Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Ty slowed in front of Lydia’s place as the sun began its descent in the early evening sky. Her garage door was open as he pulled into the driveway.
She glanced his way, sending him a smile as she reached for a small cooler on top of a tidy metal shelf, looking sexy as hell in a simple white tube top and flowy brown shorts that stopped just above mid-thigh.
Killing the engine, he got out, smiling back as he headed in her direction, dressed more casually in gray mesh shorts and a white T-shirt. “Hey.”
“Hi,” she said with the cooler now in hand. “I was just about to put some ice in here and pack our drinks.”
He stopped in front of her, breathing in flowers and vanilla as he studied her spectacular face.
She’d pulled some of her hair back with a barrette, leaving it unframed.
It was never a bad moment when he got a good look at her gorgeous hazel eyes.
It was even better that the wariness that was usually there didn’t appear to be tonight. “Do you need a hand?”
She shook her head. “I’ve got it. But we’ll have to decide if we want to bring lawn chairs or a blanket and a couple of pillows.”
“I say a blanket and pillows. It’s always more comfortable to lie down.”
“That’s true,” she said, heading back inside.
He followed. “What can I do to help?”
She moved to the refrigerator and started putting ice in the cooler. “You can go up to the linen closet and grab us a blanket. There’s a green beach blanket and a couple of pillows on the middle and upper shelves.”
“Sure.” He headed toward the stairs, making his way up to the second story, not hating that he was getting an opportunity to look around as he poked his head into a pretty guest bedroom with a connecting Jack and Jill bathroom.
He moved to peek into the next room that she’d turned into an office, then made a quick study of the primary suite with its big bed and large bathroom beyond.
Not wanting to pry too much, he moved to what had to be the linen closet, spotting the green beach blanket and pillows tucked away in the neat space. Lydia definitely liked tidiness and order.
Grabbing what he needed, he went back downstairs as she pulled a large insulated cooler bag from the fridge, watching her biceps bulge as she set it down.
“Our picnic food.”
He adjusted the blanket and pillows under one arm. “Why don’t you let me take that?”
“Okay.” She lifted the bag again, handing it to him.
He puffed out a breath, surprised by just how heavy it was. “Is the grocery store in here?”
She laughed. “No. Or mostly no. I wasn’t sure what you would want, so I made us a little bit of everything.”
He fought the bag onto his shoulder. “It feels like it.”
She smiled. “Turkey subs are okay?”
“Yeah, that sounds great.”
“I packed us paper plates and plasticware for the green salad. And there’s fruit. Plus, the popcorn, gummy bears, and chocolate.”
He chuckled. “It sounds like we won’t be hungry.”
She shrugged. “We’ll be there for a while, so…”
He tossed her a wink, loving that she seemed much more relaxed. Getting together for dinner last night had definitely been the right move. “I appreciate the effort.”
She lifted the smaller cooler that held their drinks. “No problem. We should get going, though. The good spots fill up fast.”
They stepped out into the garage.
“Do you want to take the truck?”
Lydia nodded. “Sure.”
“Let’s do it.” He hit the button to close the garage door on the way out, then put the stuff in the back seat, trying to remember the last time he’d done something so normal. And with a gorgeous woman by his side. Maybe not since high school. Getting in as Lydia did, they both buckled up.
“Ready?” she asked.
“Definitely,” he said as he started the truck. “We’re about to watch The Goonies. Who doesn’t love a little truffle shuffle?”
She laughed as he backed out.
He chuckled as he accelerated, immediately taking a left at the end of her road when he saw his chance to go, liking that Lydia sat in the passenger seat. As company went, he couldn’t complain. “So, what are we thinking about for parking?”
“Uh, maybe in the church parking lot a little farther up the street. That way we won’t get caught in the worst of the traffic.”
“I like it.” Minutes later, he pulled into the large lot, taking one of the few remaining spots. “Clearly, you weren’t the only one to think of this.”
She shook her head. “Movie in the Park is a big hit in Oliver Heights. There will be a few hundred people here tonight.”
“It’s a great idea.”
“It is.” She got out.
He got out, too, settling the cooler bag on his shoulder again, then grabbed the blanket and pillows, tucking them under his arm as Lydia snagged the drinks on her side.
He met her at the back of the truck, ready to take the next step in their “relationship.” It was tempting to wait since things were going well, but their time crunch and need to get this right didn’t allow them the opportunity to adjust slowly. “So, how do you feel about holding hands?”
Her brow furrowed as she looked at him. “Why?”
