Page 40 of The Calendar of New Beginnings (Dare Valley #9)

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

B lake’s cabin in Vail, which showcased stunning vistas of the mountains and the changing leaves of fall, was the warmest, most welcoming cocoon of a place Lucy had ever been in.

Western blankets decorated with buffalos and Native American designs were slung over the arms of comfy leather couches.

Everywhere there was shining honey-colored wood.

Lucy plopped down on the couch cushions as Andy hauled in the luggage, something he’d insisted on doing without her help.

It wasn’t like she had much more than a duffle, so she’d let him make the gesture.

As a world traveler, she’d always packed light.

The high ceilings caught her eye, and she stared up at the light pouring in from the windows.

In the past week, she’d had two doctor appointments.

One with Dr. Davidson, who said the increased clarity of her vision in her right eye was encouraging.

Of course, her color vision had not improved, which still worried her, but there was nothing either of them could do about that.

The second appointment had addressed the change she and Andy were about to make to their relationship. She hadn’t been with many men, but most of her interactions had been spontaneous. Some had been fun while others had generated from loneliness or despair.

She might joke about them doing the horizontal mambo, but it was mostly a show of bravado.

Deep down she was afraid having sex with Andy would only strengthen their bond.

Worse, she feared it would tie her to him and Dare Valley, preventing her from making a logical decision about leaving if and when the time came.

“Do you want to help me unpack the groceries?” he asked. “I’m starving.”

So he wasn’t going to haul her off to the bedroom right away.

She hadn’t thought he would, but her mind had generated a few scenarios.

Her phone buzzed, and she pushed off the couch to pick it up.

Her mom was asking when she could talk to her about the upcoming photo shoots with Rhett and Old Man Jenkins next week.

Great. Her mom wasn’t even going to leave her alone while she was away with Andy.

“I can help with that,” she said, turning off her phone, “or if you’d rather, I can make us some sandwiches.”

“Sandwiches would be good. I’d like pastrami and mustard. With an apple.”

“On top of the pastrami?” she asked smartly, earning her an amused look.

She followed him into the kitchen and brought out the ingredients. “Are you going to judge me if I eat the potato chips I brought? I seem to recall this is a vacation of sorts, which involves eating junk food.”

He kissed her on the cheek and started putting groceries away. He was always doing sweet things like that, and she liked it. She liked it a lot.

“Other than an occasional ice cream, I don’t really eat junk food.” He drew out the three bottles of wine from a brown bag.

“Ice cream isn’t junk food. It’s an essential food group, and one I missed terribly when I was overseas.”

His hand caressed the back of her head quickly. “Then we shall find ice cream around here and have it as often as you like.”

That wasn’t all they’d be having as often as they liked. He might want to be a gentleman, but frankly she was too fidgety to put up with it.

“Were you planning to wait until after dinner to make your move?” she asked, biting her lip to keep from smiling.

He dropped the milk jug on the counter. “Are we on some kind of timetable?”

She cleared her throat to stop the nervous laughter catching in her throat. “No, but I realized it was silly to wait for the guy to make a move. Dinner is about eight hours off. Why wait? Besides, I rather like having sex in the sunlight.”

His hazel eyes, which looked more brown to her brain now, heated and the look he gave her made her all molten inside. “Come here then.”

She almost asked why he couldn’t come to her, but that would be silly. Bounding across the room, she wrapped her arms around him. A slow smile broke out across his face as he caressed her cheek.

“It’s still a little weird, thinking about getting naked with you,” she admitted.

He arched a brow. “I’m sure we’ll get through it fine. We’ve managed to get through everything else together.”

It was true. His keen understanding of her, of them, had helped dissolve every boundary.

When he slid his hands around her waist, he looked her straight in the eye. “I love you. Come make love with me. ”

Her heart started racing, and an aching vulnerability washed over her. She wasn’t going to be able to tease or joke about this simply being fun. This was Andy, and he’d always known her soul.

“I love you too,” she said, reaching for his hand and leading him out of the kitchen. “Are you sure you can wait for your sandwich?” she teased because she couldn’t seem to help herself.

