Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Lilly had never had sex in a pool. Or on a couch. Or a kitchen table. Or even in a bed twice the size of her own.
But she quickly discovered that she didn’t mind at all. On the contrary. She might have missed out on a lot over the past ten years.
Austin kept his promise…and simply made her forget. The stress of the past few weeks, the unfinished work, the worries — he wiped them all away with every kiss and every laugh he coaxed from her.
And God, she laughed a lot. Joking around with Austin and talking to him about anything and everything was so easy that she even forgot why he had ever been angry with her in the first place.
As long as he was telling her how good she smelled, or talking about his childhood in Wisconsin, or asking her what her favorite glass creations were, any emotion that didn't make her chest tingle with anticipation and excitement was irrelevant.
Every no became a yes, and every maybe became of course.
The world around them simply dissolved, until the present erased the future and the past.
And didn’t they both deserve something that was easier than breathing? If everything else had to be difficult?
Lilly certainly thought so, and if she had any doubts, each orgasm dispelled them.
It was ridiculous – even after hours of practically being glued to each other and the sun was already setting – but she still hadn’t had enough of Austin.
But since she’d certainly burned at least 10,000 calories that day, she needed a little break before she could find out how many orgasms her body could handle.
Luckily, Austin had been truthful and was making fantastic pancakes.
They needed the carbs and sugar to recharge, and Lilly realized it might be the best dinner she’d ever had.
Not because of the pancakes or the strawberries or the whipped cream, but the whole experience.
Strangely enough…she almost liked it more than the sex.
Almost.
There was something simply cozy and utterly relaxing about sitting at Austin’s kitchen table in his shirt, watching the sunset, being waited on hand and foot, and listening as he listed, in response to her question, all the body parts he’d broken.
From his big toe to his collarbone, pretty much everything was included.
“And you’re telling me hockey isn’t brutal!”
“It’s physical!”
“What we’ve been doing for the last eight hours is physical. All my bones are still intact!”
Austin chuckled softly. “I’m not so sure about mine. I can barely feel half of them anymore. I now feel like I’m more aware of your body than my own.”
Lilly knew what he meant and hastily popped another strawberry into her mouth so she couldn’t reply.
After they finished eating, she made a quick phone call to Delfina and listened, along with Austin, over the speakerphone as she recounted what she’d been doing that day.
Apparently, she’d been helping her grandmother a lot in the garden and counting the dragonflies she’d spotted over the pond next door.
There were over thirty, in ten different colors.
Austin smiled the whole time but didn't say anything, which might have been because Lilly had forbidden him to speak. Her daughter didn’t need to know where she was because she was certain to ask impossible questions like, Why?
or Are you sleeping over at Dad’s? It was better that Delfina was left clueless, just like her grandmother, whom Lilly spoke to afterward.
“Are you sure it’s okay for Del to sleep over? And how’s Dad?”
“No problem at all, sweetheart. We enjoy having her here. Your father has laughed four times already today. He’s not allowed to take so many painkillers anymore, which usually makes him grumpy. Did you get a lot done today?”
“Um,” she said, clearing her throat sheepishly as her gaze slid to Austin, who was grinning broadly. “Yes. I’d say I achieved a great deal today. I’ve come a long way — eh, I’ve accomplished a great deal!” she corrected herself hastily, her face blazing like a blast furnace.
Austin sat across from her, laughing, and she angrily pressed her hand over his mouth so her mother wouldn’t hear.
“I’m glad to hear that,” her mom said, pleased. “I’ll call again tomorrow morning, okay?”
“Yes, thank you. Good night,” Lilly replied, slumping as soon as she hung up. “Do you see what you’ve done?” she asked accusingly, wagging her index finger in Austin’s face. “Your mere presence makes me say dirty things.”
“I’m certain your mother would have been pleased with how many times you came today,” he replied, unfazed. “You didn’t have to correct yourself for my sake.”
She snorted. “So you would have been willing to explain to my mom who you are? I haven’t told her about your existence yet, although I’m sure Delfina has. She talks about you a lot.”
“Well, I’m very noteworthy,” he said modestly. “So, why haven’t you told your mother about my existence yet?”
“She’s got enough on her plate right now. I didn’t want to burden her with the line: Oh, by the way, I do remember Del’s father, he’s a famous hockey player and wants to be a part of her life.”
Austin frowned and leaned back in his chair. “You told her you didn’t remember me?”
She grimaced. “She would have convinced me to sue you for child support and I didn’t want that.”
Austin narrowed his eyes but didn’t reply. Instead, he asked, “Your parents…are not doing well?”