“Because you need to get comfortable with me touching you and vice versa.”
Her frown deepened. “What does that mean?”
“Holding my hand, sharing affection. We need to have some level of intimacy. We’re supposed to be lovers. Lovers touch each other, especially in a new relationship. New couples can’t keep their hands off each other.”
She stared at him for several seconds before she looked at the blacktop.
“Hey,” he said gently as he slid his hand down her arm, feeling her tense. He struggled with an inner cringe because this was exactly what couldn’t happen.
She looked at him again.
“I’m not talking about sex. That’s certainly not part of our deal. But you can’t stiffen up when I put my hands on you. It’ll be a dead giveaway.”
She held his gaze for several more seconds. “Okay. We can hold hands.” She held hers out to him.
He took it, lacing his fingers with hers, liking the feel of her small hand tucked in his. “Not so bad, right?”
She shook her head. “No, not so bad.”
“Should we go find our spot?”
She nodded as they walked through the parking lot, then looked both ways as they crossed the street with the crowd, heading toward the grassy decline where a huge, inflated screen had been set up and two or three hundred people already sat.
“Wow. This is a perfect spot for this.”
“Yeah, there’s not a bad seat to be had. We just want to be able to get close enough to the speakers to hear.”
“Ms. Monroe,” a group of older kids yelled as they waved from their blankets not far away.
She grinned, waving back. “Some of my kids,” she told him as they kept moving toward the center of the crowd. “It’s crazy that I have students who are old enough to be in middle school. It makes me feel old.”
“Twenty-nine is pretty geriatric.”
She grinned again, bumping her arm into his. “What does that make you, then, if you’re three years older than me?”
“Apparently, a dinosaur.”
She laughed.
He chuckled, loving that sound, considering it a personal victory every time he heard it. So far, she’d laughed three times tonight.
“How about here?” she suggested, stopping in a small clearing in the middle of the field.
He winced, noting the massive number of people surrounding them and the nonexistent cover if there were to be an active shooter situation. “If you like it, I like it.”
Her brow furrowed. “No, you don’t.”
He shrugged, imagining that it was a good thing she was already starting to be able to read him. “Sometimes I can’t shut my brain off.”
“What are you thinking about?”
“Our lack of cover. Not being able to move quickly if we have to. Being trampled.”
“We can find someplace different.”
He shook his head. “Let’s do this.”
“Are you going to be able to relax?”
He nodded, even though he never fully relaxed. It was too ingrained in him to be constantly situationally aware. “I’ll be fine once I have a turkey sub in my hand.”
She smiled. “We can make that happen.”
He spread out the blanket, sitting down in the center as Lydia did.
“Here you go,” she said, grabbing plates and their large sandwiches.
“Thanks.” He unwrapped his, studying several slices of meat nestled among the cheese, lettuce, tomato, and pickle. “This looks amazing.” He bit in. “It is amazing,” he said around his mouthful.
She grinned, then took a bite of her own, humming in her throat as she nodded and chewed. She put her hand up to cover her mouth. “I’m so hungry.”
He dug into the pack, serving them both salad and fruit. “You went above and beyond, Lyd. This is a hell of a picnic.”
She shrugged. “We might as well do it right.”
He bit into his sub again as the previews for the future summer movies started playing on the screen as the sun officially vanished for the night. “It looks like we’re just in time.”
She nodded, eating more of her sandwich.
Long moments passed while they both attacked their meal.
She smiled at him as she plucked up a grape. “Tonight’s better.”
He paused with a bite of greens at his mouth. “What’s better?”
She gestured between the two of them. “Us. I would call this companionable silence versus uncomfortable silence.”
He nodded. “I told you we would start to find our rhythm.” He set his fork down instead of eating his last bite. “You seem more at ease.”
She shrugged. “I did some thinking last night after you left.”
“Oh yeah?”
She nodded. “This whole fake relationship thing is pretty weird.”
He nodded. “It is.”
“I hate that you’re investigating my family.”
He nodded again. “I can’t blame you.”
“But we’re stuck together for the next little while, so it makes sense for us to make the best of it.”
He nodded yet again. “Things will certainly be smoother if we do.”
“I agree.” She popped a piece of watermelon into her mouth. “That was it,” she said as she shrugged. “That’s what I was thinking.”
“We’re going to find our way.”
She nodded.
He looked toward the screen. “I think the previews are ending.”
They tidied up, putting their pillows at the top of the blanket as The Goonies’ opening scene started playing.