You have a nice smile, she said, helping herself to a grape. Much better than that scowl you showed up with this morning.
Yeah, well He looked away. I guess I wasnt looking forward to this trip much.
Because of meor for some other reason?
For a lot of reasons, I guess. He rolled his shoulders. Bryans my last single buddy. Makes me feelI dont know. Out of step.
Yeah. The wistfulness in her voice surprised him. He looked at her again. She rolled a grape
back and forth between her palms, seemingly unaware of the movement. As if she felt him watching her, she looked up. Are you seeing anyone? I mean, anyone special?
Something in her voice sent a prickle of awareness down his spine. No, you? He held his breath, waiting for her answer.
She shook her head. Nope.
The atmosphere was charged like the air under a high-voltage line. Suddenly they werent only two people on a trip together, but a man and a woman. Both unattached. The word itself implied something unfinished. Two halves looking to be made whole.
Now where had that thought come from? He launched himself off the table, eager to put some distance between himself and these disturbing feelings. But she was right behind him, running past him to the creek, where she kicked off her shoes and began wading in the shallows.
He followed, the cool water lapping at his ankles, gravel massaging his toes. Holding her arms out like a tightrope walker, she picked her way across a half-submerged log toward the middle of the stream. Careful, he called.
She looked back over her shoulder, eyes bright, teasing. Come on, she called. Its fun.
He shook his head. The log was green with moss. Probably slippery as hell.
She walked out farther, and struck a ballerinas pose, balanced on one leg. His heart pounded as she teetered back and forth. He checked the waterit looked deep under where she stood. Did she know how to swim? Would he have time to save her in the swift current? Come back before you fall, he said, his voice gruff.
She laughed, a musical sound in harmony with the cadence of the tumbling water. Sunlight spotlighted her hair and touched her skin with gold. Come and get me! she called.
He told himself he wouldnt let her bait him. He would turn around and go back to the car and wait for her to follow. They didnt have time for silly games like this.
But the next thing he knew, he was taking one tentative step out onto the log, and then another. The moss was cool and slick beneath his feet, but he could feel the rougher bark beneath it. He kept his eyes on her, telling himself not to look down. She beckoned, like some wild water sprite. Wed better go, he said, even as he continued feeling his way toward her. We have a lot of miles to cover.
We needed a break. She turned her back on him and walked even farther out on the log.
He decided he really would turn around now. What did he think he was going to do when he reached her anyway? Hed already decided giving in to the desire she stirred in him was a bad idea.
He started to pivot to face the other direction, but as he did so, he felt the log shudder, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of windmilling arms.
In an instant, he lunged forward and caught her, steadying her against him even as he fought to stay upright himself. Heart pounding, breath coming in gasps, he clung to her until they were both still. The only sounds were the rasp of his own breathing and the gurgle of the creek as it slid beneath their makeshift bridge.
She smiled up at him, eyes wide, lips slightly parted. Thanks, she said. I guess my sense of balance isnt much better than my sense of direction.
Youre crazy, you know that? he asked.
She nodded. You say that like its a bad thing.
She had movie-star eyes, dark and impossibly luminous. Looking into them, he forgot all about the miles they had to cover or the disaster theyd narrowly avoided. All his senses were focused on the feel of her in his arms. She was the stuff of bedroom fantasies and early-morning dreams.
Are you going to stand there staring, or are you going to kiss me?
Her voice was breathy, as beckoning as her gestures had been moments before.
His lips were on hers before shed finished speaking. She tasted like fresh fruit and peppery watercress. She rose on tiptoe, angling her lips more fully against his, opening to him, her tongue teasing across his teeth. He slipped both hands behind her neck, his fingers sliding up into her hair as he deepened the kiss, losing himself in the sheer pleasure of the moment.
The sound of a car door slamming shattered the spell shed cast over him. He flinched, and braced one foot behind him on the log to keep from falling. Marlee opened her eyes and blinked. Voices were approaching. Looks like we have company, he said.
She nodded, and slipped out of his arms, avoiding his gaze. A blush stained her cheeks the color of ripe strawberries. Still clutching her hand, he led the way off the log, but she broke away from him as soon as they were on land again, and headed for the picnic table, where she began gathering the remains of their lunch.