Hero For the Asking (Reed Sisters: Holding out for a Hero 2) - Page 56

"I love you, Clay."

He twisted until he was leaning over her. "Feel up to showing me again? I find myself still in need of reassurance."

She opened her arms to him, eager to find her own reassurance in his arms. Their future was still uncertain, but at least she knew now that he did love her. Surely their love could overcome any other obstacles that might lie ahead for them.

* * *

"C'mon, Spring. Rise and shine. We're wasting sightseeing time."

Spring opened one eye, looked at the clock, noted that it was just seven in the morning and closed the eye with a loud groan. "Go away."

"No, really, sweetheart. By the time you shower and we have breakfast, it will be eight. You told me that it takes about forty minutes to get to Hot Springs, which will make it almost nine o'clock. We'll do some of the outdoor sights this morning before it gets too hot—God, it gets hot in Arkansas in July!—then we'll do indoor things until it cools off a bit. Museums, bathhouse tours, and so on. Spring, are you listening?"

"I'm sleeping."

"Don't make me have to tickle you, my love."

She opened that eye again, looking warily at him. "You wouldn't."

He held his hand over her bare side, fingers wiggling in mock threat. "Wouldn't I?"

She sighed and rolled over. "You win. Ill get up. Oh, God, you even look like a tourist. All you need is a camera slung around your neck."

"It's waiting in the living room," he replied happily, glancing down at his green T-shirt emblazoned with the words Arkansas Is A Natural, his khaki hiking shorts and his white tennis shoes.

"How come when I made my first visit to California, all I did was shop and visit my sister, and you come to Arkansas and try to memorize the state?"

"You just haven't learned the fine art of touristry," he answered with a grin. "Up, up, up. I'll be studying the history of the hot springs while you're showering. Did you know that they were used in healing rituals by the Indians and that Al Capone and Bugsy Siegel used to take the baths there on a regular basis?"

"No, but I'm sure I'll know all that and more by the end of the weekend." Spring climbed out of bed and brushed her hair out of her face, yawning. After getting so little sleep during their particularly active night, she was having a hard time keeping up with her exuberant lover. Not that she minded. She thought he was cute when he was in tourist mode.

She hummed in the shower, taking her time despite Clay's schedule. She intended to enjoy every moment of the weekend with him. Dressed in white shorts and a lemon-yellow top, she tossed a few things into an overnight bag and was ready for the weekend. All she had to do was drop Missy off with Mrs. English, who'd taken care of the cat while Spring was in California and was very fond of the pet.

Still humming softly, she went off in search of Clay. She found him in the living room, talking on the telephone. She paused in the doorway, realizing that he hadn't heard her approach. She didn't intend to eavesdrop, but she didn't want to disturb him, so she stood quietly for a moment, thinking he would notice her at any time.

"Okay, Frank," he was saying, his back still turned to her. "Gather it all up and hang on to it for me. I'll look it over when I get back. When? Oh, the week after next. Monday or Tuesday, at the latest. Yeah, I'm having fun. See you in a week, Frank."

Spring was back in her room before he'd cradled the receiver, her hand pressed to her stomach as if that would help the pain. She hadn't expected to hear him calmly making plans to return to California. He hadn't said a word to her about it. Sure, he'd told her when he'd arrived that he was here for a couple of weeks, but that had been before he'd told her that he loved her.

She'd thought that he would ask her to go with him when he decided to leave.

Pacing blindly around the room, she stumbled, then picked up the stuffed bear that had gotten under her feet. Holding him cradled to her chest, she stood in one spot, rocking slightly as she tried to tell herself that she wasn't breaking into pieces.

Be realistic, Spring. You knew he was only here on vacation. It was ironic, she thought with bitter humor, that their relationship had begun with a vacation fling—hers—and seemed to be ending with a vacation fling—his. No wonder he hadn't wanted to talk about their future. He didn't foresee one. At least not together.

Maybe he would still ask her to go with him, she thought on a surge of hope. And then shook her head in answer to her own thoughts. No. He surely would have said something to her before calmly making plans to leave.

Maybe he wasn't planning to end their relationship when he left. Perhaps he envisioned a long-distance affair—phone calls, letters, an occasional vacation together in California or Arkansas. Of course she knew where that would lead. Heartbreak. She didn't want to be separated from him. She didn't want to lie alone at night wondering whom he was with, what he was doing. She wanted to be his wife. She wanted to have his children. She wanted him!

"I'm having fun," he'd told Frank. Fun? He considered a full-scale love affair fun? Fine. She'd keep it that way for him. She'd told him goodbye before; she could do it again. She could live with a functioning machine where her heart was now. Because he would surely take her heart with him when he left.

It hurt. It hurt so much. But she wouldn't let him know. She refused to part badly wi

th him again. She had him for another week, and she intended to create a lot of memories with him during that time. She would need them later.

"Spring, aren't you ready yet? Oh, there you are." Clay paused in the doorway and eyed her quizzically. "You planning to take the bear? It's fine with me, but I don't know if he's up to all the walking I plan to do. He looks kind of old."

She straightened her shoulders and forced a smile, setting Pooh back in his new spot on her bedroom floor. "I was just telling him to behave himself while we're gone. Is breakfast ready?"

Tags: Gina Wilkins Reed Sisters: Holding out for a Hero Romance
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