Ellen was silent.
“I have a date, so please, no Duncan or Benjamin.”
“You have? You do?”
She swallowed. “Yes, you’ll like him.” Damn it, what was she saying? What was she doing?
“And what’s his name?”
“I … er … listen, I have to go.”
“But—”
“You’ll both meet him soon.” She ended the call.
She groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. She’d really done it now. But the thought of Duncan and Benjamin had turned her stomach. She had zero interest in meeting eligible young bachelors.
There was only one man she wanted by her side and in her bed.
****
Carter popped a couple of beers and went onto the deck.
Leah sat with her head resting back, eyes closed. Damn, she was beautiful. Each time he saw her, she stunned him all over again. She didn’t need those sexy little power suits and heels to wow him, or wet white dresses. She just needed to be, to exist, to breathe in his presence and he was under her spell.
He rested the cool base of the bottle on her arm.
“Oh!” She jumped, saw him, and smiled. “That’s cold, you know.”
“And you’re smokin’ hot.” He kissed her brow then sat in the chair next to her. The sun was hovering over the horizon, a giant glowing peach that spread rippling light onto the ocean. “Has it been a good vacation day?”
She sipped her beer and turned to him. “You know it has.”
He chuckled. “Sure sounded like you’ve been having fun. Just checking, though.”
She let out a long, low breath.
“What?” he asked.
“I don’t want it to end. Being here. It’s idyllic.”
He wondered if she’d addwith you, but she didn’t.
“I don’t think I’ve ever felt so comfortable in a house,” she went on, “it could do with a lick of paint, and the faucet in the kitchen is decidedly temperamental, but it feels right.”
“I know what you mean.”Shefelt right, when he was with her, when he was inside her.
“And this.” She gestured out to sea. “The dunes, the beach, the sunsets. It’s worth more than any fancy kitchen or attic conversion in the city.”
“Yup!” Carter loved the ocean as much as he loved an open road. He wasn’t about to argue with her.
For a few minutes, they sat quiet, then he broached the subject he’d been skirting around. “I’ll give you a ride back to Pierce.”
“What? No, it’s too far.”
“It’s my fault you’re here without a car, so I’ll drive you back. Pop that spark plug back in.”
She frowned a little and nodded. She sipped her beer. “Ah, yes, there is that … and…”