Shelby sighed gustily. “That boat wake took mine under.”
“Two out of three?” he offered.
“No.” She tossed her hair. “It was a fair bet. I’ll just have to think of something creative to do with you.”
He laughed and tugged at one of her curls. “There are just so many ways I could respond to that.”
Her cheeks might have darkened, but she looked away before he could be sure. “Behave yourself.”
“I guess I’d better,” he replied with mock regret. “I’d hate to have your dad, grandfather, uncle and brother show up at my door to defend your honor.”
“I beg your pardon?” She scooped up a sizable rock and juggled it from one hand to another. “I defend my own honor.”
Still grinning, Aaron lifted both palms toward her in a conciliatory gesture. “Message received.”
“Good.” She lobbed the rock into the water with a noisy splash. “So, tomorrow afternoon we’re going out on the water with Steven. How about Friday evening for our date? That will give me time to come up with something clever.”
“That works for me.”
She laughed softly. “You’re something else, Aaron Walker.”
He had no idea what that meant. The way she said it made it sound like a compliment, but with Shelby, there was no telling, really. He liked that about her.
Reaching out to her on impulse, he tugged her into his arms, his mouth hovering just above her smile. “I need to kiss you now,” he said.
Obligingly, she wrapped her arms around his neck, looking up at him with wide eyes. “Is Landon watching?”
“I have no idea.” Unable to resist a moment longer, he pressed his lips to hers.
The kiss warmed, deepened, lasted a long time. Aaron didn’t know if Terrence Landon or total strangers or Shelby’s entire family could see them, nor did he care at that moment. He’d thought about kissing her all through dinner. He might as well admit it—he’d been wanting to taste her again since that brief kiss in her car yesterday. And it had nothing to do with any part he was playing, any plot she had concocted. He liked her, enjoyed her...wanted her. Wanted her so badly that he had to fight an urge to tumble her onto the beach and show her exactly how desirable he found her.
Reluctantly lifting his mouth from hers, he remembered the code word they’d teasingly chosen for a warning of danger ahead. “Minnesota,” he murmured.
Looking a little dazed, she blinked. He didn’t give her a chance to respond, but drew back and took her hand in his again to head back up the bank to his cabin.
He reminded himself that he had several days yet to enjoy Shelby’s company. He was determined to do that without anyone getting hurt. She knew he was here only temporarily, and he knew there was nowhere else she wanted to be. It had even been her quirky idea to publicly send him away when it was time for him to go. There was no real peril to either of them—which didn’t explain why he was suddenly, uncharacteristically edgy. Maybe it was the uncertainty of his own future. Or maybe just a natural reluctance to say goodbye to this charming new friend who didn’t seem to think any less of him because of his situation.
He’d always tended to live in the present, enjoy the moment, seize the day. For the rest of this week, he’d stick with that practice. He’d worry about next week as the time drew nearer, he decided as Shelby looked up at him with a smile.
* * *
“It’s getting pretty dark. I could drive you around to your place,” Aaron offered a short while later, after they’d each had a lemon bar and he’d sampled one of her cookies.
Though she thought it was nice that he’d offered, Shelby shook her head with a smile. “That’s not necessary, but thanks. I could ride home from here blindfolded, but our security lighting is good enough to get me there safely.”
“I guess I forget this whole place is your front yard.”
“Exactly.” She threw a leg over her bike and kicked the stand out of the way. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Aaron. Thanks for the dinner.”
“Thank you for sharing it with me,” he returned. “I enjoyed the company.”
So polite, she mused as she turned her bike and began to pedal. Hard to believe the impeccably well-mannered gentleman who’d just seen her off had rocked her world with a steamy stolen kiss less than an hour earlier. She still got shivery inside when she remembered that kiss. She expected that reaction would last a while.
Passing the private drive sign, she bit her lip as she pedaled past her parents’ house. She was thinking about the word Aaron had murmured after he’d kissed her senseless. Minnesota, the joking code she’d given him for danger. Had he implied that their embrace had been dangerous for her—or for him? The latter seemed unlikely. Obviously, he’d been teasing. He did that a lot—which was yet another difference between him and Andrew, or at least the Andrew who’d spent almost two weeks here in the course of his job.
She had to chuckle when she remembered that rock-skipping contest. She blamed her loss on the effort she’d had to make to hide her foolish reactions to Aaron’s smiles, his touch. Just by holding her hand, he’d made her pulse race in a way that she’d hoped she concealed from him, though she’d been all too aware of it, herself. He’d winked at her just as she’d turned to release her stone, and while it probably hadn’t been intended as sabotage, that engaging wink had still scrambled her circuits. That was her story, and she was sticking to it, though she would keep the excuse to herself.
So now she owed him a date. And she was the one who’d loftily proclaimed that a dinner-and-movie outing wasn’t creative or adventurous enough. What was she going to do to entertain Aaron for an evening?