Chapter 14 #2
He lay down beside her, equally relieved. “I wouldn’t say we’re cutting the trip short. Our first day was all about dealing with your family. The last three days, we’ve been all over the city, which is exactly what we planned. So really, I think we’re right on schedule.”
“Hmm…maybe. But it would be great if we could find someplace between here and Harbortown to actually have a proper night away to relax. You know, like a bed-and-breakfast or a nice hotel.”
“Um…”
Then she realized they were probably going to have to have a money talk at some point.
She was sure that he was a little self-conscious about the fact that she was an heiress—she hated the word, but, sadly, it fit—but she hoped he wouldn’t be opposed to her paying for things that were a little out of his budget.
But maybe not tonight.
“Harlow told me about this glamping spot she and Walker went to that I think is along the route home,” she said. “Do you think you can text Walker and get the details?”
“You want to go glamping?” he asked with amusement. “Seriously?”
“Sure! Why wouldn’t I?”
Rolling onto his side, he looked at her. “Maisie, come on. Have you ever gone camping in your entire life?”
“I’ve been on safari in Africa, and we stayed in tents that were the equivalent of glamping, so…yes.”
He rolled his eyes playfully. “A safari in Africa. That’s such an heiress thing to say.”
She gave him a light shove before climbing over and straddling him. “I hate that word. I know it’s technically correct…”
“I told you that days ago…”
“But I still hate it because it makes me sound like some sort of snooty brat.”
He tugged her down close. “Yeah, but you’re my snooty brat.” And then kissed her before she could argue.
And he was such a talented kisser that she just melted against him and forgot all about titles and money and just focused on him.
Life was more enjoyable like this.
They moved together perfectly, slowly undressing, and made love. She knew she would never tire of this feeling—being loved and cherished—but she was also finding that loving someone and having them appreciate the feeling and reciprocate it was pretty damn special.
Who would have thought that getting essentially thrown out on her ass would lead her to the greatest love of her life?
He loved her, she loved him, and as they slowly settled into each other’s arms, she wasn’t sure anything could be more perfect than this.
“Oh my God! This is perfect!”
The next day, they arrived at the glamping resort, and Maisie was loving every single thing about it.
From the golf cart ride to their tent, to the decor inside of it, the hot tub, and all the potential activities—like bike trails, kayaking, and miniature golf.
Although after all the walking they’d done the last several days plus all the hard work Axel’s been doing at the resort, it might be nice to just relax for a few days and not do a whole lot of anything.
It was exactly as she envisioned it, only nicer.
Their tent looked like a small house. It had a wood frame that the canvas was fitted over it.
You could open it in the front and back for a good cross-breeze, and inside was exactly as the website described.
It was cozy and rustic, and really rather nice.
Out back was a hot tub with a privacy wall around it. The nearest tent was easily ten yards away, but she was still slightly concerned about their privacy.
“I’m so glad we booked this for two nights! There is no way I would want to leave tomorrow,” she told him as she put her purse down on the bed and followed him around the room, checking everything out. Flavored coffee pods, super plush robes, tons of pillows on the bed…
“Now I can understand why Walker wanted to do this at the resort,” Axel murmured.
“Really? Then why didn’t he?”
He groaned. “It’s a long story. I’ll let him tell it to you someday.”
“Oh. Okay.” But the more she looked everything over, the more she wished maybe they had done something like this at the resort. “I would have loved to work with a space like this. I mean, this is all gorgeous, but I can already envision what I would do differently.”
“Seriously? I think this is all great.”
“It is, but I can totally see adding more pops of color and a little more privacy options.”
That made him grin as he walked over and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Just know that everything is very private. Walker assured me of it.”
Her head fell forward, resting on his chest. “Ugh…please tell me you didn’t ask him about it.”
“Nope. He volunteered it. I told him we were looking to check the place out, and he gave me all the contact info and shared some of the stuff they did, and then threw in the part about total privacy.”
Pulling back slightly, she looked at him. “How can he know that for sure?”
“Because he didn’t hear anyone either, and all the surrounding tents were occupied, so…”
“Oh.” Still, she had a feeling she was going to be at least a little self-conscious.
