Sound of the Tide (25 page)

I kept mulling Jenna’s words over in my head as I walked side by side with Kevin, pushing the stroller uphill, up toward Mellos Cove. Amber had fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion with a mashed-up cookie firmly clutched in her tiny fist.

Kevin had swapped his firefighter uniform for a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, and his hair was still wet from his shower. I didn’t say a word because I was all too aware of his presence. And of the longing that was welling up inside of me.

“You’ve been watching me today,” he said with an amused undertone in his voice. I knew he was looking at me, and I tried to look cooler, more relaxed, than I actually was.

“Well, lots of stuff was going down, I guess.”

He laughed a carefree laugh, and by now I was
certain
that the way he laughed had changed, because every time I heard it there was a tingle in the pit of my stomach. Or was it because I looked at him differently?

“I’m surprised you even noticed anything else, because I could feel your eyes boring into my back all day,” he teased me.

“That’s not true!” I said, slapping at him.

“All right, all right, strictly speaking you were probably staring at my butt, too. Am I right?”

“Kev!” I said in mock outrage but couldn’t help but smile.

He reached for my hand.

“It’s okay, Piper! Really! You don’t need to be embarrassed about your uncontrollable physical urges for me,” he joked and kissed my hand, just as I was trying to slap him again.

“You are crazy!” I said, refusing to acknowledge his insinuation any further. But the fat grin on my face proved me a liar.

We were so distracted that the first few drops of rain took us by complete surprise. Big, heavy drops that made the asphalt hiss and steam.

I looked up at the one single cloud that was bestowing summer rain upon us. Otherwise, the sky was bright blue.

Kevin wrapped Amber’s legs in the thin blanket, and took the stroller off my hands.

“Come on!” he called, pulling me after him.

We were almost running, and yet within minutes we were soaking wet. My curls were clinging to my face, and I laughed because—surprising as this downpour had been—the warm rain felt pleasant on my skin.

As if it were washing away every dark thought, every shadow on my soul.

My sides hurt with every breath I took from walking so fast, and I laughed till I cried because there was absolutely nothing we could do. We were drenched, soaked to the bone, and my panties were clinging to my butt. Kevin would have to cut me out of my pants later, because my jeans were so wet and had all the air sucked out of them, and so they stuck to my legs as if I were wearing skintight leggings.

We raced up my driveway. Kevin carefully picked up Amber—who had stayed dry in her covered stroller and failed to notice any of this—while I went to unlock the door.

I was panting and snorting with laughter as we bolted into the house. Kevin tried to keep it together until he had placed Amber in her play yard and covered her with a dry blanket. But when he turned around to me, smiling, the sun started to come out from behind the cloud as if the weather had only been trying to make a joke. Moments after we managed to save ourselves, the sun was once again shining brightly through my windows.

I walked over to Kevin and pulled the curtains closed a little, so that my baby girl was lying in the shade. As I did that, my wet arm brushed past his, and we both stopped dead.

It was quiet in the house. Amber’s mild snoring was the only sound I could hear besides my own, very loud heartbeat, and it was as if the world itself were holding its breath—just like I was holding mine.

Kevin’s T-shirt clung to his body, and raindrops were running from his hair and down the back of his neck. I followed the shiny raindrops with my eyes, and suddenly my lips felt very dry. Slowly, Kevin reached his hands out for me, and even more slowly I accepted his invitation for intimacy.

He hugged my waist and tenderly pulled me against him. His touch wasn’t urgent or pressing, but it felt determined nonetheless. My pulse was echoing even in my bones, but the nurse in me seemed to think that everything was in perfect order.
Well, we’ll find out soon enough when I collapse and faint in his arms
, I thought as our legs touched.

Hesitantly, I leaned against him. He closed his arms around me, and I nestled my head against his chest. I was shivering as he kissed the top of my head.

I wanted to pull that wet T-shirt off him and feel his skin beneath the tips of my fingers. I wanted to taste the raindrops on the back of his neck, and feel his hands running up and down my body. But at the same time, I just wanted to hold on to this moment. This moment, when—without a guilty conscience, without pain, without remorse—I loved him as far more than a friend.

“You’re shaking,” he whispered, and lifted my chin. “Are you cold?”

Cold? I was consumed by fire!

This was turning out to be one of the most sensuous moments I had ever experienced. All the way through my wet, skintight clothes, I could feel every fiber of his being! Shit, my heart was beating so fast that I was afraid my chest would explode, and my lips were trembling because I wanted to kiss him so bad. But I knew I would lose my footing if I followed that urge. I would not stop at a kiss! We would end up in bed together and, as tempting as that sounded, things would get really complicated real fast.

I swallowed.

I must be out of my mind. Did I really want to let this moment pass, this incredible, exciting moment in time? Why? Whatever for? Jenna was right, it would eventually happen anyway, so why was I avoiding it?

Because it wouldn’t feel right yet!
I reminded myself, and nodded.

“Yes, all these wet clothe
s . . .
I’m starting to feel a little cold.”

Kevin looked deeply into my eyes, and I knew he saw my doubts. Still, he smiled and wiped a stray strand of hair from my cheek. His touch was soft and full of regret, and it burned into my skin. I snuggled up to him, hoping he would understand.

“Take them off, then.” His lips curled into a wicked smile, and he tugged playfully at my soaking top, which I only noticed now was almost see-through.

As I looked down at myself, I clenched my teeth to stop myself from laughing. Now I understood why he thought I was cold.

I crossed my arms over my treacherous breasts and tried to pretend I hadn’t noticed his wide, mischievous grin.

“Good idea—but I can manage myself, thank you.”

