Page 36 of Wind Called

Her fingers tightened on his.

“And I love you, Marc Trujillo.”

11

Afterward,they did their best to act normal — although Marc was glad that Bellamy was just fine with stepping into the shower together and indulging in some playful intimacies there — and then got dressed. He wasn’t quite sure how she managed it, but she was able to repair the damage to her admittedly minimal makeup with whatever she carried in her purse.

By the time they returned to the living room, it was almost seven o’clock.

“We should probably think about getting something to eat,” he said.

She sent him a look that managed to be amused and lascivious at the same time. “I would have thought you’d just had plenty to eat.”

Who knew she had such a dirty mind? He grinned at her and said, “Yes, and it was delicious. But I think I could go for something a little more solid.”

“Do you want to do takeout again?”

That would probably be for the best. Not that he was worried about being seen in public with Bellamy McAllister — just the opposite, in fact — but if they were alone together at the house, they wouldn’t have to worry so much about anyone overhearing what they were saying.

“If you don’t mind.”

Her gray eyes twinkled. “Well, I could complain about having to stay in when I just went to all that work to put my face back together, but it’s definitely better when I don’t have to worry about every single word I’m saying.”

Exactly what he’d just thought, so at least they were on the same page there. “Then I guess we just have to decide what we’d like to eat — and who around here does takeout.”

“Just about everyone unless it’s someplace really fancy,” she said. “So it’s more what we’re in the mood for.”

They decided on Thai, and Bellamy got out her phone and called in the order, since she knew the restaurant and he didn’t. Not for the first time, Marc thought about how much easier it made things when you were with someone who had plenty of local area knowledge.

Not that he would have cared if she’d been as new to the Verde Valley as he was. They could have discovered everything together.

As it stood, though, her familiarity with Sedona helped a lot, since it only took about fifteen minutes from deciding what to eat to getting back to the Airbnb with their bags of food in hand. Before they’d left, they’d set the table, so everything was waiting for them — including one of the bottles of wine they’d picked up during their winery excursion that afternoon.

He’d even found a box of candles and some candlesticks in the sideboard in the dining room, and he thought they added a nice touch. The owner of the vacation rental had told him anything in the house was fair game, so at least he didn’t have to worry about using something that might turn out to be off-limits.

“I like it,” she said as she sat down at the candlelit table and Marc followed suit. “I had no idea you were into the romantic stuff.”

“Well, I’m not sure I’m ready to strew rose petals everywhere you walk, but my mom always had candles at dinner, so I suppose I’m just used to it.”

A grin, and Bellamy lifted her glass of wine. “Then let’s drink to always dining by candlelight.”

He thought he could get behind that idea, so he raised his glass as well and touched it to hers. “To candlelight.”

They both drank — a gorgeous red blend they’d bought at Page Springs Cellars right before they left — and then they got down to the serious business of divvying up the wontons and spring rolls, the hot and sour soup and pad thai and cashew chicken. Everything smelled great, and was about as different from the pizza they’d had the night before as you could get.

A comfortable silence fell as they took their first few bites. Usually, these sorts of moments right after being intimate for the first time had always felt awkward to him as he and his partner did their best to settle into a transformed version of their relationship. With Bellamy, though, Marc could only think again of how right this felt, as if it was all new and shiny and old and cozy at the same time.

Was this what it felt like to find your soul mate?

Maybe so. He just knew he never wanted this to end…and that he had absolutely no regrets about telling Bellamy he loved her, because he did.

And she’d said she loved him, too, the ring of truth in her voice so clear that it might as well have been the tolling of a temple bell.

“So, any strategies for tomorrow?” she asked as she dunked a wonton in the bowl of sweet and sour sauce they’d set out, and he blinked at her.

“‘Tomorrow’?” he repeated, wondering if she was asking about the hike they had planned.

Her smile bordered on indulgent but wasn’t quite there. “When we meet with the elders.”

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