Chapter 22 #2
She shifted to lie on top of him. “In that case, you’re going to be very easy to please.”
“Mmm,” he said as she kissed her way to his belly. “If you keep that up, I’ll be pleased in no time at all.”
“I need a shower,” Caroline said more than an hour later as she launched into one of her full body stretches.
Ted was face down in bed listening to the blare of a car alarm and the clutter of voices drifting in from the city street. The sheer curtain billowed in the late afternoon breeze. “I watched you do that on Block Island.”
She turned to him. “What?”
“Stretch from your toes to the ends of your fingertips. I committed that and a hundred other things about you to memory in case I didn’t get to see you again.”
She ran her fingers through his hair. “You’re so sweet.”
“I was so afraid we’d never have this.”
“I had a feeling we’d find a way. This was too big to ignore.”
“You were so beautiful in the moonlight that first night on the deck when I told you about Joey.”
“I just wish . . .” She bit her lip.
“What, honey?”
“That the thing we’re not talking about wasn’t a factor. I know you must be so sad about it.”
“When I talked to my grandmother about you she said something I didn’t really understand until today when we were free to be together.” He hooked a hand around the curve of her neck to bring her close enough to kiss. “She said if things went bad with my friends, you’d fill the empty spaces.”
Caroline’s eyes went soft with emotion as she caressed his chest. “She’s right. We’ll have each other no matter what happens.”
He struggled against the lump that suddenly filled his throat. “I’m going to try very hard not to need anything else. If they turn their backs on me because of this, I’ll do my best to live with it.”
“We’ll live with it.”
Clutching her hand, he nodded.
“How about a shower?” she asked with a playful smile. “I’ll wash your back, and you’ll forget all your worries.”
He brightened as he turned over to sit up. “I can’t say no to that.”
The only color in the stark white bathroom was the small black tiles mixed in with the white ones on the floor. “I think I’ve gone color blind,” he joked as she pulled out two thick white towels.
“Don’t you know white’s the new black?” she asked with a saucy grin. “Of course no one told me it would be such a bear to keep clean.”
The claw-footed tub had a wraparound shower curtain. She leaned in to turn on the water.
While they waited for the water to warm up, he put his arms around her and pulled her close. “You’ve completely corrupted me.”
She looked up at him. “How so?”
“I don’t even feel guilty about calling in sick to work. That’s so not me.”
“Think of it as mental health time. You needed it.”
“I needed you.” He lifted her against his erection.
She giggled against his lips. “Don’t get any big ideas, mister. We can’t get my cast wet.”
“And how exactly does that work?”
“Carefully.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier to take a bath? You could hook it over the side.”
“Can I still wash your back?”
“Absolutely.”
“Then you need to put me down so I can plug the drain.”
“Do I have to?” He kissed her so thoroughly that she was breathless by the time he inched her slowly back down.
When the bath was ready, Ted got in first and held her steady while she balanced on one leg and propped her cast on the side of the tub. She leaned back against him and sighed with pleasure. “Now if this isn’t good for your mental health, what is?”
“I can’t imagine anything better,” he said as he worked shampoo into her hair.
“Ted,” she moaned when he massaged her scalp. “That feels sinfully good, but I’m supposed to be washing your back.”
“You’ll get your chance. So tell me, what’s your book really about?”
“A single dad named Cameron Littlefield. He’s tall, dark, and handsome, and he’s lived in my head for at least three years now.”
“Do I need to be jealous of this Cameron Littlefield? I didn’t know you preferred tall, dark, and handsome. I’m in big trouble here.” He tried not to think about how well the description fit Smitty.
She laughed and reached back to ruffle his blond hair. “You’ve got two out of three. I’m definitely infatuated with Cameron, but I’m completely in love with you. So you’ve got nothing to worry about.”
He nuzzled her neck. “I’m never, ever going to get tired of hearing you say that.”
She turned to him. “Any time you need to hear it, just let me know.”
He cupped her face with one hand and kissed her. “So what’s Cameron Littlefield’s problem?”
“I don’t think I care for your tone,” she joked. “His ex-wife got busted selling crack cocaine out of their basement, and she’s in jail for two years. The town is full of rumors that she was selling more than crack, if you know what I mean.”
“Ah, yes, the other crack.”
She elbowed him, and water sloshed over the top of the tub.
“That’s truly gross,” she snickered. “So anyway, Cameron’s little daughters, Stella and Avery, are being ridiculed at school, and he realizes he needs to get them out of town or the stigma will stick to them forever.
Because he’s in construction and can work anywhere, he allows the girls to pick the place they want to move to—anywhere in the United States. ”
“Where do they decide to go?”
“I’m not sure yet.”
“You don’t know what’s going to happen?” he asked with surprise.
“I know enough to get me started. I’m hoping the rest will come to me as I go.”
“I always figured people who wrote books had lengthy outlines they followed and they know how it’s going to end before it even begins.”
“From what I’ve read, everyone has a different process. I don’t want to spend the time on an outline because then I’d feel like I had to follow it or all the time I’d spent on it would be wasted. What if I get halfway through it and want to go in a whole other direction?”
“That’s a good point.”
“Let’s switch places.”
He got up and stepped over her as she scooted back against the edge of the tub.
“How’s the cast doing?”
“It’s dry but itchy. I hate it.”
“Does your ankle still hurt?”
“Not really. I hear it hurts like hell when the cast comes off and you have to start moving it again. And then there’s physical therapy. I’m not looking forward to that.”
“I’ll hold your hand.”
“All the way from Boston?” she asked, massaging his back.
He relaxed against her. “I’ve been thinking about that. Why don’t you and Cameron Littlefield come home with me tomorrow?”
Caroline’s hands went still on his back. “Seriously?”
“Why not?” When she didn’t answer he turned over to face her, sending even more water to the floor. “I want you with me, Caroline. Pack up your laptop and your plants and come home with me.”
She smiled. “How did you know I was thinking about my plants?”
“I have to go back to work on Wednesday. My patients need me, but I need you. We can come back to New York the week after next for the conference.”
“And then what?”
He shrugged. “I don’t have an outline written because if I did, I’d feel obligated to follow it.” He kissed his way up her neck. “And I might miss out on something truly amazing along the way.”
Amused, she said, “You think you’re very clever, don’t you, Ted Duffy?”
“Will you come home with me? Tell me I don’t have to leave you tomorrow.” He pressed his lips to hers. “I’m not going to be ready to leave you tomorrow.”
She put her arms around him and sank into his kiss. They slipped under the water without breaking the kiss. She resurfaced sputtering and coughing. “Okay,” she gasped through her laughter. “I’ll come.”