Page 20 of Bear's Midlife Bridesmaid
“Nothing, apparently,” she replied, impatient with herself. “I was here waiting for you, and I thought I saw a big shape out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look, and there was nothing there. It must’ve been a shadow playing tricks on my eyes, although it happened a couple of times.”
“Yeah, maybe we’ve been in the sun too much,” he conceded, although Jace wished he had a reasonable conclusion for what had happened. They both had the instincts of hunters, of animals who were far more aware of their surroundings than humans. He didn’t want to ignore that, but they were safe on the boat now. “We should be able to get back now. Do you want to help me test out the rudder?”
“Sure. What do I do?” She looked eager to be useful.
He couldn’t blame her. Taking action was much better than standing around ruminating on what might be lurking in the water around them. “Go up to the wheel and turn it gently to the right. I’ll be able to watch the rudder from here and make sure it’s working.”
“Okay!”
Jace knelt in the back of the boat and peered over the edge, leaning out just far enough that he could see the dark shape of the rudder. He watched the water around it, still not completely convinced that they were alone. Jace was confident in the water but knew he could still become prey if he weren’t careful. There was absolutely nothing to make him think he wasn’t, so he focused on the rudder. It moved just as it should. “Now to the left. Perfect. We’re good to go. Want to help me raise the sail?”
She’d relaxed a bit now that there was no reason for the Coast Guard to rescue them and nodded. “Sure. Just show me.”
Jace taught her how to release the mainsail and hoist it up the mast. He stood behind her, his arms around her as he showed her how to work the rigging, pointing out the different movements of thesail and how to adjust for them. As she leaned into his body and they guided the craft together, Jace let all those worried thoughts leave his mind.
The only thing that mattered right now was being there with his mate.
10
Erin pacedthe length of Jace’s living room with her cell pressed against her ear. She listened carefully to each ring, waiting for one to be cut short and to hear Gretchen’s voice on the other end. A click had her pause, but it was just Gretchen’s voicemail kicking on.
“Hey there! It’s Gretchen! I’m sorry you missed me, but don’t be too bummed! I’ll call you back. Maybe!”
“Hi, Gretchen,” Erin began. “I know you’re not interested in hearing from me. You said your piece, and I know how you feel about what happened. I respect that. I just want you to know I was only trying to look out for you. I didn’t have all theinformation, and I misunderstood. I just hope you can forgive me someday.”
She paused and tipped her head back until she was looking at the ceiling. There was no telling if Gretchen would listen to this message at all or if she’d just delete it. What did she have to lose? “I’m still in the area for a little while if you want to get together. Just call me, okay? I’m sure we can talk about this and get it figured out. We’ve been friends for too long to do anything else. Bye.”
“Everything all right?” Jace came down the stairs. He’d just showered, and the scent of his body wash floated around him.
Erin breathed him in. Her whole body had tensed up while making that phone call, but being around Jace was making it slowly unwind again. “Yeah, well enough. I was just giving it another shot with Gretchen.”
He brushed his hand down her arm, his eyes looking into hers. “I’m sorry. I know this is hard for you.”
He never had to say much to let her know he understood. Erin smiled at him. “It’ll be okay. She’s not the first person who’s rejected me.”
“What do you mean?” He’d started toward the door but now paused.
“Nothing.” She waved her hand through the air as though it could dispel the numerous people who’d turned away from her in the forty years she’d been alive. It wasn’t easy to be a witch, a shifter, or just a girl who never fit in. Erin was all of those, which seemed to give people all the reason they needed to keep their distance. Right now, though, the only thing that mattered was being with Jace, soaking up the time she had with him. She urged him toward the door. “Where are we going tonight? You never did tell me.”
Jace opened the passenger door. “I was a little preoccupied with everything else we’ve done today.” His eyes changed a bit, taking on a meaningful look.
Erin felt her face flush as she got in the car. They’d certainly kept themselves busy. Other than a few breaks to eat, they’d mostly been in bed all day. A steady rain had fallen, the drops pattering on the bedroom window as they lay in each other’s arms. Sometimes, they slept and even watched a little TV, but mostly, they explored each other’s minds and bodies. It’d been a perfect day as far as Erin was concerned, the kind of day that’d been pulled right out of the secret fantasies in the back of her mind and made reality.
“Fair enough,” she replied when she’d settledinto her seat. “I can’t say I was too concerned about any plans myself, but do I get to know now? Or are you going to blindfold me until we get there?”
“Have you ever been to a drive-in?” Jace carefully backed out of the driveway. He lifted his hand to wave at someone as they drove past one of the other houses on his little section of the beach.
“A drive-in theater?” Erin asked, immediately thinking of that scene inGrease.“Do they even have those anymore?”
“Not very many, I don’t imagine, but there’s one in Wellfleet. I haven’t been in a while, but I thought it sounded fun.” He turned to her and smiled. “There’s so much I’d like to show you around here, and I don’t think I’ll have enough time.”
It was something she’d felt heavily within herself. Erin had avoided it up until now. They’d only known each other for a few days, and it was too early to talk about the future, but the more time they spent together, the more she worried about it. “I know that feeling. I’m not really sure what happens after all of this.”
One brow crunched down over his eye, and his lips tightened slightly. “Neither am I, to be honest.” He reached over and took her hand, weaving his fingers between hers and holding them tightly.
She squeezed her fingers around his, feeling all the emotion and energy that came with that simple gesture. “We could just be complete teenagers for the moment.”
“Make out at the drive-in instead of watching the movie?” Jace asked with a smirk.
