Chapter 15
Leaving the Beachcomber before dawn, Evan set out for the bluffs at the island’s southernmost point and sat on the grass to watch the sunrise. Hours later, he was still there, trying to figure out what the hell had happened in that small hotel room.
He’d had plenty of sex in his life, but calling what happened between him and Grace “sex” didn’t do it justice. With her, the “deed” had bordered on a religious experience. Just thinking about it had him hard and wanting more.
“For crying out loud,” he said to the morning breeze. “Give me a freaking break!”
Evan felt like some alien force had taken him over without his permission and changed who he was. The unsettling thought only heightened the anxiousness he’d been riddled with since he woke up in her arms earlier.
Upon realizing where he was and who he was with, his very first thought had been to get the heck out of there before this got even more complicated.
What had he been thinking, sleeping all night with her?
He’d known from the first instant he met her that she was different from most other woman.
Not only was she innocent—truly innocent, he thought with a groan—but she was too nice and too sweet to be dallying with the likes of him.
A vicious round of sneezing left him dazed as his watery eyes reminded him that in the throes of hay-fever season, the last place someone with allergies like his should be sitting was in a field full of pollen.
With elbows propped on knees, he ran his fingers through his hair as bits and pieces of lyrics danced through his mind. The words were softer and more heartfelt than usual, which only added to his anxiety. One night with Grace and he was spouting poetry, for Christ’s sake!
It wouldn’t do. It simply wouldn’t do. Furious at himself and at her and the pollen that made him so miserable this time of the year, he got up to brush the grass and dirt from his rumpled khakis.
As he stormed down the path that led to the road, Evan wondered if she was awake yet.
Was she questioning where he’d gone and why?
Was she expecting him to call her and make plans to get together again today?
He hoped not, because that was not going to happen. There was no way he could spend more time with her, not when he felt so churned up and out of sorts afterward. Did that make him an asshole? Probably, but at least he hadn’t abandoned her on an island with no money and no place to stay.
He’d been honest from the beginning about what she could—and couldn’t—expect from him. He didn’t owe her a damned thing. Just because the sex had been un-freaking-believable didn’t change who or what he was. He wouldn’t allow it to.
Despite the early morning heat and humidity, he walked the long way home to North Harbor, avoiding downtown and any chance of running into Grace.
She was leaving tomorrow, and he’d be steering clear of town between now and then.
If that made him a coward, so be it. He had no intention of ever seeing her again.
The second she awoke, Grace knew she was alone.
That didn’t stop her from sending a hand to the other side of the bed just to be certain.
The sheets were cool. He’d been gone awhile.
Perhaps she’d dreamed the entire thing. Then she shifted from her side to her back, and every muscle screamed in protest. She definitely hadn’t dreamed it.
Releasing a deep sigh of contentment, she relived the extraordinary night with Evan. Although she ached in some delicate places this morning, she wouldn’t change a thing about what had transpired between them.
Wondering if he’d left her a note, she got up and pulled on a robe to look around the small but well-appointed room.
Through the open window, she heard the horn for the nine o’clock boat from the ferry landing across the street and the squawk of seagulls.
When she didn’t find a note or any sign that Evan had ever been there, she shrugged off the disappointment and stepped into the bathroom.
Eyeing the claw-footed tub, Grace decided a good long soak in the hottest water she could tolerate was exactly what her aching muscles needed.
Floating in the steaming water a few minutes later, Grace wondered if he would call to make plans for the day.
She could always call him, of course, but she was old-fashioned that way and decided to wait for him to make the first move.
As she thought about seeing him again, her emotions were all over the place—giddy and excited and nervous.
Would their easy rapport disappear now that they’d been intimate?
What would he say? What would she say? Would she even be able to look at him after what they’d done the night before?
Grace decided she needed a sounding board to figure out what it all meant—and as much as it would embarrass her to admit it, she owed Stephanie fifty bucks. Laura was the closest, right across the street at the Sand & Surf. Hopefully, she was around this morning and available for a chat.
