Page 81 of The Calendar of New Beginnings
Blake’s cabin in Vail, which showcased stunning vistas of the mountains and the changing leaves of fall, was the warmest, most welcoming cocoon of a place Lucy had ever been in. Western blankets decorated with buffalos and Native American designs were slung over the arms of comfy leather couches. Everywhere there was shining honey-colored wood. Lucy plopped down on the couch cushions as Andy hauled in the luggage, something he’d insisted on doing without her help. It wasn’t like she had much more than a duffle, so she’d let him make the gesture. As a world traveler, she’d always packed light.
The high ceilings caught her eye, and she stared up at the light pouring in from the windows. In the past week, she’d had two doctor appointments. One with Dr. Davidson, who said the increased clarity of her vision in her right eye was encouraging. Of course, her color vision had not improved, which still worried her, but there was nothing either of them could do about that.
The second appointment had addressed the change she and Andy were about to make to their relationship. Shehadn’t been with many men, but most of her interactions had been spontaneous. Some had been fun while others had generated from loneliness or despair.
She might joke about them doing the horizontal mambo, but it was mostly a show of bravado. Deep down she was afraid having sex with Andy would only strengthen their bond. Worse, she feared it would tie her to him and Dare Valley, preventing her from making a logical decision about leaving if and when the time came.
“Do you want to help me unpack the groceries?” he asked. “I’m starving.”
So he wasn’t going to haul her off to the bedroom right away. She hadn’t thought he would, but her mind had generated a few scenarios. Her phone buzzed, and she pushed off the couch to pick it up. Her mom was asking when she could talk to her about the upcoming photo shoots with Rhett and Old Man Jenkins next week. Great. Her mom wasn’t even going to leave her alone while she was away with Andy.
“I can help with that,” she said, turning off her phone, “or if you’d rather, I can make us some sandwiches.”
“Sandwiches would be good. I’d like pastrami and mustard. With an apple.”
“On top of the pastrami?” she asked smartly, earning her an amused look.
She followed him into the kitchen and brought out the ingredients. “Are you going to judge me if I eat the potato chips I brought? I seem to recall this is a vacation of sorts, which involves eating junk food.”
He kissed her on the cheek and started putting groceries away. He was always doing sweet things like that, and she liked it. She liked it a lot.
“Other than an occasional ice cream, I don’t reallyeat junk food.” He drew out the three bottles of wine from a brown bag.
“Ice cream isn’t junk food. It’s an essential food group, and one I missed terribly when I was overseas.”
His hand caressed the back of her head quickly. “Then we shall find ice cream around here and have it as often as you like.”
That wasn’t all they’d be having as often as they liked. He might want to be a gentleman, but frankly she was too fidgety to put up with it.
“Were you planning to wait until after dinner to make your move?” she asked, biting her lip to keep from smiling.
He dropped the milk jug on the counter. “Are we on some kind of timetable?”
She cleared her throat to stop the nervous laughter catching in her throat. “No, but I realized it was silly to wait for the guy to make a move. Dinner is about eight hours off. Why wait? Besides, I rather like having sex in the sunlight.”
His hazel eyes, which looked more brown to her brain now, heated and the look he gave her made her all molten inside. “Come here then.”
She almost asked why he couldn’t come to her, but that would be silly. Bounding across the room, she wrapped her arms around him. A slow smile broke out across his face as he caressed her cheek.
“It’s still a little weird, thinking about getting naked with you,” she admitted.
He arched a brow. “I’m sure we’ll get through it fine. We’ve managed to get through everything else together.”
It was true. His keen understanding of her, of them, had helped dissolve every boundary.
When he slid his hands around her waist, he looked her straight in the eye. “I love you. Come make love with me.”
Her heart started racing, and an aching vulnerability washed over her. She wasn’t going to be able to tease or joke about this simply being fun. This was Andy, and he’d always known her soul.
“I love you too,” she said, reaching for his hand and leading him out of the kitchen. “Are you sure you can wait for your sandwich?” she teased because she couldn’t seem to help herself.
His fingers were already edging up her shirt, caressing the bare skin of her waist. “Oh, yeah.”
They journeyed up the stairs to the master suite. A set of deer antlers jutted out above a stone fireplace. Lucy wanted to pop out some joke about them, but she couldn’t get the words out. It was like her funny bone had been decommissioned, replaced by something raw.
Scanning the massive room, she noticed their luggage nestled together in the corner. It was weird to see their things together. Growing up, Andy had had his house and she’d had hers, and even though they’d spent hours hanging out, they’d never had sleepovers. Boys and girls in their town just didn’t do that when they were only friends, so until now, there’d always been his space and hers.
“We’ve never spent the night together,” she said, “even after all of our years of friendship.”