I sighed with relief because Kevin blinked, and the world started turning again. The moment that could have meant everything but could also have destroyed everything—it was over, and we were still here, still close.

“Are you sure, Piper?” he asked quietly, and he let his eyes wander over my body without holding back. I knew he was only joking. He would give me all the time I needed—he had just proven that much. I trusted him more than I trusted myself as I defiantly touched the wet fabric over his chest. My hand wandered over his toned stomach, and the blood was rushing to my cheeks as I looked up at him, grinning.

“I am sure—but what about you?”

Kevin closed his eyes, and I knew he longed to take things further. But he grabbed my hand and held on to it before I could breathlessly touch him again.

“Thank you for the offer, Piper, but if you expect mor
e . . .
skil
l . . .
from me than during those first
attempts
of ours, then you should take your hands off me right about now.”

I laughed as I remembered those long-gone days and how close we had been so many years ago. It was as if those memories originated in a different galaxy. The man standing in front of me now barely even resembled the teenager I once had such a crush on.

“All right, whatever you want,” I whispered, and backed off. And just as he had sized me up, I now allowed my own eyes to wander over his body.

It was as if the rain had unleashed some kind of natural force, because I suddenly became aware of Kevin’s raw strength. His broad shoulders, slim waist, and those long legs I had touched only moments ago. And his hands, of course, that could pull such beautiful sounds from a guitar and that really excited my imagination now.

It had been a long time since I had been so aware of a man’s physical presence.

Shit, and it had also been a long time since I had looked at someone that way. So full of lust and desire. The suspense between us was palpable as I slowly stepped back.

Kevin followed me with his eyes. I walked up the stairs, even though everything in me screamed, telling me to stay downstairs with him. Slowly and provocatively, he pulled his wet T-shirt over his head.

“Don’t want to catch a cold,” he said.

Don’t trip!
I cautioned myself and hurried into my bedroom without giving him another glance. I cursed the rainstorm that had brought this tantalizing situation upon us. Didn’t the rain gods realize that they were kicking me into a vortex of deeply contradictory feelings? It was like serving chocolate ice cream with dill pickles. Kevin was the ice cream that I desperately wanted to gobble up, but my guilty conscience—like the acidity of a pickle—was ruining the sweetness of that ice cream.

Very deliberately I slipped into my loose gray jogging pants and an oversized sweater, the least seductive outfit I could find in my entire wardrobe. Then Daniel’s firefighter T-shirt caught my eye. I took it out of the closet, pressed it against my chest, and deeply inhaled its scent. It had been washed and no longer smelled of Daniel, and not even my brain could conjure up the memory of his familiar fragrance. It was an old T-shirt, nothing more. I nodded with resolve, and took it with me.

Nobody is getting laid tonight!
I sternly told my reflection in the mirror before I was ready to return downstairs.

When I entered the living room, Kevin was holding Amber in his arm. They looked beautiful together.

“She fed me her cookie,” Kevin explained, and pulled a disgusted face.

“Yummy! She’s had it on her since we left Blue Hill this morning,” I explained, enjoying this.

“That’s exactly what it tasted like!”

We laughed, and Amber, who was inspecting the guitar pick around Kevin’s neck, squealed with joy.

Because I couldn’t take my eyes off Kevin’s bare chest, I threw him the T-shirt and took the baby from him.

“Since you were so nice to share your cookie, you will now get something nice in return!” I praised her, staring at Kevin over the top of Amber’s curly head. “So I guess you’re no longer hungry, huh?”

He followed me into the kitchen with the shirt in his hand.

“I won’t say no if you find more cookie crumbs in her other hand. However, I also wouldn’t mind if you had something a little less prechewed.”

I put Amber in her high chair and started getting her baby food ready.

Fortunately, I didn’t need a knife or other tool that would have demanded my attention, because this wicked man still wasn’t wearing a shirt.

“So, Amber, how about it? Show me your hands. Do you have another cookie for Kev?” I asked, and she raised her hands.

I smirked at him. “So sorry, all gone. I’ll just put a pizza in the oven, sound good?”

“I can do that if you want to feed the baby,” he offered, and I nodded.

We had been spending so much time together these last few days, sharing so many meals, that he knew exactly when it was Amber’s turn and what he could do to help.

Except right now it would help me a great deal if he would put on his shirt!

“Um, didn’t you want t
o . . .
” I pointed at the T-shirt in his hand, and the smile on his face was as mischievous as a schoolboy’s after he had slipped a live frog into his classmate’s lunch box.

“Is that what you want me to do?”

I clenched my teeth.

What was I supposed to say? That there was a real danger I would feed Amber not in her mouth but in her ear if he stayed half-naked and kept distracting me?

“I just don’t want you to catch a cold,” I said, pretending to be worried.

“I see. And I thank you,” he said, smiling, “for worrying about me.”

“Get the hell dressed, Kev!” I called impatiently, trying to focus on Amber’s food.

After dinner, the three of us cozied up on the sofa. Amber was leafing through a cloth book with crinkly pages and quietly babbling to herself. Kevin was finally wearing clothes again, and I was calm within myself once more.

My yoga teacher would be so proud!

“Have you ever wondered about Daniel’s bet?” Kevin asked.

“What bet?”

“You know, the
is-it-going-to-be-a-boy-or-a-girl
bet.”

I gathered my hair, which was finally dry, into a long braid, and tried to remember.

“I completely forgot. What was the bet again?”

Amber started whining, and Kevin sat her down on the floor. Visibly more satisfied, she fished little building blocks from a basket and spread them all over her blanket.

“Today, when the boys from the fire station saw you and Amber outside Frank’s café, they remembered the bet. You owe the brave men of Blue Hill Fire Station a barbecue on the beach.”