Part 33 (1/2)

He held up a nylon jacket. ”I thought you might be chilly out here.”

”Thanks.” She took it gratefully.

”Just one, huh?” Meg exchanged smiles with Drew. ”Then I guess I'll be going inside.”

”'Bye.” Drew waited until she left, but didn't claim her vacated chaise lounge. Instead, he straddled Lauren's, forcing her to pull her knees up to make room. With Drew's arms braced on either side of her, she was effectively trapped.

”I hope you weren't talking about me,” he said.

”Why?”

”Because you're biting your nails again, which means you're nervous about something. You haven't been doing that lately.”

”I haven't?”

”Not even when we were shot at in Florida. Which means this must be pretty bad.”

”I guess only certain things worry me.” Like saying good-bye to Drew. Like wondering if saying she loved him would make a difference.

”Like seeing Jeff again?”

She blinked, startled. ”No. I hadn't even thought about him. But I doubt he'll want to see me again. I'm sure he's embarra.s.sed about having to tell everyone we broke up.”

”Probably annoyed, too. You've ruined his vacation plans. Probably can't even get a refund on his deposit.”

Lauren gave him a puzzled smile, unsure why Drew had been giving this any thought. ”I'm sure you're right.”

”Ruined your your vacation, too,” he mused. vacation, too,” he mused.

At least Drew appeared to be taking it well. ”It doesn't matter.”

”But now you have one more week off and no place to go.”

She suddenly saw a possible direction to this conversation, and tried not to quiver with a hope that could be dashed at any second. ”I hadn't thought about that.”

Drew pretended to think. ”You know, you could come visit me. I have to work with the camp kids part of each day, but we'd still have plenty of time together.”

She couldn't prevent the tiny smile that crept to her lips. He wanted to continue their relations.h.i.+p. Even if these two weeks of vacation were all she could have with Drew, she'd take it.

But she couldn't appear too eager. ”I don't know. What's it like at this place of yours?”

”My cottage is big, a house really. And there's just me, so we'd have lots of... privacy.”

The lift in his eyebrow told her exactly what that meant, and she had to bite her cheek to keep from grinning.

”There's a large fireplace, and a big dining room table, and a comfortable couch, and of course, a king-size bed.”

She felt a flush creep into her cheeks as she realized he was offering several unorthodox locations for making love. She cleared her throat. ”That sounds nice.”

Seeing he had her interest, he leaned closer with a sly smile. ”There's a meadow out the back door that's very pretty in the moonlight. Also very private. And of course hundreds of acres of wilderness with no one around.”

Making love with Drew outside, with the open sky above and acres of wilderness around them-just the idea made her warm all over. ”I've never, um, done that.”

”No?” His gaze held hers. ”I could help you correct that oversight. The property also has a lake. Of course the water's freezing cold this time of year, so you might want to come back in the summer.” He paused, watching her closely.

Her heart faltered. ”Come back?”

”Or just stay. I close up for a couple weeks in the fall and let the entire staff have some time off. We'd have the whole lodge to ourselves then, just the two of us.”

It felt like her lungs had constricted, each breath catching in her throat. ”Stay? Until fall?” she whispered.

Drew's smile was gone, his gaze sharp as he leaned forward, caressing her arms. ”Lauren, I know I shouldn't rush you. You've just bounced out of a relations.h.i.+p that stifled you, and you need some s.p.a.ce.”

He obviously thought she felt some sadness about ending her relations.h.i.+p with Jeff. Lauren opened her mouth to correct him, but he put a finger to her lips.

”No, hear me out. Right now you're probably afraid to hear words that imply commitment, and I understand that.” He drew a deep breath. ”But I have to be honest with you, Lauren. I'm in love with you, and I don't intend to let you go.”

She knew she'd heard correctly because she saw the concerned look in his eyes, as if he were afraid of how she might react. Her mouth opened again, but all she could manage was, ”Um...”

A deep crease appeared in his brow. The reason occurred to her in a flash of amazement-he was nervous.

”Honey, if you need time, I'll wait.” His pained look made her want to kiss him senseless, but she was still paralyzed with disbelief. ”But I have to warn you right now, I'm going to keep trying to change your mind.”

He was waiting for a reply. She managed a shaky nod.

”And I won't be satisfied with a live-in relations.h.i.+p. I want marriage and children.”

His jaw clenched with determination and he set his shoulders, apparently braced for the impact of rejection.

Lauren swallowed the lump in her throat. If her mouth weren't hanging open in shock she'd probably be grinning like an idiot. ”That's quite a lot for me to think about,” she told him, careful to keep her voice casual.

He nodded, looking as serious as she'd ever seen him. ”I know what you're thinking,” he said, wincing.

”You do?”

”You're thinking my place is remote and the town is too small for you to find the sort of responsible position you have now.”

Actually, she hadn't given it a second's thought.

”But if you're willing to consider a slightly less glamorous job, I'm planning to expand Camp Windhaven's services in the future, and I could use a good financial planner.”

”You mean, work for you?”

”Work with with me,” he corrected gently. ”It would be your place, too. Your home.” me,” he corrected gently. ”It would be your place, too. Your home.”

Her heart had already decided, but Lauren weighed the decision one time to satisfy her conscience. She could return to her old job crunching numbers for an engineering firm and hope to find a man as wonderful as Drew, or live in a mountain paradise with the man she loved, the man she knew she would love for the rest of her life, building a home and family together, while giving troubled kids a second shot at life.

She bit her lip as she touched his chest and stroked down the hard muscles of his arms, the arms that would always be there to hold her.