Better Deeds Than Words (Words#2) (50 page)

“Another fantasy I can cross off the list.” He put an arm around me.

“Did the real thing measure up to the fantasy?”

He brushed his lips against mine. “The real thing is
always
better, especially where you’re concerned.”

“I’d have to agree. Something about that position. It was amazing. I mean,
unnghh
.”

“
Unnghh?
I don’t think I’m familiar with that word.”

“
Unnghh.
The state and or condition of being so horny, you may or may not feel like you’re going to explode.”

“So, all this time I’ve been feeling
unnghh
and not knowing what to call it. You learn something new every day, I guess.”

I smiled at him goofily, throwing my leg over his hips. “I guess we’ve both learned a lot this weekend.”

He laughed. “When I woke up this afternoon and you weren’t there, I thought I’d missed my chance for payback. I was happy to read your note and see that wasn’t the case.” He reached for his track pants from the corner of the table and pulled out the note I’d left him on my pillow. “What
is
this, anyway?”

“It’s a
hat
. Duh!”

He laughed. “A hat?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of hat?”

“Hell, I don’t know.”

“Can we pretend it’s my TA hat for a sec?”

“Must we?”

“Yes.” He scrunched it into a little ball and threw it onto the floor. “Ah, so cathartic.”

“You’re a wingnut.”

He grinned and brushed my hair over my shoulder. “Speaking of my TA hat, can I ask you something? Seriously for a second. Something I’ve been wondering for a while.”

“Of course.”

“Have you ever considered doing post-grad work?”

I rolled onto my back, peering at the Tiffany light hanging above the table.

“Honestly? I would’ve loved to get my master’s or something. I’m not sure in what.” I sighed. “It wasn’t financially viable, so I stopped considering it. I already have student loans to pay off. I don’t want to spend the next ten years clearing debt.”

Frowning, he leaned on his elbow as he peered down at me. “I hate that money has gotten in the way of you achieving what you want or pursuing your dreams. That’s so wrong.”

I shrugged. “It is what it is.”

“So, now what?”

“All along I’ve been so focused on school, my GPA, the dean’s list. I never really thought much about what comes after the finish line. I’ve known all along that I’ll be staying at Jackman until I leave for England. I won’t have to worry about life—you know, with a capital L—until I get back in August.”

“I don’t ever want you to worry about life, capital L or otherwise.” He cradled my head in the crook of his neck. “We’ll figure something out.”

“Okay,” I whispered, rubbing my nose against the line of his jaw as we cuddled quietly for a few moments.

When Daniel’s phone rang, we both jumped.

“Shit.” Daniel leapt off the table, fumbling for his phone in his track pants pocket. “Dad? Hi.” He raised his eyebrows at me, communicating his surprise. “Yes, we’re fine. Everything’s great. Is everything okay there? Pardon? Hang on.” He walked to the corner of the room. “How’s that?” He took a few more steps, stopping at the bar. “Can you hear me now? Yes, that’s better. Now I can hear you. Is everything okay?”

He looked over at me in a way that told me this call hadn’t been precipitated by some sort of terrible emergency. Trapped beside the wet bar with his phone, he continued his conversation but gestured for me to bring him his pants. Being a complete shit disturber, I feigned confusion, looking at him with a puzzled expression.

“Yes, she’s enjoying herself,” he said to his dad. “We both are. It’s very…relaxing.”

He pointed to his pants again and looked at me beseechingly. I knelt on the table and held them up, mouthing, “These?” He nodded, so I pulled on the track pants myself, making a point of staring unabashedly at his dangly bits, licking my lips all the while. He narrowed his eyes at me and folded his arms across his chest, trying to look nonchalant as he stood there chatting, without a stitch of clothing on.

“No, the flies aren’t as bad as I thought they would be. We went for a walk this morning. There were a few about, but not too bad. No, I made a fire last night. There’s a bit of a chill in the air, but as long as you dress for the temperature, it’s fine.”

I couldn’t help laughing as he glared at me playfully, poor thing. I climbed off the table and went to stand behind him. I put my arms around him, and he spun around, holding me while looking down at me with a glint in his eye.

Thanks a lot
, his face said.

“Not yet,” he said to his father. “Yes, I’m sure she will. At least, I hope so. Of course I’ll be careful. I’ll swing by in the morning and help you sort out the boxes, all right? Okay, Dad. Thanks for calling. Say hi to Mom. I will. Okay. Bye.”

He hung up and looked down at me challengingly. “You’re evil, you know that?”

“Oh, you love me,” I said, kissing him sweetly. “It was nice of your dad to call. Everything’s okay?”

“Yep. He was checking in to make sure we were doing all right. He says hi.” Daniel patted my butt. “All right, young lady, drop your pants.”

“My, my, Mr. Grant. So authoritative. What’s come over you?”

“Goose bumps. All over my whole fucking body. Give me my damn pants.”

I took a step back, hooking my thumbs into the waistband of his track pants, pretending that I was going to take them off, but then I took another step and turned.

“You’ll have to catch me first!” I laughed, running across the room.

“Oh, you little—”

He chased me up the stairs as I squealed and tried to elude him. He caught me as I passed through the kitchen, about to dash down the hallway toward the bedroom. He trapped me against the wall, where he kissed me and laughed like a schoolboy who’d just won a game of kissing tag. Of course, in my limited kissing tag experience, I’d never had naked boy parts pressed against my tummy.

“You are so lucky you don’t have neighbors,” I said between giggles.

