Definitely, Maybe in Love (28 page)

“Won’t it be interesting,” he whispered, pressing my hand against his chest, “to actually be with each other in broad daylight without feeling the need to hide behind a gas station?”

“What a kissing tramp you turned me into on our campout.”

That spicy, virile, distinctive quality that exuded from his pores was now seeping into my bloodstream. I welcomed it in with every breath.

“Hardly,” he said with a laugh, tugging my arm. I obliged by wrapping my top leg around his to further intertwine us. “I don’t believe it’s considered trampy if you’re dating.”

I rolled closer so I could burrow into his neck. That smell. “We weren’t dating then.”

He swept the hair from the nape of my neck, his finger tracing a swirling pattern over my skin. “Details,” he said. “But I would like to do this right, just the same.”

“Do what?”

Henry lifted his head off the grass, propping it on an elbow. “May I take you out?” he asked. “A proper date. The first of millions.”

“Only if you tell me something,” I said, feeling a thrill in the security of a million dates to come with the man I did not plan on living without. “Three things, actually.”

He smiled inquisitively. “You have them numbered?”

“They’re important.”

He tucked some hair behind my ears. “Fire away.”

“First. Why didn’t you call me?”

“When?” he asked, running a hand up and down my arm.

“Well,
ever
, generally speaking, but yesterday or
today
to be specific.”

“I was driving. It’s dangerous to—”

“I didn’t know where you were,” I couldn’t help interrupting, squeezing his shoulder. “I didn’t know what was happening.”

He seemed puzzled by my statement. “Wait. Didn’t you know?”

“Apparently not.”

“Before you boarded the plane, I told you I would meet you back here.”

I peered at him. “No, you didn’t.”

“Yes.” He nodded. “I said—”

“Your exact words were: ‘I don’t know when I’ll see you again.’”

“Right. Well…and you didn’t understand what I meant?”

“You assumed with
that
sentence that I would know you were going to take off to Monterey, find Julia, bring her back to Palo Alto, leave again to Montana, drive back, and then come scaling up my wall like a knight in shining Armani?”

“Basically,” he said. “It was only three days.”

“Exactly.” I tapped his chest to add emphasis: “Three. Whole. Days.” I sighed at his baffled expression, but then pulled myself onto his chest and kissed him, because I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. “Henry, your communication leaves much to be desired.”

“I’ll work on it,” he promised. “And I’ll never make you wait three days again.”

I dipped my chin to kiss his neck, my hair spilling across his face. “Where did you go after that night you left the note?”

“I stayed with Dart in New York for a while,” he said, rolling us so we were on our sides, nose to nose. “He was completely pissed off at me when I told him I might have made a mistake about Julia.”

“You told him that?”

“Right after you and Mel left the ranch,” he said after a deep sigh. “Even before then…that last day in Washington, you made me think. I realized pretty soon afterward that I’d made a lot of mistakes. Moving to the house in Oakland was meant to be a distraction for Dart until the fall. I was an ass for not telling you we were moving. It was very wrong of me, but at that point, I was trying to convince myself that you were the last woman in the world I should be in love with.” He ran a finger from my forehead to the tip of my nose. “Even though I already was madly in love with the most incredible woman in the world.” His finger moved to my lips. “And she loves me back.” He blinked slowly. “Incredible.”

I never had daydreams about what a lover would say to me. But the words he spoke under the streetlights as we lazed on the grass were surpassing any fantasy I could have conjured.

“You said you had three questions for me,” Henry whispered, kissing around my chin. “Number two, please.”

“Did you beat up Alex?”

He stopped kissing and rolled onto his back. “I may have thrown a few punches, but nothing that will leave any permanent damage.”

“I’m sorry about…him.” I shuddered. “Back in the fall.”

“I know.” He was quiet for a moment before adding, “Do you forgive me for Lilah?”

“Of course.” I placed my hands on the ground on either side of his shoulders, balancing myself over him. “Especially since you were obviously suffering from the early onset of psychosis at the time.”

He laughed. “It truly was a nightmare with her. If she hadn’t been Dart’s sister, I would’ve told her off a lot sooner.”

“Mmm, I’d love to see that, tough guy.”