“How about we go and soak in the hot tub and relax a bit?” It was a little after three, so they had time to kill before dinner. “I think my body could use it after hiking all over the city.”
“I agree.”
They moved around the room, and she watched as Axel stripped down until he was completely naked, and she was fairly certain her eyes were bugging out of her head.
“What’s the matter?”
“What are you doing? Why aren’t you wearing anything?” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she knew she sounded like an outraged virgin. “I mean…”
He grabbed one of the robes and slid it on before walking over to her. “First of all, I didn’t pack a bathing suit. Second, it’s just the two of us. And lastly, why wouldn’t we go in naked?”
There was being naked and intimate with each other when they were in bed, but out in broad daylight? When she wasn’t sure about the privacy aspect? And with her body-image issues? Putting on a bathing suit already gave her anxiety, and he wanted her to go outside naked?
Axel must have noticed the pure panic on her face because he once again took her in his arms. “Just because I’m not wearing anything doesn’t mean you have to do the same.
I want you to do whatever makes you feel comfortable.
” He kissed her cheek. “And I’ll give you some privacy so you can work that out.
I’ll be outside getting the hot tub ready. ”
On his way out of their tent, he grabbed a couple of bottles of water and winked at her before he stepped out of sight.
“I’m being ridiculous. The man has seen me naked dozens of times.”
Yeah, it was easy to say the words, but not so easy to believe them.
Still, she got undressed, pulled on her own robe and joined him outside.
He was standing next to the hot tub with his head tilted back in the sunlight. He just looked so at peace and in that moment, she envied him. Maybe someday she’d be able to simply relax and feel at ease, but it wasn’t happening yet.
And definitely not as she was about to climb into a hot tub with no clothes on.
Ugh…
“Hey,” she said softly, almost hating to disturb him. “Is the water ready?”
Turning, Axel nodded. “All we need to do is climb in and enjoy it.”
Easy for you to say…
In the blink of an eye, his robe was off and placed on one of the benches in their private area. He climbed in and then held out his hand to her. There were steps, so it wasn’t like she had to just swing her legs over, but…
“I can turn my back if that would make you feel better,” he said casually. “Or I can climb out and hold up my robe like an additional wall. Whatever you need, I’ll do it.”
Damn the man. He always knew exactly what she was thinking and what she needed. It was incredibly sweet, but it was crazy how well he knew her.
“I’m being silly. I know that,” she said. “Just…give me a minute.”
If she didn’t want to be in the tub with him so badly, she would have said screw it and gone back into the tent. But she really wanted to soak with him and have this time where they were just relaxing and being comfortable with each other.
“Screw it.” Yanking at the tie on her robe, she slid it off and tossed it on top of his before climbing the steps. Axel held his hand out to her and carefully guided her into the tub. As soon as she sat and was fully submerged, the tension in her body slowly ebbed.
“Worth it, right?” he said softly, his breath warm against her ear.
“Mmhmm…”
They sat in companionable silence for several minutes, but they were sitting so close and she was wildly aware of him.
When she felt his hand on her thigh, it felt nice.
But when it ventured a little higher, she felt some of her inhibitions fading.
Slowly, she let her legs open and nearly cried out when Axel’s very talented hand began to do all the things she loved for him to do.
He silenced her with a kiss that was just as carnal and naughty as what his hand was doing, and Maisie couldn’t believe she was doing this—and loving it—out in the open.
But she didn’t let that thought take hold; instead, she focused on Axel and how good he was making her feel and how she was seriously the luckiest girl in the world.
Their mini-vacation ended far too soon, but they both knew that it was time to head back to the resort after being gone for an entire week. They both had gotten daily updates on the work, but she felt bad about getting preferential treatment because of her relationship with Axel.
They were about forty minutes away from the resort when Axel’s phone started going off with a bunch of incoming texts. He was driving and asked her to see who it was and to read the messages to him.
Picking up his phone, she tapped the screen and laughed softly.
“What? Who is it?”
“Um…everyone?”
“Ah, it’s the group chat. Okay. What’s going on?”
So, she started reading the thread even as it was still being updated.
Walker: Hey! Hope you guys are on your way back. Harlow and I have big news, and we want to celebrate with everyone tonight!
Walker: And no, it’s not an engagement, so don’t ask.