“They’re okay,” she mumbled, rubbing her forehead.
“They’re just…getting old. And my dad, since he broke his hip and knee and had to have surgery, isn’t very mobile and is generally in a bad mood.
He often takes it out on Mom, who can’t keep up with the housework and his care on her own.
But we don’t have the money to hire a caregiver or a housekeeper, so I help where I can.
It’s difficult. Work, opening a shop, a child, a new place, parents… It’s just difficult.”
“Hm,” he replied.
“What?”
“It’s absurd sometimes, meeting people who have even more responsibility than I do.”
She smiled. “Is it exhausting looking after two dozen hockey players?”
“I think your job is more exhausting,” he remarked, clasping his hands behind his neck. “That’s why you came back? Because your parents are getting old?”
“They missed me and needed me and I couldn’t help them from Italy. I’m an only child. They only have me, so…I guess I had no choice but to come back.”
“You didn’t want to?”
She looked at him and smiled tentatively.
“Mostly, I didn’t want to have to deal with you,” she whispered.
“I was so angry with you for so long, I was afraid I’d punch you when I saw you for the first time.
But everything…turned out fine. And it’s nice to have Daisy back, and to be there for my parents. ”
“Daisy?”
“My best friend.”
“Ah, right. The woman you were with at the game.”
“Yep.”
He nodded and looked thoughtfully at his hands.
“Do you miss your parents often?” she asked hesitantly.
“Not as often as I used to. It’s gotten easier. But sure. Especially on days when I wish I didn’t feel like an adult, I mourn the thought that I no longer have anyone I can act like a child around.” He frowned. “Does that make sense?”
“Absolutely,” she replied softly. “There’s no one you can whine to like your parents. No matter how old you are. I didn’t have much time…to be young. All my party plans in Italy fell apart when I found out I was pregnant.”
“Do you regret that you missed out on so much because you were looking after Del?”
“Never,” she stated simply. “It’s not that big of a deal. I guess I wasn’t really that good at…at being young anyway.”
Austin chuckled softly. “Moreau always tells me that. That I was born a fifty-year-old man. But he’s wrong. A fifty-year-old man would have made wiser choices and wouldn’t have thought it a cool idea at twenty to marry a woman he’d known for less than three months.”
Lilly smiled, but it seemed forced. “And…why did you marry her?”
He shrugged, as if thinking about his grocery list rather than his broken marriage.
“I needed an anchor. After my parents died, I felt lost and alone, and Christine was there for me. So I married her that same year. I didn’t know her nearly well enough, but she helped keep me sane.
She always had a knack for distracting people from what was truly important.
But I was less sad with her, and at the time, it seemed like the right thing to do.
” With a sigh, he tilted his head back and rubbed his eyes.
“Well, I thought a lot of other things were right too.”
Lilly bit her lip. Questions burned on her tongue: Why had he gone back to Christine? Why had he broken up with her years later? But she didn’t want to spoil the mood and Austin probably wouldn’t answer anyway, so she remained silent while Austin studied her thoughtfully.
“What?” she asked after a minute.
“Nothing. I was just wondering… Why the hell did you never get married, and why have you been single for five years?”
Heat rose in her cheek and she ran her finger through the remaining cream on her plate before licking it off.
“God,” Austin groaned, “even that turns me on. So please, tell me, how is that possible?”
She laughed. “You’re really easy to turn on!”
“Actually, no,” he said softly. “Why do you think no woman has ever spent the night here?”
She wiped her hands on a napkin. “There’s no one particular reason.
I’ve never met anyone worth the hassle. And I know it’s shocking, but single mothers aren’t exactly a lot of men’s dream women.
” She looked up, smiling. “And it’s not like I’ve been completely abstaining from sex — I’ve been having very hot sex with myself! ”
Austin’s Adam’s apple bounced up and down as if he were imagining just that. Finally, though, he cleared his throat and said, “Just for the record, I’m not too attractive for you. What you said at the pool was a load of nonsense, and it bothers me.”
The heat in her cheeks intensified. “That’s sweet, but it’s not true,” she murmured.
“Hm…” he murmured, slowly rising and strolling around the table. “And I thought I’d proven to you today that I’ve never found a woman sexier in my life.”
She snorted. “You were married to a model!”
“She doesn’t even come close to you,” he whispered before abruptly lifting her from the chair into his arms.
Startled, she squealed and threw her arms around his neck. “Austin! What are you doing?”
“Proving to you how irresistible I find you,” he murmured, carrying her back to his bedroom — where he kept his word.
All night long.