Chapter 11
“That was the most fun I’ve had in decades,” Deacon said, eyeing the taillights of his brother’s vehicle.
“That was mean.”
“Oh, come on. Give me a break. He’s been busting my balls since I was old enough to walk. This is the first time I’ve ever had a leg up on him, and you’d better believe I’m going to enjoy it.”
“I said it was mean. I never said it wasn’t funny as hell.”
Laughing, Deacon held the door to the vet clinic for her and ushered her in with a hand on the small of her back.
The proprietary way he touched her gave Julia mixed feelings.
On the one hand, she wanted to tell him to knock it off.
They were just friends, and there was no need to touch her the way he would a lover.
But on the other hand, he’d been nothing but kind and helpful to her, and she didn’t want to be a shrew about some harmless touching.
And then there was the fact that she kind of liked it when he touched her.
Dear God, she was hopeless. Her man diet hadn’t lasted four full months, and she was already having all the feels for a new guy.
But this guy… He seemed different. And yes, at first, Mike had, too.
But that hadn’t lasted long. There’d been signs he wasn’t all he’d pretended to be long before he asked her to help with his mother’s medical expenses.
She was so tired of being such a fool when it came to men, and even though she wanted Deacon to be different, she was still wary.
Janey was at the front desk again when they entered the vet clinic. “Hey, guys, you’re both looking a little better. Are you all warmed up?”
“Yes, thank goodness,” Julia said. “How’s my little buddy?”
“He’s doing great. We’ve got him on some fluids, and he’s mostly been sleeping. The poor guy is exhausted.”
“Can we take him home?”
“Doc Potter wants to keep him here for observation possibly overnight. We can let you know in a couple of hours.”
“Um, how much will all that cost?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Deacon said. “I’ll cover it.”
Julia wanted to protest, but how could she? There was no way she could cover a hefty vet bill. Not right now, anyway. “Thanks.”
“Let me get your number so I can call you when he’s set to be released,” Janey said.
Julia recited her phone number.
“Great. I’ll call you.”
“Thanks again, Janey.”
“No problem. I’m so glad you guys found him in time.”
“That was all Julia,” Deacon said. “She’s the one who saved him.”
Most of the men Julia had met would’ve taken credit for the rescue. They would’ve said it was their boat, and they were the one who’d been bitten during the rescue. But not Deacon. He gave her all the credit, despite having been more seriously injured.
They said their goodbyes to Janey and left the clinic, beginning the short walk back to the Sand & Surf Hotel.
“What’re you up to for the rest of the day?” Deacon asked.
“I don’t have any plans.”
“You ought to take it easy and stay warm. Get in bed and watch a movie.”
“That actually sounds perfect.” She glanced at him. “You want to watch it with me?”
Her invitation surprised him, but he made a poor effort to hide that. “What kind of movie are we talking about?”
“Something like Sex and the City or Dirty Dancing.”
“Hmmm, as appealing as that sounds…”
Julia cracked up laughing. “Just kidding.”
“Oh, thank God. I thought you were so cool until you went and ruined it with Dirty Dancing.”
“That movie is a classic. Everyone loves it.”
“No, not everyone.”
“This might be a deal breaker.”
He cast her a comically puzzled look. “Do we have a deal? I’m still not sure.”
“We have a deal to be friends, and friends watch TV together.”
“Ah, got it. So you’ll be the only one in the bed. I see how it is.”
“Exactly.” He was endlessly amusing. She had to give him that.
“Well, that’s not as much fun as it could be, but I’ll take what I can get.”
Julia couldn’t allow herself to think about the many other kinds of fun she might have with him in a bed.
They entered the lobby of the Surf, where a woman Julia didn’t know was working at the desk.
She nodded to them as they went up the stairs.
Julia was thankful that she’d gotten in without anyone from her family seeing her with Deacon.
She hadn’t considered the potential for gossip when she’d casually invited him to join her in her room.
Why had she done that, exactly? Because she enjoyed his company and wanted more of it.
That was the simple explanation. The other, far more complex explanation wasn’t something she cared to think about right then, not when she needed all the fortitude she could muster to remember that she wasn’t in any condition to get involved with yet another man.
Julia’s invitation had surprised him. Deacon had expected to walk her back to the hotel and tell her he’d see her tomorrow, when they would figure out what to do about the dog they now apparently owned together.
