“Sure. Presley, the AC guy will be here tomorrow so we’ll have you out of the cabin soon. Unless you’d like to stay there, no extra cost, and Beckett could bunk here,” Grayson said.
Presley wouldn’t pick up on it, but Beckett heard the playful challenge, the tease in his sibling’s tone.
Presley looked up at Beckett, her hand brushing his as she stood. “Oh. No, I don’t need to do that. Things are… fine the way they are.” She bit her lip. “I mean, until the AC is fixed. Then, of course, I’ll get out of your space.” She looked at him and he saw the want mirrored in her beautiful blue eyes.
He wanted herinhis space. All up in it.
“No rush,” he said, his voice thick.
His siblings were going to tease him like hell as soon as they got him alone.
“I’m going to go play a game with Ollie, then,” Jilly said with a sly smile.
“Thanks for helping my brother check the hot tub, Presley. He could use the backup.”
Beckett shot Grayson a warning glance, but the jerk just laughed and followed their sister.
“Subtle,” Presley said under her breath.
When she looked at him, she was smiling.
“What can I say. I’m a man of many skills. Stretching. Subtlety.”
Presley’s laughter danced over his skin.
“I stole more of your Band-Aids,” she said as they walked out of the dining room and down a hallway that led to a sunroom with French doors leading outside to the hot tub.
“Whatever you need, it’s yours,” he said.
Then he realized what he had said. All the other decisions plaguing him fell away. He knew exactly what he wanted. At least for the next eight days.
Thirteen
Presley slipped into the hot tub with a low groan, the water greeting her aching feet and tired muscles like a welcoming friend. Behind the lodge was an entire bounty of beautiful grounds. Double glass doors off of a sitting room in the lodge opened to a stone path, which led to a set of stairs nestled in a space between trees. The steps led to a raised, boardwalk-style patio surrounding the entire hot tub, letting people sink down into it. It was interesting to her, the way some of the amenities were top-notch and others were in great disrepair. Whoever had been in charge of this place before Beckett’s family had clearly had their priorities.
At the moment, as the heat and jets massaged, she was thrilled the hot tub had been on the top of the upkeep list. Beckett was right about the twinkle lights adding to the ambience, as he’d called it when he showed her his backyard. She smiled. A few lanterns hung from the trees, creating a soft, romantic feel, elevated by the stars beginning to poke through the gaps in the canopy of trees.
Because she was facing the lodge, she saw Beckett come from around its side, along the path that led from the front grounds to the back. He wore a pair of patterned board shorts and a T-shirt.
Presley’s pulse ramped up, competing with the strength of the jets, as his long, lean legs closed the distance. She’d truly thought she was a suit-and-tie girl, but the way he wore casual clothing made her rethink her entire stance on what was attractive. Holding steady at the top of the list, currently, were his smile, the way his eyes crinkled in the corners, and the way he looked at her when she spoke.
“You still sure you’re okay if I join?”
She had a fleeting curiosity about whether he’d hooked up with any other lodge guests before shooing it away. The only thing that mattered was right this minute. Presley needed a break from thinking about the past or future. Right now, she just wanted to sit with Beckett under the stars. “I hoped you would.” How was it only yesterday she’d shown up here? It seemed like a lifetime ago.
Beckett grabbed the back of his shirt, yanked it over his head, and tossed the shirt on the deck. Presley swallowed, willing herself not to drool at the sight of his low-key six-pack—it suited him in the way that it made it obvious he worked out while still being understated, like a shy six-pack. She smiled at the thought. Then her mouth went dry as her gaze caught on the perfect V his muscles made and the way his shorts hung low on his hips, making her mind and gaze wander.Good lord. No wonder the internet was loving him. He looked like one of those romance book cover models, all smooth, tanned skin and toned muscles. If she snapped a picture right now, she’d end up with a blue check mark.
He slipped into the water, letting out a deep sigh. Little noises—she didn’t want to think about the creatures making them—sounded in the distance.
Beckett leaned his head back and rested it on the edge of the tub. “God. Why don’t I do this more often?”
Presley was grateful his eyes were closed so she could keep staring. He was like art. Sculpted and molded by hard work, determination, and an underlying gentleness that could shatter her already weak defenses. “I’m guessing you don’t get much of a chance.”
Sitting up, he nodded, meeting her stare. “I don’t. We’ve been running hard since Grayson got this place. We keep saying we’ll catch our breath when we’re caught up, but every time we turn around, there’s more to do.”
They sat a few minutes in the quiet and she wasn’t sure if she was responsible for erasing the distance between them or he was but they’d drifted closer. This spot here, this moment, felt like perfection. Like itwas worth everything in the last forty-eight hours to get righthere.What a strange twist of fate. Presley spent so much of her time planning, trying to get things just right, that she’d never sat back and let the universe take over.Well done, Universe. I should leave you in charge more often.
Beckett gave her a soft smile. “Too bad you don’t have your phone. This would be Instagram-worthy, right?”