“In a way, I have her to thank.”

I cocked my head.

Henry smiled, fingering the ends of my hair. “If she hadn’t already talked you down so much with cautionary horror stories, I might not have paid much attention at first. But seeing you at the street party, I was instantly confused.” He grinned. “And simultaneously intrigued. I’m sure I seemed rude that night, staring at you like a creeper, but I was trying to work you out. After I discovered on my own that you’re this…this wonderful, brilliant life force, I devoted every spare moment of my time trying to make you forget about the ogre you met that night.”

“You have my official permission to cease atoning for the past,” I granted after a quick kiss. “Or we might be here all night.”

Henry grinned wickedly, and suddenly, I felt myself being lifted and dragged forward, my entire body on top of him. His arms tightened around me, keeping me pinned to him. “Saturday night, then. It’s a date?”

I started to nod, but halted. “I can’t. There’s somewhere important I need to be this Saturday. My father’s wedding.”

“That’s…great?” he offered, clearly confused by my somber tone.

A tiny swarm of nerves fluttered in my stomach, but I welcomed these ones, too. “I haven’t seen him in ten years,” I explained. “I’m petrified about it, but it’s a first step. I know I need to be there. I
want
to be there.” I gazed at the good man wrapped around me, the man who I was convinced could help me with anything I needed, and even those things I didn’t realize I needed. “Will you come with me?”

Henry brushed the hair from my face with both hands. “Love to.”

Someone in my house opened a window, and music spilled out onto the street. Bruno Mars.

“I have a confession to make,” I whispered.

“Hmm?”

“That playlist you made for me, it wasn’t corrupted like I said. I deleted it on purpose.”

He frowned in confusion. “Were you mad at me for—”

“No.” I held his face between my hands. “Those songs. I don’t know if you meant to do it or not, but listening to them made me want to…” I ducked my chin, hiding my face in his chest, irrationally embarrassed.

His body shook under me with a quiet laugh. “Made you want to what?”

I waited a moment then lifted my chin. “Make out with you.”

“Really?” He cocked an eyebrow, gazing off to the side. “Huh.”

“It was kind of torture, because I couldn’t back then.”

“Ah, Spring. Yes, you could have.” He took my face and kissed me until my toes curled. “Any time you wanted.” He pulled back, cocking his eyebrow again. “You better believe I’m reloading those songs.”

“And ten more,” I requested, hovering over his mouth. “Bring it on.”

The lawn sprinklers were set to a one a.m. timer. When they came on, Henry grabbed my hand and together we hustled to the sidewalk. Henry with damp hair and his wet shirt unbuttoned halfway down was like staring at a dazzling sunset. I drank in the vista.

“My place or yours?” he asked, little droplets of water clinging to his lashes.

I glanced at my house, the windows glowing yellow, sounds of music and laughter and way too many people.

“Yours, please.”

He took me by the hand and we crossed the street.

When I stepped out of the second-floor bathroom, having changed into one of his dry shirts and a pair of drawstring shorts, Henry was just leaving his room, bare-chested, pulling on a dry shirt over his head. Another staring-at-a-perfect-sunset moment. After his head and arms made their way through their respective holes, he blinked at me, looking stunned.

“First those braids, then flour, and now…” He tugged at the shirt I was wearing, the too-big neck hole hanging off one shoulder. “Is there anything you can’t don like a goddess?”

“I thought you loved me for my brain.”

“I love you for a lot of reasons,” he said as he stepped toward me. “I guess you standing at my open bedroom door in the middle of the night looking like
this
is just my lucky bonus.”

Damn.

His arms slid around me, backing me against the wall. “If we stay up here much longer,” he whispered the next time his lips were free, “I might not let you leave.”

In reply, I slid my hands around his waist then inside the back of his shirt, like he’d done to me so many times.

“Spring…” he murmured a little raggedly as I ran my hands up the smooth, hard skin of his back, enjoying it as much as he was.

“I love you,” I whispered into his neck. “Never leaving.”

He leaned against me, pressing my back against the wall, our bodies a solid line.

“I believe you have one last question,” he said as he kissed a trail down my throat. When his last kiss touched my collar bone, he pulled away and looked me in the eyes. I stared back, breathing hard.

