Sitting down, I slid the vase over to a nice vacant corner of my desk, smiling at them a moment longer before buckling down to work.
Chapter Thirteen
Russ
“How’s our little plan going?” Cami asked, giving me a sly look before glancing back down at Piper and smiling. She continued to rock her gently, but returned her gaze to me.
“I honestly have no idea. I haven’t heard a word from her.”
“Which was the plan at this point. We want her to think it’s you, but to not be sure. That’s keeping her thinking about you, and guessing. Without even trying, you’re now occupying her thoughts twenty-four seven.”
“You’re sure about that?”
“Positive. Something like this would drive me crazy. Not knowing who to thank, thinking, you know, being too embarrassed to do it in case you have the wrong person.” She giggled. “It gets me tied up in knots just thinking about it.”
“Well, thank you for your help. I appreciate it.”
“Even if it doesn’t work?”
“Even if it doesn’t work.” I responded with a smile, staring at her. I had some pretty strong emotions for this girl. “I’m just happy to have you in my life; and have I told you what a beautiful mother you are?”
Blushing, she shook her head. “No, but thank you. You and Dylan need to stop with all the compliments, though. They’re going straight to my head.”
“Can you blame us? Look at you? You’re perfection. I don’t think I’ve even heard that kid cry once since she was born. And you don’t even look like you’ve had a baby.”
“You’re too sweet.”
“Nope. Not sweet at all. Just telling it like it is. Dylan got all the luck when he decided to sneak in and sweep you up.”
“You’ll have all that too, someday. I just know it. No woman in her right mind would pass on you.”
I laughed. “Are you saying Evie isn’t in her right mind?” I asked jokingly.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. She’s a fool if she passes you up.”
“Whatever. Hand me my kid.”
She laughed and leaned forward, handing me the baby. “You’ve got to quit calling her your kid. People are going to get the wrong idea.”
“Hey, they can just get their minds out of the gutter. I’m the one who pulled this kid out of your . . . .” I paused, blinking, and she cocked her head, clearly waiting to see how I was going to finish this. “I . . . uh . . . out of your down there.” I briefly glanced toward her legs before looking away. “That means I get to claim partial ownership.”
Leaning back, she folded her arms against her chest, grinning. “Does it now? I’ll have to explain that to Dylan, so he knows.”
“It’s probably not best to remind him that I’ve seen you, uh, there. He’s pretty possessive of his playground.”
“His playground?” She snorted, shaking her head.
“Don’t even try to get around this. You know that’s his favorite place to be, so don’t even try to say otherwise.”
“Hmmm.” She eyed me warily, so I stared at Piper to avoid eye contact. “Remind me what we’ve done so far?”
I was grateful for the shift in subject. “Flowers the first day. Hot bakery muffins the next, and spa basket the day after that. Yesterday was the relaxing music CD.”
“And today is the painting of the lake where you first saw her, by that local artist, Jean Perry.”
I nodded. “She will know for sure it’s me when she gets that.”
“We want her to. We’ve teased all her five senses—smell with the roses, taste with the muffins, touch with the spa basket, hearing with the music, and now sight with the painting. Now she’s thinking of you while doing all those things. I wonder if, as a therapist, she will catch onto our mind game?”
“Your mind game,” I reminded her. “There’s no way she’ll ever believe that I was this smart. This evil genius is all you. Guys are dumb. We’re lucky to remember our way home at night and how to put the toilet seat down before getting distracted.”
Cami’s laughing outburst made the baby jump. She quickly sealed her lips, holding her index finger over them.
“Why are you telling me to be quiet?” I whispered. “You’re the one being obnoxiously loud. Can’t you see my kid is trying to sleep?”
“Whose kid?” Dylan’s voice interrupted as he suddenly appeared, leaning on the doorjamb and smiling as he stared at me. “I don’t recall you being there when this baby was made, Russ.”
Cami giggled. “He’s claiming since he pulled her out, he gets part ownership.”
“Is he now?” Dylan stared pointedly at me. “Go make your own baby. This one is mine.”
Laughing, I shook my head. “I have no problem doing that, but I need a willing partner . . . unless you’re gonna let me borrow Cami?” I was totally teasing, but I didn’t miss how he stiffened. I knew immediately I’d overstepped with that one. “Of course Cami would never work out, seeing how she’s so into you and all. I get jealous, you know?”
Dylan visibly relaxed. “I know exactly what you mean. I feel the same. By the way, you should definitely get your own wife, too, while you’re making your own baby.”
Cami laughed. “Russ isn’t going to need me, anyway. We’re getting ready to reel a fish in for him right now, aren’t we?”
“I’m glad you’re confident this whole thing is going to work,” I mumbled.
“Trust me, Russ. I’m a woman and I know what women like. Evie is going to eat all this up. Before long, you’ll be trying to remember the days when you were single.”
“I highly doubt that, but I hope you’re right.”
“I am. You’ll see.”
***
Cami told me to trust her, but I was beginning to get nervous. The painting had been delivered yesterday morning, along with a short simple note that read, Meet me where I first saw you tomorrow at noon. I didn’t sign it. There was no need. She knew exactly who it was from.