His fingers were already edging up her shirt, caressing the bare skin of her waist. “Oh, yeah.”

They journeyed up the stairs to the master suite. A set of deer antlers jutted out above a stone fireplace. Lucy wanted to pop out some joke about them, but she couldn’t get the words out. It was like her funny bone had been decommissioned, replaced by something raw.

Scanning the massive room, she noticed their luggage nestled together in the corner.

It was weird to see their things together.

Growing up, Andy had had his house and she’d had hers, and even though they’d spent hours hanging out, they’d never had sleepovers.

Boys and girls in their town just didn’t do that when they were only friends, so until now, there’d always been his space and hers.

“We’ve never spent the night together,” she said, “even after all of our years of friendship.”

“Are you nervous?” he asked, holding her close.

“Probably. I don’t know. Sure.” She made a face. “What about you? Are you thinking about Kim?”

His head darted back. “We agreed to be honest with each other, so yeah, I am. A little. I know she’s happy I’m with you. She always liked you, you know.”

Lucy swallowed the lump in her throat. “I liked her too. I was so grateful she never got jealous, you know? When you first married her, I was a little worried. But she wasn’t like that.”

“No,” he said with a sad smile. “She was glad I had you. In fact, she used to say she decided I was a keeper when she learned I was still best friends with a girl I’d met in kindergarten.”

“Really?” Somehow that sweet, insightful comment made her miss Kim. So she sent her a quick thanks for…well, everything.

“Kim thought our longstanding friendship meant I was a nice guy, and since she’d dated a few assholes in college, she was looking for something else.”

Andy Hale was a nice guy, and Lucy realized she’d never been with one of those. Those other men had been interesting and smart and courageous, but none of them had been nice in the way Andy was. “Do you feel guilty? About what we’re about to do?”

He took his time answering. “I’ve had my moments since I first started wanting you like this, but I’ve let it go. Lucy, you make me so happy. Having you back here, first as my friend and now like this… Well, it’s pretty damn perfect.”

“You really do love me,” she said, studying his face. “All the way.”

“Is that finally sinking into your thick skull?” he asked, fighting a smile and losing.

Her heart twisted in her chest. “Seems so.”

He leaned in until he was inches away from her mouth. “Let me show you how much.”

Their lips met with a newness she could only marvel at. Her arms wrapped around him as he pressed lush kisses to her upper and lower lip.

She cupped the back of his neck and stood on her tiptoes to press her mouth more firmly against his.

He opened his, and so did she, and she fell into the lushness of the slow slide of their tongues against each other.

He was rarely in a rush, she’d discovered, always content to let the heat and friction work their magic.

Her breathing turned heavy, like the feeling in her belly, and she felt the beautiful tension of male arousal against her center. She pressed closer to him, rocking her hips, making him groan.

“Let’s get some of these clothes off you,” he said harshly, edging back.

They helped each other get bare to the waist. And of course, he had to check the healing wounds on her back, kissing each of them in benediction.

His hands cupped her breasts, making her head fall back in pleasure.

Her knees were turning weak, she realized, and she walked until she sat on the edge of the bed.

He sank to his knees in front of her, opening her jean-clad legs and sliding between them. Oh man, that was really hot.

He pressed his mouth to one of her breasts as she ran her hands over the hard muscles of his shoulders.

His chest was strong and built, and she couldn’t get enough of him.

He seemed to feel the same because he started to tug on her nipple in the most urgent of ways, making things below clench and tighten.

She made a soft sound when he switched to the other breast and plunged her fingers into his dark hair.

When he finally released her and looked up at her from his position between her knees, her mouth went dry.

A tidal wave of lust crashed over her. She pushed him onto his heels and climbed into his lap, pressing her mouth to his in a hot, wet kiss.

Locking her knees around his waist, she gripped him as he rocked against her.

He groaned, clenching his hands on her bare skin, and then slid his hands down the back of her jeans.

She jolted against his mouth at the caress, pressing away and standing. Her hands unzipped her jeans and pushed them down her legs. He took one of her feet into his hands to slowly slide her pant leg and sock off, all the while kissing the exposed skin of her thigh.

Lucy thought she was going to die. “You’re driving me crazy.”