Chapter 9 #2
“We should talk about what this…agreement looks like.”
Catherine lifted an eyebrow. “Ground rules?”
“Yeah,” I said as some of the tension began to leave my shoulders. I looked down at the high heels she was in. “Do you want me to grab your sneakers?”
Catherine toed off her heels and held them in one hand, then slipped her other hand into mine. “I don’t mind being barefoot.”
The two of us made our way out of the rose garden and away from the house. When we were certain we were out of earshot of any busybodies, Catherine spoke up. “So, we’ve already covered the bed situation.” She looked up. “Thank you again for letting me live here.”
“We need to set a date.”
Although we weren’t in the line of sight from the house anymore, Catherine still kept her hand in mine. I tightened my hold and stroked my thumb across the back of her hand.
“Hallie and I were talking about the wedding being the first weekend in June.”
I stopped dead in my tracks. “That’s in…”
“A little over two weeks. You said you needed it soon, right?”
I raked my free hand through my hair. “I don’t know anything about wedding planning, but two weeks seems a little fast. I don’t even know where we’d get married. I hadn’t quite gotten that far.”
“Why not here?” she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t plan on inviting many people.”
I chuckled as we crested a hill, then began to descend. The thick tree line that shrouded the pond came into view. “I guess you’re right.”
Catherine picked up the hem of her dress so it wouldn’t snag in the brambles as we crept through the mess of blackberry bushes. Those berries had given me more than a few stomachaches as a kid.
The trees and bushes closed around us as we broke through the thickets and sank into our own little world by the pond.
“I haven’t been down here in ages,” Catherine said as we neared the water’s edge. “Your granddad used to let the kids from the high school have a party down here once a summer.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “I remember those. He kept it going after I was grown.”
The pond was completely hidden from the naked eye. The water was clear and cool, streaming down from the mountains, pooling on the estate and slicing through the valley.
“So,” I said. “A wedding at the estate.”
Catherine nodded. “Something small. We can invite the bigwigs who would expect to come to a Wilder wedding. Hallie’s got a caterer lined up. Honestly, with the roses in bloom, we don’t need much in the way of decorations. People would kill to get married out here.”
“Two weeks.” I scratched at the stubble on my jaw. “Doesn’t finding a dress take months? Years?”
She shrugged. “It’s not like it’s my forever wedding. I have plenty of white evening gowns from pageants that can work in a pinch.”
I watched as she neared the edge of the pond, dipped her toes in, then quickly jumped back.
“Cold?” I guessed.
Catherine laughed as her toes curled, trying to ward away the chill. “So cold!”
I chuckled. “Some things never change.” I smoothed my thumb across the back of her hand. “Take my credit card. Steal Hallie. Drive up to DC or go to Richmond. Find a dress you like.”
“You and offering your credit card,” she said with a lighthearted laugh. “One of these days I’m going to take you up on it and spend your fortune.”
“Of that I have no doubt. I’m just going back and forth on whether you’ll spend it on our wedding or this project of yours.”
She tipped her chin up. “Definitely the initiative.”
My eyes locked on her lips. I couldn’t resist how soft they looked. The slight sheen that danced in the glimmers of sunlight that broke through the tree cover.
Catherine studied my mouth and swallowed.
“You know,” I said, licking my lips. “At some point…we do have to kiss.” My heart tumbled in my chest as I waited for her reaction.
“On the wedding day,” she said, her gaze never breaking.
I stepped closer. “Right. It…probably shouldn’t look like we’ve never kissed before.”
“Right…” The word was carried on a featherlight exhale. “We should…practice.”
“Practice. That’s…good…”
Catherine eased up onto her toes as I steadied her with a hand on her back.
I sifted my fingers through her corn silk hair and cradled the nape of her neck.
Her eyes grew heavy as her breath danced with mine.
My heart thudded as my lips brushed hers.
Nerves began to get the best of me. I hadn’t kissed anyone since my engagement ended.
I hadn’t even touched another woman since then.
I hadn’t had enough time to think this through. To get a read on her. To analyze the situation.
I felt like Jekyll and Hyde, torn between the impulse to kiss a breathtaking woman and battling the intrinsic part of me that craved the safety of predictability rather than the possibilities that came with taking risks.
“Hayes,” she whispered.
“Yeah?” I croaked out.
The corners of her mouth lifted. “Just kiss me already.”
I swallowed as nerves snaked around my throat. “Yes, ma’am.”
Catherine pressed into me, her back curving as we tilted our heads in opposite directions, complementing each other in unspoken ways.
Her high heels hit the ground. Lithe fingers curled into the front of my shirt as we met in a chaste kiss. It was soft and sweet. Simple.
She tasted like cherries. Or maybe that was the gloss. All I knew was that I wanted to find out for sure.
We broke apart, eyes locked on each other as undeniable attraction crept through us like a fast-acting drug.
The stupor passed in the blink of an eye, and Catherine beat me to the punch.
She used her grip on my shirt to pull me in for another kiss.
A harder kiss. A kiss that was far more desperate than the first.
I tangled my fingers in her hair, holding her head steady as I swept my tongue along the line of her lips.
She melted then, sinking into me and opening up more.
I fucking loved that cherry lip gloss.
Catherine’s hips pressed into mine, following that intrinsic pull to get closer and closer.
A loud pop echoed across the valley as a vehicle backfired, and we jolted apart.
I let out three measured breaths as we stared at each other, blinking in disbelief. “That was…”
“Something,” she said, just as breathless.
The birds singing in the trees paid us no mind.
“Right.” I wiped my thumb along my lower lip as I tried to regain my bearings. “No problems in that department.”
“So. First weekend in June,” Catherine blurted. For once, it was nice seeing her composure slip. Her cheeks were flushed, and her hair was a mess. That was entirely my fault, and I liked it more than I should have.
I nodded. “Tell me what you need and I’ll make it happen.”
“And then I get my land?”
“I’ve already got the paperwork started.”
Catherine let out a sharp breath, still off-kilter from that kiss. Frankly, so was I.
“Right,” she said. “We should probably get back up to the house. I told Hallie I’d help her make dinner for everyone.”
I bent and picked up Catherine’s high heels from where they had fallen, then took her hand. We made the walk back to the estate house in silence, sharing mischievous glances as if we had just gotten away with making out by the pond like we were teenagers.
Hallie caught us slipping through the patio doors, and her jaw dropped. “Something you two would like to fess up to?”
Catherine’s eyes went wide when she spotted her reflection in a large vase. She quickly began to smooth down her hair.
Doors slammed, and Lewis appeared like Bloody fucking Mary. He took one look at the two of us, drew the simplest and most logical conclusion as to what we had been up to, and sneered in disgust as he cut through the first floor to the front door.
“Lewis, I’m making dinner for everyone tonight. You’re welcome to join. Seven o’clock,” Hallie called after him.
That made him stop in his tracks. “Well,” he sniffed. “That’s more like it. I’ll take my dinner on the patio.”
Hallie cocked her hip. “You can take it family style with the rest of us, or you can grab leftovers from the fridge.”
Lewis huffed and groaned. When Hallie didn’t budge, he departed the house with one final slamming door.
Hallie turned her attention back to us. “Well, I think the sight of you two was effective. I hope y’all enjoyed yourselves.”
Catherine pursed her lips to try to hide her guilty smile.
I hid mine with a shake of my head as I pivoted toward the study. “I’ll see you at dinner, fiancée.”