Chapter 9 #2
“I’d have you guess, but I’m way too sensitive for that game. I’m twenty-six.” The nod feels like the approval I needed. “A little age gap thing is happening.” The smile is wiped from my face. Really, Summer? Ugh. “Not that we’re together. I didn’t mean to infer you’d date me or any—”
“I would date you.”
That shouldn’t be as sexy as it is, but hearing him say that makes me wish I’d chosen a different outfit than denim cutoffs and a striped crop top.
A little more makeup wouldn’t have done any harm, but it's too late now. Blush, a thin line of eyeliner, and a swipe of mascara will have to do. It’s tempting to pull my hair from the ponytail at the crown of my head, but I raise my chin and look at him instead.
“You’re good with the comebacks, but I have to say your sweet lines are my favorite. ”
“They’re not lines if they’re true.”
“Come watch, Summer,” Roman calls as he turns the tire and jumps on, entertaining himself. Even with a gaggle of siblings, I’ve done that myself.
Smiling, I reply, “Coming.”
Daniel’s steps slow to fit my stride. So sweet. “About those rules?”
“Ah. Right. Number two: Don’t go in the woods past the shed.”
With a furrowed brow, he glares at me. “That’s ominous.”
I laugh, pushing back on the tire when it comes swinging in my direction. “It’s not meant to be. It’s just an area of the property we like to protect.”
He nods. “Okay, easy enough. Any other rules?”
“Only one more.”
It’s his turn to push the swing. “My mind is going wild.”
Watching his muscles work under the pressure has me staring at him. “My mind already did.” He flexes his bicep for me and sends a wink along with it. I want to die inside. Instead, I wait for the tire to be away from us, and say, “Rule three: we can’t sleep together.”
His eyes practically bug out of the sockets. Covering his heart, he leans back as if the pain is too much to bear. “Wow, straight for the kill.” When he finishes the Academy Award-winning performance, he says, “I tell you I’d date you, and you pull sex from the table. I’m losing my touch.”
I cackle, holding my arms out. “Easy come. Easy go.”
“Except we never had the easy coming part.” He’s not wrong, but we’re not going there.
Glaring at him, I frantically nod toward Roman. “Little ears.”
He chuckles. “Don’t worry. He was out of earshot.”
“Out of earshot for what?” Roman asks, swinging by. “What’d I miss?”
As he whips through the air in the other direction, I say, “It’s time for breakfast. Do you like eggs?”
“I like pancakes more,” he replies, hanging upside down with a cheeky grin on his face.
“You’re a stinker, you know that?” I start for the house.
“What’s a stinker?”
“Your dad will explain.” I look back at Daniel, and he’s already got his eyes on me. That gorgeous face sends a shiver up my spine, and his body is so hot it about knocks me dead. “What happened to your shirt, Sutton?”
He throws his arms out wide. “I couldn’t find it this morning. I thought you stole it.”
“Nope. But I’ll help you look for it.” Now, how in the world would his shirt go missing? I step onto the porch just as my phone buzzes in my back pocket. I pull it free to see Mrs. Dover calling. “Good morning,” I answer.
“Morning, Summer. What’s this I’m hearing about a plumbing issue at the Cove Cottage?” Word travels too fast in these parts.
I start pacing the porch. “I was waiting until a decent hour to call you. The shower we have been getting hot water from using a trick decided it was going to bust on us. It soaked the tenant and me. Water was spraying everywhere and wouldn’t turn off.
I got the water turned off outside, though, but that means no water to the house until the pipe is fixed. ”
“No toilets or sinks? No water in the kitchen?”
“No water at all. It would have flooded the whole house if I’d left it on.”
She asks, “Where are the tenants?”
Stopping, I look at Daniel chasing Roman around the tree, then the reverse. The giggles drift all the way over here. “They stayed in our guest room last night.”
The silence is louder than my confession. I look down, waiting for her to say something, anything. When she finally speaks, she says, “What would I do without you? That was generous to take them in. I know you have a full house over there, and Dolly.”
Some things never change. Sounds like the feeling is still mutual between them.
“It worked fine.” I peek back up at them as they start heading this way. “They’re content to stay until it’s fixed this week.”
“This week won’t do. I’m getting someone in today. We can’t have good-paying guests staying with you all summer.”
There are worse things I could imagine than Daniel and Roman staying with us. With me . . . “Do you need me to meet the plumber to let them in?”
“Yes, if you could be there by ten, they should be arriving by then. We’ll get this sorted today. Thanks, dear.”
“You’re welcome.”
When I hang up, I stuff the phone in my pocket again and look up to see concern wrinkling Daniel’s forehead. “Everything okay?”
I shift into pro mode like I always fall back on and plaster a smile on my face.
It’s not that I don’t want him in the cottage so he can enjoy the rest of his stay.
It’s only been a day and one night, but it’s already brought an energy back to my life that’s been missing.
Once the pipes are fixed, I’ll have to make up reasons to see him since I won’t have business to tend to.
Worst of all, I made up rule three just so we could break it. What excuse will I have now? I finally cut loose, and look what happens. Every time. I think my sex life is doomed. And the drought continues.