Yet, as I stood here, staring at the now very quiet and seemingly deserted lake, I saw no other signs of life. Glancing at my watch, I saw that it was now twelve thirty.
Evie was late. Did this mean she wasn’t coming? Was this my answer once and for all? Cami and I had just assumed the thoughtful gifts would work to soften her. Maybe they just annoyed her instead.
I was such a damn idiot. She’d made it pretty clear she was in love with her boyfriend still—and everyone on the planet knew it was freakishly hard to compete with a dead guy. What was his name? Kory? He’d always be on a pedestal with her. Was I willing to live with that? Was I willing to constantly be measured against a corpse? There was no way I could ever win that battle. Kory would always remain perfect, and all she would see of me was my very obvious flaws.
Plus, there was the whole age thing. Maybe she just felt I was too young for her, but I hoped not. I never even once thought of our age difference when we were together. To me, she was simply a beautiful, accomplished woman. It was easy for me to talk to her, and I like being in her company. Hell, I friggin’ missed her, for crying out loud, just from the small amount of time we’d spent together. If that wasn’t an attraction with some potential, then I didn’t know what the hell it was.
Unless. Unless it really was all one sided. Maybe she really didn’t have any interest in me.
Immediately, my thoughts drifted back to that day in the kitchen. Her body had been soft and pliant—ready for me. And the sounds she made as I pressed against her. Damn, I was getting turned on just thinking about it. No. She wanted it just as badly as I did. She was definitely attracted to me.
So why wasn’t she here?
Glancing around the lake again, I saw no signs of life. Sighing, I briefly checked my watch, again. One o’clock. She was an hour late, now. I had my answer, but I still sank down on the grassy bank. Absently searching for smooth pebbles, I began carefully throwing them out into the water, skipping some and sinking others. The sun continued to trave
l across the sky.
“Don’t you know that this is the worst time of day to be out in the sun?” Evie’s voice broke into my silent ponderings and I smiled. Continuing to throw my pebbles in the lake, I didn’t even look at her.
“You’re late.”
“I am not. I’ve been here since before noon.”
This revelation had me turning to stare at her. “What?”
She smiled widely. “I parked my car just out of sight over by that hill.” She pointed. “And then I sat over on the picnic table in the trees there and watched you.”
What was going on? “How very . . . stalkerish . . . of you,” I replied. “I would’ve never pegged you as someone who silently follows people around.” What kind of game was she playing with me? Was she happy to be here or not? I was having a hard time reading her and it was making me feel on shaky ground.
“I’m not, usually, but you’re special.”
“Am I? How so?” Picking up another rock, I chucked it into the lake.
“You can learn a lot about a person by watching them. I wanted to know how long you’d wait for me, and if you’d get angry when you thought I wasn’t coming.”
“And?” I encouraged her to continue, wondering if I’d passed her little test.
“You waited, and never got angry.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“That’s a very good thing.” She sat down beside me. “Thank you for all the sweet gifts you sent me this week. It was very thoughtful of you.”
“I wanted to do something nice for you. I can’t take all the credit, though. Cami helped me plan a lot of it.”
“That Cami’s a doll.”
“Yes, she is,” I replied.
“How’s the baby?”
“Piper is an angel. You really need to come see her. I’ve never seen such a pretty baby. I tried to tell Dylan I get to claim rights to her since I delivered her, but he’s having none of it. He refuses to share. He told me to go out and get my own wife and baby.”
Evie laughed loudly, the sound echoing around the silent lake, and I liked hearing it. “Is that what you’re here trying to do today? Get your own wife and baby?”
I grinned, shaking my head. “Right now I’d just settle for dating someone.”
“Dating someone?” She threw a rock into the lake and I watched the ripples for a moment before turning to stare at her.
“Dating you,” I replied honestly. “I’d like to date you.”
Staring at me, she didn’t answer right away and I’d have given anything to know what was going on in that head of hers. She wasn’t smiling—she wasn’t frowning—she was simply blank.
I didn’t look away, but then neither did she.
“If I agree to date you, you have to promise me one thing.”
Elation coursed through me. She was considering it. “What’s that?” I tried to reply nonchalantly, not really sure if I pulled it off or not.
“We need to go slow.” Her eyes seemed pleading. “I mean painfully slow, Russ. Before you, I’d made up my mind to never be involved with another man again. It’s been hard for me to get past all this. It’s forced me to deal with certain things I’ve been avoiding. I’ve had years of conditioning myself to the idea that I would be alone for the rest of my life. Then you came along and everything started . . . changing. I don’t really know how to deal with all that.”
“Slow, I can do. But I need you to promise me something, too.” I scooted closer to her.
“What’s that?” Lifting a hand, she pushed a stray lock of my hair away from my eyes and I couldn’t help leaning into the gesture.
Nuzzling her hand, I stared at her. “You need to judge me on my own merits. I don’t want to be the guy who is always being measured against your fiancé. I’m not him, Evie. I never will be.”
“I know you aren’t, Russ. And I don’t want you to be. I like you.”
I smiled, her words thrilling me. “I like you, too.”
