I sat in the car. “You may not win.”
“Oh, I’m going to win.” The door closed and Gael strode in front of his car and got in. In a fluid motion, he cranked the car and we took off.
Savannah was alive this afternoon with people milling about. We made small talk as we drove. Gael was involved with the community. At Christmas, he dressed up as Santa for the kids at the hospital. His ability to downplay his generosity was attractive. I knew we were heading to Tybee Island as we hit the bridge. I had traipsed all over this island as a kid. Grinning to myself, I knew me winning was in the bag.
“What are you grinning about?”
Biting my lip, I tried to suppress my excitement. “Oh, nothing.”
He chuckled as we kept driving. About fifteen minutes later, we drove down a street that was lined with houses. It was one of the nicer neighborhoods on the island. As a child, I’d played with a friend who lived one street over.
He turned right down a private drive at the end of the road. The beach was visible. A two-story white siding house sat nestled between trees. Black shutters framed the windows. The large front porch had two rocking chairs to the left and a porch swing to the right. It was picturesque and I couldn’t take my eyes away.
The door opened and Gael came to my side of the car. “I want to show you something.”
I intertwined my hand with his. “I can’t wait to see.”
We strode toward a large magnolia tree. I was at a loss as to what we were doing here. Surely he didn’t think he would win because he brought me to a tree. He stopped on the left side of the Magnolia that was closest to the house.
“Yesterday in the park, I know I should have said something. But I thought this would be better. It’s worn, but you can still see it.”
Gael pointed to the tree and I saw a carving.
My breath caught as my fingers traced the indention. Could it be? Could it really be Daniel and Sophia? I turned to Gael.
“Ashlin, my name is Gael Stowe.”
“WHAT?”
I backed up to the tree and faced Gael as I waited for him to explain. That was the last thing I had expected him to say.
“Daniel Stowe was my great-great-great-grandfather. When you first said Daniel’s name yesterday, I thought it was the same one. But, I didn’t recognize the name Sophia. I called my mom and she said my great-great-great-grandmother’s name was Colett. When you read the part about the tree carvings, it answered a question none of us had known the answer to. This house has been in the family for generations.”
I swallowed hard, trying to process it all. “You’re Daniel’s grandson. And I’m Sophia’s granddaughter. My great-great-great-grandfather was Devlin and your great-great-great-grandmother was Colett. We aren’t related.” I’m not sure if it was a question or a self-assured statement. My heart felt heavy at the thought of being forbidden from Gael.
Gael leaned and put his arm on the tree trunk, bringing his body closer to mine. “No, sweetheart, we aren’t related. And I’m thanking my lucky stars we’re not.”
“You are?” My voice came out breathy.
His face inched closer and I could smell the wintergreen of his breath. “I am. Since I saw in you in the bar two days ago, I’ve wanted to kiss you.”
“You have?”
Instead of answering, his lips came closer and our eyes searched each other’s. Gael gave me an opportunity to stop this. I didn’t want to. Licking my lips, I waited for Gael to come to me versus attacking him with my mouth. Patience, Ashlin. This is happening. His free hand came to my left hip.
I made a tiny noise of impatience as his lips touched mine. They were firm yet soft, melding to me, commanding me to open up to him. The real thing was better than I’d imagined. I didn’t hesitate as his tongue swept inside. My arms wrapped around his neck and the kiss intensified. I moaned and he pressed into me. I could feel the bark against my back.
Our tastes mingled and it was heady. Gael’s hand moved up my side and stopped short of the underside of my breast. This was better than anything my imagination had conjured up as I spent more time than I would admit thinking about kissing Gael.
The kiss slowed and Gael broke contact. His lips were still touching mine. “Yes, I have.”
I smiled against his lips. “I’m glad I’m not the only one who felt that way.”
“Do you want to see the house where Daniel took Sophia for their first time? Through the years, the house has been added on to, but this is the house Sophia wrote about.” His voice was warm.
I liked that Gael let things happen, but kept it low key. He calmed me when normally I’d be dissecting every part of what had just happened.
My body wanted more of Gael, but it would be good to have a distraction. I had met him less than three days ago. “I’d love to.”