Page 84 of Elling & Jackie

He cut the engine and patted her thigh. "Hop off."

She slid off the seat and removed the helmet. "It's beautiful up here."

"Have you been up here before?"

"No." She walked over to the thigh-high barrier and peered out in front of her to the city below. "Is that all of downtown?"

"Ja." He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, under her breasts, and pulled her back against his front. "See the lighted arch?"

"Uh, huh." She hugged his arms.

"That's the bridge over the Willamette River. If you follow that to the left, you should be able to see the hotel. It's higher than any building around it."

She followed the lights, quickly spotting the streets with the moving cars. "Where's your clubhouse?"

"It's..."

She looked over her shoulder at him. "Unless you don't feel comfortable telling me. I was only curious."

"It's not a secret." He pointed. "It's in North Portland. It hard to see I-5 from this angle, so I'm trying to get my sense of direction from here."

"My hairdresser is in North Portland," she said.

"Do you know where Taco Bell is?"

"Above Swan Island?"

"Ja. We're a couple blocks south. We have a bar, The Fire Ring. The clubhouse is behind that, and backs the railroad tracks."

Knowing where he lived only made her jealous. He had a whole other part of his life that she would never be a part of. A part of him that would always be separate from her.

Amazing how a few miles seemed so far away.

He kissed the side of her head. "You'll have to tell me if you get tired."

"I'm not." She sighed. "It's the beginning of my weekend. I can sleep later."

"What are your plans?"

She shrugged. "What are yours?"

"I hope to be with you tomorrow."

"Then, that's my plan, too." She turned and looped her arms behind his neck. "Have you ever been married?"

He brought his hand over her neck and cupped her jaw, putting her chin in the V of his thumb and index finger. "There have been women, but not one woman for me."

"Kids?"

He shook his head. There was a shield he put in place and stubbornly refused to lower it for her, and she had difficulty figuring out why.

"You're what? Forty years old?"

"Thirty-eight." He curved his hands on her hips, keeping her close.

"Good." She raised to her toes and kissed his lips. "I like that age."

"Good?" he asked.

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