We both sat there, smiling at each other like idiots. I wanted so badly to lean in and kiss her sweet lips, but I’d just promised her slow—and I intended to keep my word.
“Cami made this really amazing picnic for us to eat here. Are you hungry?” I gestured over to where the picnic basket sat on a large blanket spread out under a shady tree.
“I’m starving,” she replied. “That sounds wonderful.”
Standing, I held a hand out to her and immediately noticed the sparks between us when she slipped hers inside mine. I helped her up, but didn’t release her, continuing to hold her hand as we walked toward the blanket together. Thankfully, she didn’t try to pull away.
“I’m really glad I came today.”
I smiled at her and she squeezed my hand. “I am, too. I’ve missed you.” Was it too early to say that? Oh well, it was out there now.
“I tried to miss you, but I couldn’t.”
That did not sound good; and I quickly glanced over at her. “Why not?”
“You were everywhere, that’s why!” She laughed. “You were in the flowers on my desk, the soft music playing in my office, my Jacuzzi tub with all the spa products. I even thought of you every time I walked past the bakery by my office and smelled all those delicious muffins.”
“And what about the painting?” I asked.
“The painting is in my bedroom.”
“Your bedroom?” I raised my eyebrow.
“Yep.”
“Why?”
“So it’s the first thing I see when I wake up and the last thing I see when I go to sleep. It reminds me of the day I got a second chance at life.” She glanced briefly down at her feet before looking back up at me. “Thank you for that.”
A soft breeze stirred her hair, lifting some of the strands to blow about her face and she absently reached up and tucked them behind her ear, smiling at me. She was so beautiful. I really wanted to forget the food and lay her down on the blanket and kiss her until she was screaming my name, but I couldn’t. Right now she was still as nervous as a newborn filly. I wasn’t about to scare her off again, like I did before. It was too much, too fast. I was lucky she was giving me another chance as it was.
“Maybe we can swim later?” I suggested. “Get you back in the water.”
She laughed. “I didn’t bring a suit.”
“Then we will definitely be swimming later, “I teased and she blushed.
“You’re incorrigible, you know that?”
“Yes, I consider it one of my most endearing qualities.”
She laughed. Laughter was good.
“Let’s eat.” We both settled on the blanket and I opened the basket.
Chapter Fourteen
Evie
“So you’ve already dredged all my dark and dirty secrets from me. I say you start spilling the dirt on yourself,” Russ said, a wicked glint in his eyes that made my heart rate accelerate.
“I don’t have any dark and dirty secrets,” I replied with laugh.
“I can think of at least one that you have.” His eyes never left mine and I blushed furiously.
“Hmmm. There is that.”
He chuckled. “That was amazing.”
I stared at him seriously.
“What?” he asked, looking surprised.
“It doesn’t bother you? That you’re my dark and dirty secret, I mean?”
“Hell, no,” he replied shaking his head and grinning. “I’m hoping all this may lead to a bunch more dark and dirty secrets with you—just being honest.”
He was always so straight to the point. I loved it, and it embarrassed me at the same time. I kind of liked it though. With Russ, I never seemed to really know where I stood, but in a good way. It kept me guessing.
“I . . . I’m not sure how to respond to that.”
“No need for words, Doc. That pretty blush of yours is doing plenty of talking for you.” He winked.
Dammit. I blushed harder. Eyes dropping to the sandwich in front of me, I tried to focus in on my food
instead of him, but I could practically feel his heated gaze following me everywhere. He was going to burn holes through me at this rate, but I liked it.
Six years alone and suddenly my hormones were all lit up like I was a sixteen-year-old girl, again. The strange thing with that was I’d never really been a sixteen-year-old when I was sixteen. I was so focused on overachieving that I’d missed out on discovering a lot of things other teens took for granted. I hadn’t gone to many dances or football games, or any extracurricular events, for that matter. Unless they had to do with academics—then I was there for sure.
Now I found myself having a serious, sixteen-year-old girl crush. That’s exactly what this was—hero worship, plain and simple. I’d fallen for my rescuer. This happened to people all the time. It was totally normal to transfer emotion to someone you shared a traumatic experience with.
Unfortunately, a lot of those relationships never lasted. Once the trauma passed, couples often realized they didn’t have much in common but the trauma. Is that where I was headed right now—for more heartache?
“You’re doing it again, Doc,” Russ’s voice filtered into my head.
“Doing what?” I asked innocently.
“Over analyzing things.”
“And what makes you such an expert on me?” I asked, half-teasing, half-annoyed that he was spot on with his assessment.
“Hours of close scrutiny,” he replied wryly, taking a bite of his sandwich and leaning back against the tree behind him.
“Hours?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Are you spying on me when I’m not aware?”
He snorted. “I’m not a dang stalker, Doc. I meant from our sessions together.”
“Interesting. I guess I never realized patients might be scrutinizing me.”
“Why not? I’m just as curious about you as you are about me.”
“You and I are different though.”
“How so?” he asked, and I felt a little hurt that he didn’t recognize it.
“Because . . . because we are connected.” I waved a finger back and forth between us.