bad I was the only one.”
“Don’t tell me you didn’t get a lot of action in high school.”
“I played too much hockey to get any action. Well, not any good action. You probably had more dates than I did.”
She laughed. “I had bad hair, bad clothes, and a Mercury Bobcat with a wire hanger for an antenna.”
He squeezed her against his solid chest. “I would have dated you.”
She doubted it. “No way. Even I didn’t go out with losers with Playboy mud flaps.”
They ate lunch at the Salish Lodge, made famous by the television series Twin Peaks. Beneath the table he held her hand while he whispered inappropriate things just to see her blush. And on the drive home, Jane stuck her hands underneath his leather jacket and spread her fingers across his flat belly. Through his shirt, she felt his muscles, and through his Levi’s, she felt his full erection.
When they reached her apartment, he helped her off the bike and practically pulled her through her front door. He tossed their helmets and his jacket on the couch. “You’re going to be sorry you decided to tease me for the last half hour.”
She made her eyes go wide as she shucked her coat and tossed it by his. “What are you going to do? Feed me my lunch?”
“I already fed you lunch. What I’m going to feed you now is better than lunch.”
She laughed. “What could be better than Salish burgers?”
“Dessert.”
“Sorry, I don’t eat dessert. It makes me fat.”
“Well, I’m going to have some.” He took her face in his hands. “I’m going to have your sweet spot.”
And he di
d. Several times. Two nights later, he invited her to his condo for dinner with him and Marie. While he cooked salmon, Jane helped his sister with her English homework. Throughout the evening, there was only one tense moment when Luc made Marie drink her milk.
“I’m sixteen,” she argued. “I don’t need to drink milk.”
“Do you want to be short and stumpy?” he asked her.
Marie’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not short and stumpy.”
“Not now, but look at your aunt Louise.”
Evidently, Aunt Louise must have been an osteoporosis nightmare, because without further argument Marie picked up her glass and drank her milk. Luc then turned his attention to Jane. He looked at her full glass and then at her.
“I’m already short and stumpy,” she said.
“You’re not stumpy-yet. But if you get any shorter, you’ll only be waist-high.” Then a beautiful smile curved his lips, and without a word, he reached for her glass and downed her milk.