Page 33 of Saved from Deception

Tilting my head toward the cooler and bags by the front door, I answer, “Because we’re going to be taking a little trip.”

“Where? The park?”

“No, a little further than that. And you might want to get a bathing suit. We’re going to head to Lake George for the day.”

Charlie’s hand tightens around the thermos, her knuckles whitening. Voice tight, she says, “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Rylan. I’m just… in a bathing suit… and the people… I can’t…”

The longer she talks, the more stressed she looks and I realize I’m screwing this all up.

I touch her arm, giving it a little squeeze. “I know. I’m not explaining it right. What I meant to say but explained very poorly is—we’re going to rent a boat and go out on the lake for the day. We can go up to the northern end, enjoy the nice weather, go swimming, pig out on all the food I bought, and just relax.”

Charlie presses her lips together, hesitating. Crap. She hates it. Why did I listen to Leo when he told me how great Lake George was when he went there with Georgia?

“Just us?” Her tone is cautiously hopeful. “We won’t run into anyone else?”

“Just us,” I reassure her. “We’ll pick up the boat at a marina in Huletts Landing, I’ll take care of everything there and all you have to do is get on the boat when it’s ready. We’ll head up to the northern end of the lake where it’s quieter, and no one will bother us. I won’t even let another boat get close. I promise.”

She doesn’t respond right away. For a few seconds, she just stares at me silently, her jaw working. Her chin wobbles a little, and my stomach swoops to my feet.

“It was just an idea,” I blurt out, suddenly feeling very foolish. “I shouldn’t have sprung this on you. I’m sorry.”

My words seem to jolt Charlie out of her stillness. “No!” Stepping forward, she places her hand on my chest. “I love it, Ry. I just—” She swallows hard. “You don’t have to do this for me. You already do so much, and I don’t want to… I don’t know… take advantage, or something.”

That’s what she’s worried about? If she had any idea how I feel about her, she’d know it’s the farthest thing from it. A day out on the lake with Charlie? I can’t think of anything I’d enjoy more.

Well. If she was my girlfriend, that would be better. But that’s not an option right now.

Holding her gaze, I tell her the truth. “You are not taking advantage. At all. I want to go with you.”

After another second, a smile spreads across her face. Then she hugs me with one arm, smooshing her face into my chest. A muffled, “Thank you, Ry,” comes out, emphatic and filled with emotion. “I can’t wait to go.”

Spending the day out on the lake with Charlie has been incredible.

She’s been smiling since we got out on the water. All the lines of stress are gone from her face, replaced by tiny crinkles of happiness. Despite the sunblock I insisted she put on, her cheeks are pink from the sun, and a few tiny freckles are dusted across her nose.

We’ve been laughing on and off for the last three hours, pointing out funny boat names and snickering like little kids at some of the more suggestive ones.

We stuffed ourselves and still have more than half the food left, ignoring the healthy choices for cookies and chips.

As we traveled past a cluster of islands at the north end of the lake, Charlie looked up the names of them and was so damn cute when she told them to me.

“That one is Flirtation Island,” she said, “and that one is Lover’s Rock. It says you can camp on Flirtation Island. I’ve never been camping, but I think I would camp there, just for the name.”

Charlie’s been reaching for my hand, squeezing it whenever she sees something she likes. The lush green of the islands. The bright spot of color in the sky from a distant parasail. A boat pulling two inflatable tubes with people clinging to them, screeching in excitement.

And then there was when she hugged me for no reason. We were idling in one of the small bays, looking around and chatting, and she flung her arms around me, saying, “Thank you, Ry. This is wonderful.”

Holding her felt so right, every part of her fitting perfectly against me. I never wanted to let her go.

So the day has been a kind of torture, too.

Being with Charlie and not touching her the way I’d like to. Not brushing her hair away when the wind pushes it in her face. Not kissing her when she looks at me with her big eyes and her beautiful smile and thinking about how she’s the most stunning woman I’ve ever seen.

But I’ll take this torture a thousand times if it makes Charlie happy.

So far, the only flaw in the day was when my knee locked up for a second as we got on the boat. I tweaked it yesterday while I was running through the restaurant, and since I skipped my workout this morning, I didn’t do the stretches that usually help when my knee is bothering me.

Charlie saw me stumble, and she was immediately worried. Which, of course she would be—she’s sweet and considerate and would be concerned about anyone in pain—but I don’t want her worrying about me.

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