Grace pulled the drain plug on the tub and reached for a towel. While she was reluctant to leave the hotel and possibly miss a call from Evan, who didn’t have her cell number, she needed someone to talk to. She also needed to meet with the Golds to discuss the purchase and sale agreement.
In her suitcase, she found a dress she’d bought as part of her new post-weight-loss wardrobe.
She’d never worn it before, but as the silky fabric molded to her new slimmer shape, Grace felt sexier than she ever had in her life.
Evan had done that for her. Not only had he made her feel beautiful, he’d made her feel cherished and sexy, too.
As she slid her feet into sandals, she couldn’t wait to see him again.
Owen’s first thought when he woke up later than usual was that he wanted to kiss Laura again—badly.
As he lay in bed staring up at a water stain on the ceiling, he went over all the reasons it couldn’t happen, but knowing why didn’t stop him from wanting more of her.
During the long evening at the Tiki, he’d been forced to put aside his plan to stay far away from her and acknowledge the painful crush that had taken him over.
The ten days she’d been gone to the mainland to unravel her marriage and pack up her old life had been ten of the longest days of Owen’s life. He’d been tormented by thoughts of what she must be going through and filled with the desire to do anything he could to make it better for her.
Seeing her on the hotel porch yesterday, knowing that she’d finally come back, counted right up there among the best moments of his entire life, which scared the hell out of him.
He had no business being so happy to see a woman who was technically still married to someone else, not to mention pregnant with that someone else’s kid.
He certainly had no business wanting her naked and horizontal under him in his bed. That was for sure!
“Ugh,” he groaned as he got up and shook off the cobwebs from a restless night. “Don’t even go there. It’s not gonna happen, dude.”
He took a quick shower, finger-combed his unruly hair, and threw on shorts and a T-shirt. As he took the stairs to Laura’s third-floor apartment, he told himself he was only going up to check on her and to make sure they were still friends after he’d crossed the line by kissing her.
All the way up, Grant’s words from the day before about not missing out on the most important thing in life filtered through Owen’s mind, making his legs feel like they were made of lead.
On the third-floor landing, he stopped short when he heard telltale retching sounds. Goddamned morning sickness! She was plagued by it.
This morning, however, in addition to the usual retching, Owen heard sobs, too. “Poor baby,” he whispered as he realized her pain had become his, too. How and when that had happened was anyone’s guess. “No one should have to go through that alone.”
Knowing how she hated for him to see her when she was sick, he stood outside the door for a long time, long enough to make a decision he’d probably live to regret.
He withdrew the cell phone from his pocket and found the number for the manager of the bar in Boston that had booked him for two nights during the week as well as weekends from October to Christmas.
It was a good gig and one he usually looked forward to.
“Hey, Jerry, it’s Owen Lawry.”
“Owen! What’s going on?”
“Listen, something’s come up, and I’m going to have to bail out this fall. I’m really sorry for the short notice.” Owen had no doubt Jerry had a long list of available performers who’d be happy to fill the opening.
“Aw, shit! That’s too bad. Our customers love you. Nothing serious, I hope.”
As he thought of his fair-haired Princess and the dark circles under her eyes that had so concerned him the night before, he realized he was sunk. “I’m afraid it might be.”
“I’m real sorry to hear that. If anything changes, you know where we are. You’re always welcome here, Owen.”
“Thanks for understanding. I appreciate it.”
“Take care.”
Owen had no sooner ended the call and stashed the phone in his pocket when panic set in. What the hell had he just done?
Laura couldn’t take much more of the morning sickness that hit her at the exact same time every day.
Sometimes it was nothing more than a bout of nausea that eating a few crackers took care of, but on most days, like this one, the vomiting went on for an hour or more.
By the time she reached the dry-heave stage, she was so wrung out that she had no choice but to curl up in a ball on the bathroom floor to ride it out.
That was where Owen found her.
Laura suppressed a moan when she realized he was hovering in the doorway. She hated that he’d already witnessed her daily puke-fest once before. That was more than enough.
“Is it over?” he asked.
“For now.”
He bent to scoop her up off the floor. “Come on, honey.”