You don’t have a plan. Youhave a year’s worth of regret and a week’s worth of desperate, disparateideas.
But since there was zero chance of her kissing him now, he could set aside that desperate yearning for her mouth that had driven him this far. So he paid more attention to her words, sinking into the sweet, laughter-laced stories she told. Dinner flew by in a flurry of enthusiastic hand gestures and delicate,emotive facial expressions he wanted to getlostin.
When they finished eating, they followed the herd of campers outside, and Grady gestured toward the lake. “Do you want to go to thebonfire?”
Priya shook her head and lifted one of the two bags she’d picked up from the camp staff. “Early to bedtonight.”
He had every intention of walking her back to the cabin, then returningto the bonfire after they separated the beds. He’d take his garlic-breath and drown his sorrows in a s’more, and re-group for themorning’shike.
But when they walked into the cabin, something shiftedinsidehim.
He’d flown across the country because Wyatt had told him she would be here. It had been a sign, that she had a week off at the start of his post-deployment leave. He’d knownit would be a hard-sell, because he’d told her he’d stay in touch and then hehadn’t.
What he hadn’t done was really think aboutwhyhe wanted her. Still, again, maybealways.
And Priya as unpacked the new linens, as she moved around the cabin, her hips swaying and her dark hair swinging around her face, another piece of the puzzle fell intoplace.
He didn’t want to head backto thebonfire.
Even if she just slid under her own set of covers on the other side of the room, he wanted to lie down with Priya and go tosleep.
He hadn’t slept well inayear.
Suddenly, strongly, he wanted his first good night’s sleep to start with her,likethis.
Moving silently, he shadowed her movements. As she tugged the sheets free from his side of the bed,he folded them tight under her mattress. When his bed was fully untangled from hers, he moved it across to the far wall. It wasn’t abigmove.
It wasn’t a bigcabin.
There were five feet between their beds. More space than he wanted, but way closer than being across the country. On the other side of the world before that, where he’d buried his thoughts of her because he didn’t knowhow to long for someone and be a finely-tuned fighting machine at thesametime.
“Here,” she said, turning with hissheets.
They stepped toward each other at the same time and her hands collided with his. Soft, slim fingers. Warm skin. He should take the sheets, step back, make his bed and find a way to apologizeforreal.
He wanted to lean in andkissher.
He didn’tdo either of those things. Instead, he just stood there, touch the backs of her hands with his fingertips as she looked upathim.
She didn’t give him any clue as to what she was thinking. Her gaze was sharp and probing as she raked it overhisface.
Then, so slowly he wasn’t sure it was happening at first, she smiled. Just the corner of her mouth at first, a slight upturn that pulledagonizingly into a dimple before her lips parted and she let out a small laugh. “I bet you didn’t think you’d show up and I’d make you sleep in a separate bed,didyou?”
“I wasn’t thinking,” he admitted. “But if I was, I should have figured that out. And I don’t mind.” He took the linens from her and stepped back, his heart thumping against his chest as he found his cocky footing again.“I’m a blanket hog,anyway.”
She watched him as he made the bed, and he watched her right back, sliding glances her way after each step. Her smile crinkled the corners of her eyes. When he finished, she grabbed a bright blue toiletry bag from her suitcase and two very small, very soft-looking bits of clothing. “I’ll just brush my teeth,” she said with a nod toward the bathroom. “Then youcanhaveit.”
He unpacked while she was gone, pulling out his hiking clothes for the next morning and a book to read tonight. Then he quickly packed a light day bag, too, stashing in the front pocket two apples and a couple of granola bars that he’d nabbed from thediningroom.
When the bathroom door opened, he looked up from where he’d been reading on his bed and his mouthdroppedopen.
This was a whole different Priya. Soft and touchable. No makeup. Andglasses.Big, round pink frames. She looked young and sweet, like he shouldn’t perv on the curve of her bare thighs sliding out from her sleep shorts or the way her tank top stretched across herbreasts.
“I didn’t know you wore glasses.” He sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. “The secretsyoukeep.”
“I’ve never liked them. I wear contacts most of the time,” she murmured, moving to herownbed.
They were really going to do this. Sleep in separate twin beds, like a couple on a 1950s sit-com. At least they were a progressive couple. He was the lucky guy who was scoring in a most platonic way with the gorgeous South Asianwoman.