They had a baby! And he hadn’t even kissed her yet. Deacon wisely chose to keep that thought to himself as he followed her up to the hotel’s third floor.
He really wanted to kiss her. She had the sweetest, sexiest lips, and the expressive eyes that gave away her every thought, every fear and every wish had him all twisted up inside, wanting to soothe and comfort and provide whatever she wanted or needed.
Blaine would say he was doing his hero act again, but it wasn’t that.
Exactly. It was something else with her, something deeper and more compelling than anything he’d experienced before.
It should’ve scared him to be so drawn to a woman who wasn’t in the market for the sort of things he wanted from her, but it didn’t.
He could be patient when he needed to be, and he had a feeling she’d be worth the effort. More than anything, he wanted to show her that not all men were jerks, that some could be trusted to be honest and straightforward.
When they were in her room, she gestured for him to take the second bed while she got comfortable in the one she’d left unmade.
The room was so small, it might’ve been mistaken for a closet.
Other than the twin beds separated by a tiny bedside table, there was only a dresser with a flat-screen TV and an equally tiny adjoining bathroom.
“This was my summer home when I was a kid.”
Before he sat on his assigned bed, Deacon went to the one window to check out the view of endless ocean.
He could picture Julia curled up on the window seat as a girl, looking out at the water and dreaming of a different life than the one she’d had waiting for her at home.
It must’ve been torture for her and her siblings to leave this place at the end of every summer.
He wished he could ask her about that, but he never would.
He could only hope that someday she’d share that part of her story with him.
“I can see why you loved it,” he said, turning away from the window to kick off his shoes and sit on the other bed.
Julia had curled up on her bed and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. She looked much better than she had earlier, but a tinge of blue remained in her lips. “Do you want me to get you some tea or soup or something warm?”
“You don’t have to.”
“I know I don’t have to, but I’m offering anyway.”
“Maybe some soup from Stephanie’s?”
He stood, shoved his feet back into his Sperrys and headed for the door. “Coming right up.”
“Let me give you some money.”
“I’ve got it. Be right back.” He went downstairs to the restaurant and ordered the ultimate comfort food—takeout bowls of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for both of them.
While he waited, he checked out the dinner menu and decided he’d like to take Julia to Stephanie’s Bistro if she ever agreed to a real date with him.
The more time he spent with her, the more he hoped she’d agree to that real date.
Despite what she said about wanting to keep her distance, he’d caught her looking at him a few times, as if she was seeing something she wanted but couldn’t allow herself to have. He totally got why she’d erected walls around her heart after the nightmare with her ex.
Speaking of that, when he got back upstairs, they were going to make a plan for how they were going to handle him. He wasn’t going to get away with stealing from her. Not if Deacon had anything to say about it.
When their order was ready, he took it back upstairs and encountered Julia’s mother and her new husband coming down the stairs as he went up.
“Hi, Deacon. How was your boat ride?”
“Eventful.” He told them about rescuing the puppy and their trip to the clinic.
Sarah did a double take when she noticed the blood on his shirt that’d been partially hidden by the takeout bag. “Are you all right? Is Julia?”
“We’re both fine, and so is the puppy. Your daughter was amazing. She dove right off the boat to get to him.”
“That sounds like her. She always wanted a pet growing up, but her father said we had enough mouths to feed. I thought she’d get a dog or a cat as soon as she had her own place, but Katie has allergies, so she never did.”
“I hope she gets to keep this one.”
“I do, too.”
“I’d better get this soup to her. We’re still trying to get her warmed up.”
“Thank you for taking care of her, Deacon.”
“It’s my pleasure. Thank you again for inviting me to your wedding brunch. I enjoyed it very much.”
“We’re glad you could join us.”
“Enjoy your first day as Mr. and Mrs.”
The two of them beamed with happiness. “That’s the plan,” Sarah said. “We’ll see you later.”
When they parted company, Deacon continued to the third floor. He walked into Julia’s room, where she was still where he’d left her. The one thing he immediately noticed was that her lips had lost the luster of blue, which was a welcome development.
He served up the soup and sandwich for her and sat on the other bed to eat his.
Julia took tentative sips of the soup and a few bites of the sandwich at first, as if she wasn’t sure the food would be welcome by her stomach.
“Taste okay?”
“It’s really good. Thank you.”