Page 26 of Secondhand Secrets

“I guess you could say I didn’t get much work done, but I’m somehow much further along than I expected.”

An uncontrolled laugh broke from her, but she focused on turning the car down a seldom used lane, Mirabelle Falls so much closer to his place than hers. “You rarely make any sense to me as it is, but that would have to be a super vague and confusing response even for you.”

His soft chuckle stoked the tingling over her skin again. “I had no idea I had that effect on you.”

She glanced over to him, quick to look away. He had to know he had some effect on her. That she’d been the one to ask for his kiss. That she’d approached him today. Chip sure had an innocence to him, but he wasn’t naive.

Her car drew nearer to what they’d once unimaginatively called their “secret hideout.” The hideout, not much more than a narrow bend of river covered by a multitude of weeping willows that provided a decent amount of privacy.

Not that she or Chip ever did anything requiring much privacy, but the spot had been a welcome break from houses filled with annoying siblings and parents. One of many places he’d read to her while she’d scribbled on one of her many notepads or splashed in the nearby water.

She guided her car to an area just big enough to fit between a cluster of pines, then cranked the brake, and took a moment to send an unhurried glance his way.

A steady flow of memories of him and this place made her less shy about holding eye contact. They’d had something special. And a simple smile from him now was enough to settle her mood on this whole outing.

So, she mirrored his light expression, and together, they set about gathering bags and towels and heading down the small hill to the river.

Maybe friendship would be all that happened here. Maybe this was her answer. Far be it from her to put in all the effort chasing him. She’d already done a ton of chasing with other men and learned her lesson. So maybe, what they had now was enough.

The river flowed full but calm, and the light breeze shifted willow tendrils in a tranquil dance of green, dappled light. So many years had passed since she’d last come here, her days in this spot ending when Chip left town. She hadn’t felt right coming here without him.

Now, he pulled the rolled picnic blanket out from under her arm, startling her from her daydream. She recovered enough to wait for him to lay down the red and white plaid blanket, then adjusted her towel on top.

“Right.” He pitched forth a broad grin and whipped off his navy-blue t-shirt. “I’m going in.”

All too fast, he turned away, practically running to greet the water. Meanwhile, her breath stuck in her throat at the vision of his tanned and toned torso—a reminder of yesterday morning and his seemingly sudden maturity and beauty.

Even as she squeezed her eyes shut and told herself to stop gawping, the tight sensation in her belly called her to race over and touch him. Instead, she settled on ripping her sheer wrap from around her waist and pretending his eventual astute stare on her semi-nakedness wouldn’t at all lead to more unnerving reactions from her body.

So, the quicker she got into the water, the quicker she could hide. Except the short stroll to Mirabelle’s banks revealed waters that inflicted a sharp iciness to her feet.

She scrambled back and wrapped her arms around her bare midriff, the air warm, but the water so frigid that she contemplated retreating to the blanket.

But the ache of cold toes faded when she lifted her gaze to the man in the river, Chip’s stare holding her with an intense focus that had his jaw set in a hard line.

Oh, that’s right, I’ve seen plenty of his body, but he hasn’t seen this much of mine.

She wanted to say a hot blush rose to her cheeks, that would have been easy compared to the gaping hollow opening up inside her. The one that questioned what he saw. She’d never been shy about her body. In the right weather, she wore short skirts and midriff baring tops with no second thoughts. Heck, she and Chip used to swim in this very spot in little more than their underwear.

But that was then, and this is now…

That thought pushed her attention from him and onto the river’s glittering surface, the water her overly crisp chance to hide from Chip Overton now being a man.

Don’t wimp out. Just get in the water and don’t wimp out.

Good idea. Be brave. One foot in. Then the other.

“Here, I’ll help you.”

She startled at him wading closer, his hand outstretched as though her two feet in the water wasn’t enough. Okay, it wasn’t enough. But still an achievement to her.

The sun illuminated the gold and emerald in his eyes and didn’t exactly make her want to step closer. Nor did the fullness at the center of his lips. Lips she’d kissed… and so wanted to again.

Still, her dragged-out pause probably made her appear no better than a stunned fish—not a look she aimed for here—so she extended a hand and accepted his help.

“I forgot to ask”—he peered back at her, not at all a distraction from the electricity traveling from his fingers to hers—“how was your day?”

She smiled and did her best to escape her uncharacteristic silence. “Emilia thinks she call sell more of my pottery, and Oak Tree was quiet, so Blaine let me go early.”

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