“I have to be,” he said, the words slipping out before he had a chance to think them through.
“Why?” she asked, pushing his hair off his forehead.
“If I’m not...who will be?”
“Not enough people,” she said.
“You are,” he said.
“Me? You mean me, who runs away from everything and everyone?”
“I should never have said that to you. I’m sorry.” Regret tightened his stomach.
She shook her head. “You weren’t wrong. And the more I see you here, the more I realize how much harder it is to deal with people when you have to watch them not learn. And not listen.”
“Regardless, it doesn’t mean that you haven’t helped people. You listen to people.”
“For money,” she said.
“So? Some people would pay to not listen to people’s problems.”
She laughed. “Okay, so maybe we’re both okay?”
“Sure. We’re both okay.”
“Right now anyway.” She arched against him, sending a shock of pleasure down his spine.
“Right now I’m more than okay.”
* * *
Sadie closed her laptop and looked out the window at the row of buildings across the street. The sky was bright blue, clear, the breeze pushing waves over the American flag that rose up from the two-story restaurant behind the main street, just off the harbor. She imagined it was creating matching waves on the sea beyond the buildings, too.
She’d managed to touch base with Alison, awkwardly, about the pies and confirmed that she would make some for the contest and sell some in the booth. But it didn’t really make her feel much better about the situation as a whole.
She’d spent most of the day in the coffee shop approving the mock-up of the B and B’s website. She’d ventured out briefly to go to the Wagon Wheel, a local home store, and special order curtains for the house, and some quilts. Then she’d stopped in at the glass studio Brooke, her old friend from school, now owned.
Brooke’s life seemed to be going better than Alison’s. So that was a comfort at least. She’d been enthusiastic about the barbecue and had asked for brochures for it, and for the B and B, to put in her shop. They’d parted with plans to do lunch, and unlike most times vague lunch plans were made, Sadie had a feeling they really would get together.
She tapped her fingers across the top of the computer. Eli was off today. Well, working on the ranch. Putting in his part-time cowboy hours. Which was his definition of a day off. And she’d decided to leave the ranch and come to town because it was better and less embarrassing than hanging out and hoping to catch glimpses of him walking around all sweaty and sexy and everything that a man should be.
Yeah, she needed an Eli hiatus. Which was why she’d asked Kate to drop her off at the coffee shop this morning, so she could do all her online work for the B and B from a remote location.
She wouldn’t be taking a hiatus from him at night, of course, because heaven knew how many nights they had left together. And she would not be skipping a single night of orgasmic bliss. Apparently, pleasure was the price she’d willingly pay for her sanity. And she couldn’t even be bothered to feel bad about it.
Nope. All she felt was pleasantly aroused, thank you very much.
But the issue with being around him all day was that he made things other than her lady parts fluttery. He made her chest area feel fluttery. And that was not something that needed to be indulged.
In fact, quite the opposite.
It was harder still after nights like last night. Where they’d sort of wound around each other, naked, and talked, and laughed. And he’d told Connor about them.
That had made her breath hitch. Made all the questions about what that could possibly mean float to the forefront of her brain. The logical part of her knew it meant that he was too honest to lie to Connor. But then there was this weird, previously dormant girlie part of her that seemed to want to pull it apart further to assign labels and meaning to every little piece and part of what he’d said.
This was not a good time to get all freaky about that stuff. Well, okay, there was never a time for that. She sighed and stood up, tucking her laptop into her purse, chucking her cup into the trash can and waving at Baby Barista Number One before stepping outside.
She shook her head and lifted her face toward the sun, taking a deep breath before crossing the street and cutting through two buildings on her way down to the wharf.
The water was a deep gray blue, pitching and rolling against the rocks on the jetty. She turned and looked down toward the bar, and saw a patrol car, parked across the narrow street in the do-it-yourself car wash.
“He’s at the ranch,” she said to herself. “And not on duty, so that isn’t him.” She was already walking toward the car, her internal commentary not doing anything at all to deter her.
She got closer, and her view shifted, and then she saw him. In blue jeans and a T-shirt, washing the patrol car in one of those do-it-yourself car wash spots. It was like some sort of fantasy delivered to her at a very unexpected time.
All that was left was for him to spray his chest with the water so the shirt stuck to his muscles...
“Hello, stranger,” she said, feeling like a total dork the moment it left her mouth. “I mean, hi, Eli.” She knew the amendment hadn’t done much to cover up the original silliness, but oh well.
His eyebrows shot up. “What are you doing here?”
“I am a hallucination,” she said. “Your subconscious mind brought me to you.”
“Oh, really?” he asked.
“Yes. Don’t you want to know what I mean?”
“I suppose you’re going to tell me.”