“No,
you
are so lucky we don’t have neighbors.” He undressed me and then put on his T-shirt, smiling wickedly as he drew the pants up his own legs. He picked me up and carried me to the bathroom, sitting me on the counter.

“Shit, that’s cold,” I squealed as my bare ass hit the marble.

“Serves you right.” He stood between my legs.

“I’m sorry. Was that uncalled for? Doing that when you were talking to your dad? I guess I got carried away. It was pretty silly.”

“Don’t be absurd,” he said, grabbing my silk wrap from the hook on the back of the door and helping me into it. “It was hilarious.” He tied the sash of my wrap into a tidy bow. “It reminded me of the night in February—remember when I thought something had happened to you and I drove over to Jackman to make sure you were okay?” He cupped my face with both hands. “I was so jealous that night, listening to you and Matt. I wanted to be the one on the other side of the door, laughing and having fun with you. And now I am.”

He kissed me tenderly, and I rested my hands on his forearms.

“So, yes, it was silly,” he said. “But I need silly. I need someone to make me stop taking everything so seriously. Promise me you won’t stop? You’re so good for me.”

“
Daniel…
” His name was all I could muster. I didn’t know what else to say, so I hugged him fiercely.

“I mean it. I don’t know how to explain how much you’ve changed my outlook on life,” he whispered.

“You’ve done the same for me.”

He shook his head. “I want to do more. Speaking of which, there are a couple of things I need to do right now. Why don’t you freshen up and get dressed while I sort out some bits and pieces?”

“That sounds mysterious,” I said, hopping down off the counter. “What could you possibly need to do?”

“Well, first I have to make the bed again, and then I need to alphabetize the soup cans,” he said, smiling self-deprecatingly.

I knew he was joking. I’d be willing to bet a week’s wages he’d already remade the bed. The can thing I wasn’t so sure about, but there was no doubt in my mind that all the labels were facing the same direction.

Chapter 32

Yours

Lady, as you are mine, I am yours: I give away myself for
you and dote upon the exchange.
(
Much Ado About Nothing
, Act II, Scene 1)

W
E
W
ERE
C
LEANING
U
P
, this time for good. Dinner was done, and we’d be leaving soon. I felt sad and dreaded our return to Toronto. Our time at the cottage had been such a wonderful respite from real life, and I didn’t want it to end.

Daniel tied up a garbage bag, took it to the front door, and returned to the kitchen to wash his hands. I stole a peek at the clock on the microwave, and my heart sank. Five past seven. He’d told me he wanted to get on the road by eight thirty at the latest.

“Aubrey, can you do me a favor while I think of it? Can you make sure the windows of the great room are locked and then close the curtains?”

“Yeah, no problem.”

I crossed the room, stopping to rearrange and fluff the pillows on the couch as I passed by. I tested the latches on all the windows and found them all secure. As I reached up to pull the curtains closed, I was distracted by the sky across the lake. The sun would be going down soon, and by the looks of it, a gorgeous sunset was in store. Maybe we could sit on the dock and watch it together before we had to go.

That’s when I saw it—a boat. A small cruiser that hadn’t been there earlier was parked at the dock. When was the last time I’d looked out the window? When we’d been down in the games room? There hadn’t been anything there at the time.

“Daniel, I think we have company,” I called over my shoulder. When he didn’t reply, I turned. He was standing against the breakfast bar in the kitchen wearing his gray hoodie, mine draped over his arm.

“What’s going on? Are you expecting someone?”

He shook his head and held out his hand for me to join him. “We don’t have company,” he said, helping me slide my arms into my sweater.

“But there’s a—”

“Come with me,” he said, threading his fingers through mine.

He led me out of the cottage, around to the flagstone steps, and down to the dock.

“Well, what do you think?” he asked, bobbing his head at the boat.

“I don’t understand,” I said. “Where did this come from?”

“It’s been in the boathouse all weekend, but originally, it came from Orillia.” He looked at me expectantly. “You’re looking at the owner.”

“Wait a minute. Orillia? Does that mean…? Is this…?”

“Yes. It’s mine. I bought it.”

“You bought a
boat?”
I couldn’t hide my shock.

“It wasn’t as expensive as you think. It’s only an entry-level cabin cruiser. It’s not even brand new.” His words poured out in a torrent. “But it’s in great shape. I had the cabin overhauled, you know, with new fittings and fabrics. I want to take you out right now. I checked the Weather Network. The sun is going to set in about forty-five minutes.” He stopped for a breath. “We can watch the sunset from the middle of the lake.”

As he’d spoken, the expression on his face had changed from one of excitement as he described the boat to disappointment, thinking I completely disapproved of his purchase. And now he was gazing at me hopefully, pleading with his eyes for me to approve of his new toy and his plan to take me out for a private sunset cruise.

“Daniel, it’s beautiful.”

“Really? You don’t think I’m crazy? I mean, I don’t want to leave it here. I’m going to borrow Brad’s pickup and bring it back to the city. I’d like to dock at Toronto Island. Then we can go out boating on the weekends. Our own little haven. I don’t know…”

He shrugged uncomfortably. How could the man who’d been so commanding and sure of himself a few hours ago now be so incredibly vulnerable? And how could I be such an ass, letting him stand there and squirm? I smiled broadly and slowly put my arms around his neck.

“I think that sounds wonderful,” I whispered, feeling the tension leave his body.

“Thank God.” His eyes came alive with renewed excitement. “Okay, come on. Let me give you a tour.”

He led me to the back of the boat and was about to help me climb aboard when he stopped and took a couple of steps farther down the dock, motioning me to join him.

“I almost forgot,” he said, pointing to the rear of the boat. “See what I named her?”