Nola gestured for him to turn left. He nodded, before resuming his conversation. “I’m concerned about Lauren. She didn’t sound happy.”
“She’s at her friend’s mountain cabin for the week. Maybe you remember me mentioning Becca Levy to you. Or maybe you don’t,” Lindsay said with one of her traditional not-so-subtle digs at his crappy parenting. “She’s having a great time skiing.”
Could be, and Lindsay undoubtedly knew Lauren better than he did. He’d barely spent any time with his own daughter. Although now that he thought back to her call, she’d sounded mighty upset for a girl playing ski bunny with her friend.
His mother would be ashamed of him. That burned. He was working to be a better man, a better father. Hopefully he would get there sometime soon.
Starting with being more perceptive—and he could swear his daughter was upset. But he’d learned long ago not to argue with Lindsay once she’d made up her mind.
“Okay, she’s homesick. Still, I would appreciate it if you would give her a call and check in. Or better yet, you could give me the number and I’ll call her. The number she used didn’t come up on my cell and her cell is out of range.”>Nola wriggled on his lap to sit more securely. “Okay, you don’t think any of my neighbors are stalkers. I guess that’s a relief, except we’re not any closer to answers.”
Something he intended to do his best to change. Somebody needed to push the authorities harder, tap into some of the base intel personnel, none of which he could do until after the holiday.
Which left him with time on his hands now. “In the interest of being open and honest and sensitive, I’ll own up to the fact that all this activity has my legs aching and your wriggling has another part of me aching.”
She angled her face up to his, her blue eyes as clear as the sky he used to parachute through on a regular basis. “Are you angling for another massage of all your aching parts?”
“Maybe a peek at that Jacuzzi tub of yours.” That should put them on a more even footing.
He eyed the marshy shore just beyond her house and wished for warmer weather. Swimming with Nola, making love in the natural watery environment would be awesome. In spite of his injuries, he could seriously hold his own in the water.
Would he still be in the area in the spring to live out those fantasies with Nola? A weighty thought, premature at that. Right now, he could focus on the Jacuzzi and a more immediate, simple surprise for her.
“I believe that could be arranged.”
Fixing things around her house, getting to know her neighbors. Coming up with ways to surprise her, win her over.
This felt too much like digging in, planting roots.
Damn. He missed the old days when the stakes weren’t scary as hell, when he only faced catapulting himself out of an airplane into a jungle full of live fire.
Nola plunged her body into the churning bathwaters in the Jacuzzi, her body already tingling long before the frothing jets caressed her skin.
Rick had created an amazing seductive spa setting with a Thanksgiving feast surprise she would never forget. The man certainly had a creative way with making a personal moment from things scavenged during a simple grocery store run.
Bunches of mixed flowers in large tumblers surrounded the tub interspersed with candles. The scents clung to the humidity, saturating the air and her awakening senses as the tub’s motor hummed softly underneath her. And her own motor was pretty well humming by now, too.
Best of all, beside the faucet rested something that meant more than all the candles, flowers or security upgrades in the world. An ice bucket holding four…
Milk shakes.
Vanilla. Chocolate. Strawberry. And something green she really hoped was mint because no way would she hurt his feelings by doing anything other than tasting it with a grateful smile and yum.
“Happy Thanksgiving,” Rick called from the doorway, one shoulder braced, his honed body on display and awesome even in jeans and T-shirt. “I wasn’t sure about your favorite flavor, but I wanted to add something to the meal.”
She scooped the strawberry shake from the bucket, lounged back and enjoyed the view along with a few memories from their night together that she couldn’t wait to repeat. “So this is what you put in that bag of yours when you snuck off at the grocery store.”
“That and the condoms.”
“Ice cream and condoms. A man after my own heart.” She put the straw in her mouth and drew on the creamy shake, holding his gaze.
His eyes narrowed. “A woman who doesn’t give a crap about flowers.” His voice went husky as his attention stayed right on her gently sucking on the straw. “A woman after my heart.”
She let her laughter float as freely as the bubbles rising toward her chin. How long had it been since she’d had this much fun? She never would have imagined being this lighthearted while some crazed nutcase gunned for her.
“You found my blender and everything.” Leaning forward, she traded the strawberry shake for the green. “You really went to a lot of trouble. I feel guilty. All I did was order the grocery store’s premade Thanksgiving meal.”
“I’m sure the pilgrims would have preferred the premade, hands down, if they’d been given the option.”