“Come, Honeycutt,” he said, taking my hand, intertwining our fingers. “You’ve parched me dry.” He led us downstairs and sat me on the couch. “Your last question,” he prompted, passing me a water bottle to share.

I scooched back and draped my legs across his lap. “There’s a preamble first,” I said.

“How unlike you.”

“Did you get my thesis in the mail?”

Henry smiled and ran a hand over my legs. “Yesterday. I would’ve arrived back here two hours sooner, but I couldn’t leave until I’d read it. Twice. I’ll admit, I was surprisingly impressed, though I shouldn’t have been.” He reached out and ran a finger along my hairline, stopping on the indent of my temple. “This beautiful brain,” he murmured reverently. “But you didn’t see my side of the issue in the end.” There was a twinkle in his eyes.

I leaned over and kissed him. “Your side is wrong,” I whispered, lingering on the corner of his mouth.

“No,
your
side is wrong,” he countered, then gently bit my bottom lip. “Publication?”

I touched my forehead to his. “Oxford University Press.”

He grinned. “Shut up.”

“And a grant that paid for my summer research trip.” I twirled a finger around his curls then traced down to the tip of his nose. “Which brings me to my last question. What were you thinking when you first saw me at the ranch?”

Henry sat back and held a fist to his grinning mouth. “Several things,” he admitted. “You’d somehow found your way to my home. I knew that meant something. After that, I wasn’t too worried. Either you loved me or you didn’t. I felt you did, so I let the chips fall.”

I smiled, knowing I would never tire of his logic, ever awed by his faith in us. “You thought all of that when you first saw me?”

“Not right then. My very first thought was fear you would think I was stalking you.”

“
You
stalking
me
?” I laughed. “
I
was the one who showed up at your house out of the blue.”

His arms circled me, tightly, remembering this fact with approval.

“
And
I was the one who busted in on your family reunion with Tyler.”

“That’s right,” he said, narrowing his eyes. “What is the punishment for illegal pursuit in the state of California?” He touched his forehead to mind, his eyes gleaming. “I believe the penalty is harsh and extensive. Ready to pay up?”

“Neither incidence occurred in California,” I stated. “Ergo, the law clearly states—”

I didn’t see it coming, but suddenly he had me in a bear hug, whispering Latin jurisprudential terms into my ear as he rolled us off the couch.

“If this is your way of showing approval of my intelligence,” I said, pinning his shoulders to the floor, “then maybe I’ll demonstrate my knowledge of human anatomy later.”

“Now you’re really speaking my language.” He shifted his shoulders, but I held him in place.

“I have great hope for us,” I said, gazing down at him. “Despite our opposing views on—”

He covered my mouth with his and then slowly rolled us so he was on top. This took me by surprise, startled a bit by the feeling of the full weight of a man pinning me flat. Then Henry smiled above me, propped up by his elbows. I had an overwhelming desire to extend my neck and finish that kiss until we both exploded.

“Opposition makes for good debates, Spring,” he whispered, leaning down to nuzzle into the side of my neck. “And I plan on having very good debates with you for at least the next ten presidential elections.”

“Despite the rallies and protests”—I rubbed the back of his neck—“and lectures and fracking?”

He growled into my hair. “Especially the fracking.”

“In that case,” I said, breathing in the smell of his skin, “I am even more optimistic about our future compromises.”

When Henry kissed me, I was hyper aware of his body, the way it shifted and changed, and the way mine responded almost too naturally. Everything I felt with him was just plain natural, meant to be.

“There’s a 5K charity run benefitting clean-up of San Francisco Bay next month,” he said a moment later. “Why don’t I sign us up for that?”

“Only if we help clean up the beach afterwards.
I’ll
sign us up for that.”

Henry laughed into my hair. To sweeten the deal, I tugged up the back of his shirt so I could run my hands from the small of his back all the way up to his strong shoulders. I noticed the way it made him tremble against me, and wondered if my body had reacted the same way every time he touched me like that. “What do you think?” I whispered.

“I’ll do anything you say,” he replied, kissing the side of my neck. “By the way, there’s something I have to confess.”