Chapter 5
Summer
I can’t believe I am doing this. And I keep telling myself it is just for the money. But when I see Ridge pull up to the dock in a speed boat, I tell those butterflies in my stomach to keep quiet and stay still.
Okay, he is a good looking guy. And okay, when he looks at me it makes my pulse race. And okay, at night I've thought about what it might be like to be touched by him. Kissed by him. Held in his arms. And he was very nice to spend the morning helping to fix things around the cafe.
And when I’d feel him looking at me I‘d feel hot all over. I’m sure I spent most of the morning with a permanent blush on my face.
It’s unfortunate that he has this effect on me.
Turns out I’m just like all the other women wanting his attention.
But I know the reality of it. He doesn’t want a girlfriend.
And I don’t need a man to come in and fix everything.
All I need from him is the money he is offering. Then I can buy a new coffee machine. Maybe we can hire another waitress to make my Aunt’s life a little easier. This is a business deal. And as I take Ridge’s hand to step onto his boat, I kept telling myself that.
“What do we do out here?”
Ridge has driven the boat and stopped it just off shore close to his family's mansion.
He chuckles. “We relax. Sit around. Soak up the sun.” I watch as he lays out two towels at the front of the boat. Even placing a couple of pillows around for extra comfort “Come on, come lay down and I’ll fix us a drink.”
He disappears inside and I move the towels a little further apart before laying down.
When Ridge returns he hands me an orange drink, complete with a straw and little umbrella and a piece of fresh orange stuck on the side.
I take a long sip. It’s delicious and refreshing.
And then I watch as Ridge takes off his t’shirt.
As if in slow motion, bit by bit, his tanned, muscular body is exposed.
First rock hard abs. Then his chest. His arms. Like some sort of adonis, standing there letting the sun’s rays play off his body.
As though the sunlight was made only to worship him.
My mouth goes dry and I take another long sip of my drink. I can taste the alcohol in it now. I’m going to blame that for feeling all hot and bothered by a near-naked Ridge Kingsley.
“You really don’t know how to relax?” He lays his body down on the towel, laying on his side to face me.
“I do. I like to read. And I like to go for a walk around the lake. Or just sit on the jetty in the early morning when the frost hovers over the water. It always feels magical out here in the early morning.” And then I pull myself together and add, “But it’s the summer season.
There is so much that needs fixing at the cafe.
We’ve got broken lights, a coffee machine that needs fixing…
We can’t all be playing and parting all summer. ”
“You think that’s what I do?” He asks in a quiet voice.
I shrug. “I used to watch you and your brothers when I was here for the summer. I used to sit alone watching one of those big parties your family would throw. And you would be off in some corner with a sketchpad and pencil. I always used to wonder what you would draw.”
He smiles and it makes my heart squeeze tight.
“I used to read a lot. I was a little bit obsessed with Lord of the Rings, so usually I was drawing hobbit houses and fairy worlds.”
I sit up. “I read Lord of the Rings when I was fourteen and for a whole year I was obsessed with the fairy queen. I dressed up as her for halloween.”
“If we’d known each other you would have seen me dressed as Frodo” He is grinning and I laugh. “You would have been in your twenties.“
“And still dressing up as Lord of the Ring characters. Though I was in the army by then where it’s kind of frowned upon to declare yourself a hobbit.”
I laugh again. Amazed that we have this in common and that he is so easy to talk to. And funny. Who would have thought this very serious, often grumpy man was actually quite amusing when he lets his guard down. Laying here with him talking about our childhood feels almost friendly. Almost.
There is the fact that I find his bare, naked chest distracting. That his muscles are so defined that I want to reach out and run my hands over him. That we are so close, it wouldn’t take much to reach out and touch him. That I find myself wishing this was a real date and not just pretend.