She walked with him through his back door. “I think I’m officially giving up the investigation of Terrence Landon. I was worried that he was doing something in there that would at the very least reflect badly on the resort, or cause us legal problems at the worst. After that debacle with Hannah’s evil ex last year, I guess I was still just a little paranoid and overimaginative. Maybe he’s as crooked as they come, in addition to being freaking bug-nuts, but as long as he gives me no further reason for concern, I’ll leave him alone. I just hope he checks out Wednesday, as he implied he will. A nice young honeymoon couple would be more than welcome to take his place there.”
Locking the door behind them, he closed the blinds. Tightly. “Does that mean I’m fired?”
She laughed. “You were never hired,” she reminded him. “But you are hereby released from the favor I asked of you.”
“Hmm. I was rather hoping I could rush in, guns blazing, to rescue you from the nefarious drug dealer in Cabin Seven,” he said with such exaggerated regret that she had to laugh again.
“You nut,” she said, resting her hands on his chest. “I never expected that from you.”
He frowned. “You don’t think I could have done it? Just because I’m not a P.I. like my brother—”
Though he was still teasing, she wanted to make something very clear. “Whatever skills Andrew may or may not have as a private investigator, he never had the same effect on me that you do,” she murmured, lifting her head to nip a little kiss against his firm jaw. “If I was going to place myself in the hands of either of you, it would be you.”
“I do like having you in my hands.” As if to reinforce the comment, he slid his palms slowly up and down her sides, bringing them to rest on her hips to pull her closer to him. He lowered his mouth to hers and spoke against her lips, “Any other favors I can do for you now that Landon’s out of the way?”
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pressed herself against him. “I’m sure I can think of a few.”
Some small, rational, distant part of her mind warned her somberly that she was going to be hurt. Footloose Aaron would soon tire of hanging shingles and mowing grass—would probably grow tired of her, as well?
?and he’d move on. Politely, she was sure. Sensitively. As considerately as possible, under the circumstances. He would probably give her that all-too-familiar speech about hoping they could always be friends. He cared about her, he would always respect and admire her, it wasn’t her, it was him...yadda, yadda, yadda. The speech had hurt bad enough coming from Pete, and she hadn’t even cared about him all that much. It was going to break her heart when she heard it from Aaron, with whom she had tumbled head over heels in love.
She could walk away now. Pull her lips from beneath him, drag herself out of his arms, put a safe, sensible distance between them. Yet her heart would still be broken when he left—and she wouldn’t even have these sweet memories to comfort her.
Drawing her lips from his, she smiled mistily. “Let’s go upstairs, Aaron.”
She didn’t have to ask him twice.
* * *
Aaron watched Shelby dress later with an expression that felt uncomfortably like a pout. “I always hate to see you leave,” he said, though she probably already knew that, considering how many ways he had tried to detain her.
Brushing her hair out of her eyes, she smiled at him. “I really need to go. There’s always a nondenominational sunrise service in the pavilion at 7:00 a.m. We don’t charge admission to the resort before noon on Sundays, so occasionally people from the surrounding towns attend the services in addition to interested guests. I’m usually there to make sure there aren’t any problems, then I take the rest of Sunday off unless I’m filling in for someone.”
He glanced at the clock. “You aren’t going to get much sleep.”
Shrugging, she said, “That’s okay. I don’t need much.”
“Did you ride your bike over?”
“No, I walked tonight.”
He looked around for his shoes. “I’ll drive you back.”
“Seriously?” She laughed. “You will not. It’s a ten-minute walk across a resort filled with people.”
“People who are asleep,” he pointed out.
“And who will wake up if I should scream or shout. Really, Aaron, I do this all the time.”
His left eyebrow shot up. “Leave one of the cabins in the middle of the night?”
“Not like this,” she chided with a shake of her head. “But I’ve been called out for problems in the middle of the night, just as the rest of the family has. And I’ve never felt unsafe here. It’s home.”
She couldn’t read his expression when he shrugged and conceded. “Your choice, of course.”
Patting his cheek, she said, “Don’t worry, Aaron, I’ll be fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She kissed him, then headed for the door. “Meet me at the pavilion in the morning if you’re interested and awake that early. It’s always a lovely service.”