Connor: I’m already working on an amazing menu for dinner, so everyone better bring their appetites!
Slater: We’re not dressing up or anything, right? Because right now I’m covered in paint and varnish, and I can’t guarantee it will all come off by dinner. LOL!
Milo: Axel and Maisie, if you’re reading this, please let us know you’re on your way because otherwise I’m heading out.
Walker: What the hell? You said you were staying!
Slater: Aren’t you all up in the lodge? Why are you communicating with each other by text? Just talk, for crying out loud.
Maisie looked over at him. “Should I let them know that we’re on our way?”
“Definitely.”
Axel: Hey, guys! It’s Maisie! We are definitely on our way and should be at the resort in a little over thirty minutes. Do we need to stop in town and pick up anything, Connor?
Connor: Thanks for the offer, but I just got back and have everything.
Connor: Just bring yourselves. We’re all dying to hear about how everything went with your parents.
She groaned even as Axel chuckled.
“What’s so funny?”
“Welcome to the group. You’re officially one of us now.”
“What…the group?”
He nodded. “Yeah. The group. We all became friends as kids, and this is the core group that stayed friends through the years. We’re close-knit and, basically, we’re each other’s family.
And now, you’re one of us.” He winked. “So just know that whenever you’re maybe feeling sad because of the situation with your actual family, you’ve got a group of people here who care about you and will support the hell out of you. ”
Tears stung her eyes because that actually sounded wonderful.
“And you know I am always here for you and will not only care and support you, but I’ll love you too. Forever.”
She whispered his name and wanted to say more, but the phone was dinging again with more texts.
Harlow: CONNOR! Don’t scare her off! What is wrong with you?
Connor: What? I was just being honest.
Harlow: No. You were being nosy. Big difference.
Walker: Can everyone play nice? Don’t ruin the mood for our big surprise.
Harlow: And like he said, no engagement, so…don’t ask.
Milo: I feel there’s a story there.
Milo: Will we at least get to hear why there’s no engagement?
Walker: No.
Harlow: Hell no.
Milo just put a row of wide-eyed emojis as his response.
Slater: Again, you’re all up at the damn lodge! Have an actual conversation!
Slater: Every time you send a text, I stop what I’m doing!
Slater: At this rate, I won’t make it to dinner because I’ll still be working.
Slater: And seriously, Axel, I don’t know how the hell you do this every day. I’m happy you’ll be taking over again tomorrow.
Axel: On that note, we’ll just plan on seeing everyone soon!
Axel: Should we just go straight up to the lodge, or will we have time to run to the cabin first?
Walker: Why don’t you come up to the lodge first? We’re setting up snacks and drinks now.
Walker: And Slater? Put down the paintbrush and go shower! You’ve got about twenty minutes!
Slater: UGH!! FINE!!
Slater: This is Axel’s problem now.
Slater: See everyone soon!
Putting the phone down, she shook her head. “Wow. You guys are a lot.”
“Yeah. Especially since we started working on the resort. We’re a wild mix of personalities and skills, but it works.”
For the rest of the drive, they talked about all the things they were going to need to do to actually move in together.
Maisie was keeping her place in the city for now because she loved it.
She was going to sell the pickup—they were currently in Axel’s—but she left her car in the city as well because she didn’t want them to have to drive separately.
There were still a lot of things that she left behind at her condo because Axel’s cabin was already crowded.
Ultimately, they wanted to find a place to rent and knew they could talk to Harlow about it, but they weren’t prepared to buy because now that they were together, she wasn’t sure if Harbortown and the surrounding areas were going to be enough to keep her in business.
There were still so many things to work out, but hopefully they’d figure some of it out soon.
When they pulled through the resort gates, they spotted Slater jogging across the parking lot toward the lodge.
“We’re home,” Axel announced with a grin, and it hit her.
Home.
This place in a little town in upstate New York was her new home.
It wasn’t shiny and sleek or in a prestigious neighborhood, but…
it was better. This was the place she found calm during a storm—and not of the weather variety.
This is where she started to heal. And this was where she found the love of her life.
Turning her head, she smiled at him.
He arched a brow at her. “What? What’s that smile for?”
“Because I am home. And it’s good to finally be here.”