“It’s surreal,” he murmurs as he pulls off the main road, causing me to turn and stare at him.
“What are you doing?”
“Don’t worry, bunny boiler. I’m still not a Bundy.”
“Funny.” I look around at our surroundings on the narrow one lane road weaving itself through the trees. “But seriously. The sun is setting soon, I don’t want to get lost out here in the dark.”
“I wanted to check out this place that Ed told me about.”
“Ed?” I laugh his name out with affection woven into it, while shaking my head at the odd friendship the two of them fostered the past eighteen months. It’s definitely a strange pairing, but they text every once in a while, and Slade’s even gone fishing with him a time or two.
“Yeah. He has a friend who is selling a cabin up here. He told me to come check it out for him because it’s supposed to have a lake loaded with fish.”
“Is he planning on buying it?”
“Who knows,” he murmurs as the trees open to a clearing.
“How cute is that?” I say more to myself than to him. The small house has light gray clapboard siding with white shutters on its windows. A covered patio bends around the front with a raised deck to match. The steps leading up to the front door are worn in their centers and make me think of how many people have probably enjoyed this house over the years. There is a large patch of vibrant green grass next to where we park, but it’s the lake at the house’s back that catches my attention.
Peaceful.
That’s the first word that comes to mind.
“What are you—”
“It’s for sale,” Slade says without letting me ask the question as he slides out of the car. “Ed’s ankle is still tender from his fall, so he asked if I’d check it out for him.”
“So, you’re just going to go in?” I climb out of the car as he strides toward the front door like a man on a mission.
He turns around, holds his hands out, and gives me a roguish grin. “A little breaking and entering never hurt anyone.” He laughs as I stare wide-eyed at him. “Relax, Foxx. I have the code to the lockbox. Come on, check it out with me.”
I hurry after him, marveling at how much he’s made me step out of my comfort zone over the past year and a half: skinny dipping in the moonlight, making love during a roadside pitstop, singing at the top of my lungs during karaoke night. I thought I had been living before Slade Henderson, and now I know I had no clue what living really was.
Every day is definitely an adventure with him.
“It’s quaint, huh?” he asks as he jiggles the key in the lock as I walk up behind him and press a kiss to his shoulder.
“Sure.”
“I’ll make you love nature one of these days,” he teases.
“Hey.” I swat his ass. “I’ve gotten better and—oh.” I draw the word out as I step inside the cabin that looks nothing like I expected. The floors look like rustic barn wood with warm touches of grays and blues, but it’s the wall of windows that showcases the lake beyond that steals the show.
I walk toward it, my eyes drawn to the shadows of the trees falling over the lake and the colors the setting sun is slowly painting the sky. I’m mesmerized by the beauty and how serene it all looks and feels.
“Gorgeous, isn’t it?”
“The cabin or the view?” I ask.
“All three.”
“Three?” I turn to look at him.
“The cabin, the view, and you standing there.”
Swoon.
I stand there and blush as he peeks his head into the door off the great room. “Good-size master bedroom. En-suite bath.” He moves toward the windows and takes a right into what looks like a newly remodeled kitchen. “Nice appliances. Granite countertops.”
“No stairs except for the front ones. Do you think Ed could manage those all right?”
“Probably,” he says as he jiggles the handle of the door off the kitchen that leads to the back deck. “Let’s check out back.”
“Slade.” His name is an exasperated sigh.
“Humor me.”
“Fine.” I stroll over to where he is. I don’t dare say this out loud, but if I were to ever want to buy a cabin, this would definitely be one I could wrap my head around.
It’s when I clear the back door that I falter in my tracks. Sure, the lake is beautiful, but Slade is standing next to what looks like a brand-new white porch swing with a ghost of a smile on his lips and a glass of wine held out to me.
“What is this?” I ask, a little taken back.
“I wanted to do something nice for you.” He shrugs sheepishly. “I rented it for a night, complete with the white porch swing and glass of wine that I owe you and will now have finally delivered on.”
“Slade.” My heart swells as I take the glass of wine from his hand before stepping forward and pressing a kiss to his lips. “All of this for me?”
“I can give you more if you keep that kiss coming.”
And I do as he puts his hand on the small of my back and pulls me against him. Our tongues meet and our soft sighs fill the twilight around us as we kiss.
I lean back and look at him, my brow raised as I look at the swing and then back at him. “Should I trust that this one isn’t going to fall?”
“I’m pretty sure this one is a little more solid than the one I rigged at the lodge.” He chuckles. “But you won’t catch me complaining about the outcome.”
It creaks when we sit on it, but it doesn’t fall. I snuggle into him and he wraps his arm around me and pulls me close much like he did that first night at the bonfire we still attend on a monthly basis with his colleagues.
“How the hell did
