Page 44 of Whispers at Seaside
He worked his way down her spine, easing the tension from her muscles. Kissing the dimples just above her bottom, he reminded himself this was pampering, not foreplay, though his body had other ideas.
“Mm. Feelssogood,” she repeated.
“Turn over, baby.”
NEARLY TWO HOURS, one shared shower, and several delicious kisses later, Mira stood on the deck gazing out at the water. Down the beach she saw twinkling lights. She squinted, trying to make out what it might be. The screen door opened behind her and she drew in a deep breath, her pulse quickening in anticipation of Matt’s touch. She’d already come to expect the feel of his warm lips, firm and insistent against her skin, when he greeted her.
His arms circled her waist, and he pressed a tender kiss beside her ear. “Are you ready to go to dinner?”
“Mm-hm. Look down there.” She pointed to lights dancing in the distance. “What is that?”
Matt slipped an arm around her waist, and as they stepped off the deck and onto the sand, she rested her head against his shoulder. He looked like a model in a pair of dark linen pants that tied at the waist, a white cotton shirt stretched tight across his broad chest, and those sexy glasses that made her stomach go ten types of crazy.
“Maybe we should go see what’s going on down there,” Matt suggested. He took her hand and led her toward the front of the house.
“But I thought we were going to see—” She swallowed her words at the sight of a horse-drawn carriage parked out front. A man dressed in black slacks and a white button-down shirt stood beside two impressive white horses at the front of the wooden carriage.
Matt placed a hand on her lower back. “I don’t think your dreams of being romanced by Mr. Right were immature. I think you simply had them too early.”
Her eyes burned with tears of happiness. “It’s…Oh, Matt.” She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. “I can’t believe you did this. How? When? I was with you the whole day.”
He lifted one shoulder in a coy shrug. “When there’s a will…”
Matt gave the driver his phone and had him take a picture of them in front of the carriage.To remember our adventure.As if she would ever forget this magical moment.
The driver set a wooden stool on the ground, and Matt held Mira’s hand as she climbed into the carriage, where she found a bouquet of gloxinias waiting for her.Love at first sight.
“Happy Saturday night, sunshine.” He draped an arm over her as the driver took his seat in the front of the carriage and the horses led them down the cobblestone street.
She hugged Matt again, listening to theclippity-clopof the horses compete with the loud beat of her heart. “Thank you. You didn’t have to go to all this trouble. I’m glad you did, but just being with you is enough for me.”
“We’ll have plenty of time to just be together without any bells or whistles. But you’ve missed out on a lot while focusing on being a mommy. We’ve got catching up to do, and I’m going to make sure you never miss out on anything again.”
As the horses led them through the streets they’d ridden their bikes on earlier in the day, and some they’d somehow missed, Mira felt like she was living in a fairy tale. But fairy tales weren’t real, and Matt was very, very real.And you haven’t been with another woman since we met.She couldn’t stop thinking about that. She didn’t know men pined after women. She thought it was just something she read about in romance novels. Her mother often told her that good things came to those who waited, but she hadn’t exactly been waiting for Matt. He’d been off-limits in her mind. A man whose life and lifestyle were too far away from her own.
Maybe her mother had it wrong. Maybe good things came to those who got messed up by cheating exes.
“We have to bring Hagen here,” Matt said casually. “He’d love that little bookstore, and parasailing, and you know the minute he sees a horse-drawn carriage he’ll want to build one.”
She loved that Hagen was never far from his mind.
The carriage brought them to the edge of the beach where they’d seen the dancing lights. A shiny silver canopy draped in sparkling lights shimmered in the breeze above a table set for two. A waiter in full black-tie attire stood at the ready with a white cloth draped over his sleeve. Candles danced inside red vases, positioned around the canopy in the shape of a heart. Mira had never seen anything so elegant in all her life.
The driver stepped out and set the stool on the ground. Then he reached up and helped her out of the carriage. She clung to the lovely bouquet as Matt thanked the driver, and she saw him slip him something, which she assumed was a tip.
“You set up the dancing lights, too?” She probably shouldn’t be surprised, but she felt like a breathless girl of eighteen again.
“Let’s go find out.” Matt knelt beside her, smiling as he slipped off her sandals, removed his shoes, and set them off to the side.
He hugged her closer as they stepped onto the cool sand. Maybe shehadbeen hoping for Mr. Right too soon.
Chapter Seventeen
MIRA WATCHED THE island fade in the distance as the ferry carried them swiftly back toward the Cape. Sunday had come too fast. She didn’t want their weekend to end. The thought came with a touch of motherly guilt. She and Matt sat by the railing with the midmorning sun shining down on them and the salty air kissing their newly bronzed skin. She closed her eyes and rested against Matt’s side, making a mental list of the things she’d have to do when she got home—check Hagen for ticks, laundry, prepare my spiel about the co-op—nixing her daydreams and the motherly guilt that accompanied them. It wasn’t like she’d dumped her son with a stranger to go away for a sexcapade. Hagen was probably having a great time with his uncles, and her life would go back to normal in a few hours. Thinking of all the things she had to do, she wondered when she was going to fit in the phone calls to the companies. The best time to reach any business owner was when the companies opened before they had time to get busy, but she’d be driving Hagen to camp at that time. She imagined leaving messages that would never be returned. Maybe she could call on her lunch hour, but what were the chances of business owners being available during lunchtime?
Matt kissed her temple, pulling her from her thoughts. “Ready to be a mommy again?”
She smiled, wondering if it would make her an awful mother to admit she wished they had one more day alone. “I’m always ready to be a mommy, but I want more time with you.”
