“I’d like that.” She leaned her head on his shoulder as he drove up to the house, her perfume teasing his nostrils and tantalizing his senses.
* * *
The moon shone over the water, a ribbon of light threading like quicksilver over the waves. As they rounded the bend, lights peeked from among the trees that hid the house from the road. Drew pulled up on the driveway and walked around to open her door. She took his hand and got out, her gaze on the house. “It looks so beautiful at night.”
“Wait until you go around the front.” He led her up the steps to the back door and used his key to go in. Lights came on as they stepped into the room. “Automatic sensor lights so you never need to walk into a dark house.”
“You remembered.” She’d always had an irrational fear of the dark, no thanks to her upbringing. Drew had always been the one to hold her hand and lead her through the darkness, even if it was only supplying her with a small flashlight when she was young.
“I’ve forgotten nothing about you.” He led her through the mud room into the kitchen, flicking on main lights as he walked in. “Go and stand at the door and watch the view.”
April let go of his hand and walked over to the big glass doors that led out onto the front deck. Lights twinkled from under the timber edges throwing a soft glow over the gardens. A flash of light and the whole garden was awash in brightness. She could see all the way down to the path that led to the beach. No more stumbling in the dark along the path that they once knew step by step.
He walked up behind her and pulled open the bi-fold doors. April stepped out, the ocean breeze shimmering over her skin. The taste of salt stung her lips and a memory flashed past her eyes. Images of the two them down by where the first light now shone, snuggled under a big blanket, a bottle of cheap wine in plastic glasses as they shared their dreams for the future. Drew had placed a stone love seat in their special spot facing the ocean.
It’d been one of the most intense and scary times of her life. Both acting like grown-ups thinking they had this love of theirs under control. How wrong they were.
“Do you remember how we made love just around the bend by the lighthouse? How we almost got caught when it became known as the spot to be with your love interest?”
Heat prickled her skin as his breath broke over her neck and her body took notice of the man beside her. “Yes.” She struggled to keep her voice even. That’s when they’d gone searching for a new secluded spot. They’d found this cove and made it their own. Giggling like small children, he’d taken her hand and guided her around the rocks and through the bushes until they found what was to become their spot.
“I’ve never forgotten it. I was terrified I’d let you down or hurt you that first time. I don’t know how on Earth we managed to keep a straight face afterwards when I think about it.”
“It was magical.”
“For me too, but we grew up and it got better. I wonder how we’d feel now?”
April swallowed, her breath coming in tiny gasps. “I don’t know.” She closed her eyes and gripped her thighs together. Why would it make her so needy for him being here alone at their not so secret place? She hadn’t thought of sex for years and now she couldn’t get it out of her mind. “Things are moving too fast, Drew.”
“I know it seems like it, but to be honest, it doesn’t scare me. If you like, we can slow it down until you feel more at ease.”
Is that what she wanted?
“We’re not strangers, April. We’ve known each other for years, and we have history that neither of us have forgotten. I love you. I was hoping you felt the same way or was I reading your body language all wrong over dinner?”
She closed her eyes, tried to steady her breathing. “Was it that obvious?” God, how she wanted him. It’d been such a long time since anyone held her the way Drew was right now. Should she take what they both wanted or should she wait until her life was more ordered, more stable?
“Only to me.”
She held her hand to her chest and sucked in a deep breath.
“I have a blanket.”
“I’m not sure I’m ready for sex outside, Drew. I’ve grown up somewhat since those days and while I might enjoy the thought, I have no intention of performing under lights.”
He took her hand and led her back inside. “Let me show you the rest of the house.”
What on Earth was she thinking? He seemed intent on picking up where they’d left off years ago and she wasn’t even trying to discourage him. If anything, she was urging him on and she knew it. That’s what you get for letting down your guard because you haven’t been laid in years.
He drew her up the stairs. “This is the upstairs lounge. The children’s rooms are that way and the parents retreat and bedroom is in here. Most of the furniture is in. Its only downstairs that needs finishing off.” They stepped through the door into a large open room. “Bathroom and dressing room through there.”
“It’s beautiful, Drew.” April tried to ignore the ready-made bed and chaise lounge and walked into the bathroom, marveling at how he’d put everything together to give a warm comforting setting. He’d thought of everything in his attempt to remodel the house into something that would suit the two of them.
She was in no denial that he had her in mind when he did his planning. Aggie had since told her as much. It made her
