It hadn’t been his intention when he’d asked her to lunch. He’d seen Jean and Dana giggling together like idiots at the diner, and he’d seen Paige hesitate as she’d approached the table. No doubt Dana had trotted out the old sex-in-the-canoe story.
It burned his ass a little, to have Paige have to hear that crap about him. He’d been sixteen at the time and they hadn’t actually had sex. They’d rounded the bases in good style, but he hadn’t slid into home, so to speak. But that didn’t make for good lunch gossip twenty years later.
He’d made up his mind right then he was going to get Paige out of Whitford. It didn’t matter if it was only for a few hours—he wanted to spend some time with her away from the grapevine.
Now he had her, in the romantic lighting with the soft music, and he never wanted to take her home. They talked about music and books and movies, though television shows didn’t go far, since she didn’t have cable and he didn’t watch much TV.
He didn’t care. She could talk to him about the weather or floral centerpieces and she’d have his full attention. Away from the diner and the people who knew everybody’s business, Paige was totally relaxed, and he liked her that way.
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” Paige said, pausing with a forkful of strawberry cheesecake halfway to her mouth.
He’d suggested the cheesecake mostly as a way of prolonging lunch, but he was glad he had. Watching the expression on her face as she slid the fork out of her mouth made him wonder if she’d gone without fine desserts as long as rumor had it she’d gone without a man.
Once he’d run out of reasons to keep her all to himself in the restaurant, they went back out into the late-afternoon sun.
“Do you have any idea of which store you want to start with?”
It took him a few seconds to figure out what she was talking about, then he laughed. Christmas shopping.
She gave him a suspicious look. “You said we were going to look for Rose’s gift today.”
And he didn’t want to confess it had been the first, admittedly ridiculous, reason to accompany him he thought she’d go for. “I’m too full to shop now.”
“I know what you mean. This may have been a late lunch, but I won’t eat again until breakfast tomorrow.”
“What do you say we blow off shopping and cruise around on the bike?”
When she told him that sounded like a great idea, he turned toward the Harley so she wouldn’t see him grinning like a love-struck teenager. He rarely took women out on the bike—as in almost never. His own opportunities to ride it were few and far between, and he used the time to think things through and clear his head.
He liked having Paige on the back, though. She was comfortable enough that she didn’t have a stranglehold on him, and he could enjoy the feel of her thighs pressing against his and her hand at his hips.
Mitch took a different route out of the city and cruised the back roads, pointing out interesting bits of scenery here and there. The bike was a bit loud and, with their helmets on, talking was difficult, so mostly he just burned up the miles and enjoyed the feel of her behind him.
It took over an hour to reach one of his favorite spots in the area. It wasn’t much more than a wide spot in the shoulder, but he pulled the bike in and parked it near the tree line. Bracing his feet, he waited while she put her hands on his shoulders to steady herself and climbed off, then he leaned the bike onto its stand.
“Where are we?” Paige hung her helmet on the sissy bar and pushed at the wisps of hair escaping from her braid.
“Just wait.” After hanging his helmet from the handlebar, he led her to a narrow path in the trees and reached out his hand. “It’s a little steep.”
With Paige’s hand in his, he walked along the short trail and a mild slope down to the river. A huge slab of rock extended out over a brook and he stepped on it, tugging her along with him.
“A little steep, huh?” Paige asked, amusement in her voice.
“I just wanted to hold your hand.”
She didn’t pull away, which made him ridiculously happy. Instead she looked around, so he did the same, taking in the way the fading sun shone through the trees and hit the water in splotches of gold. There was just enough current in the water that it gurgled through the rocks, and birds chirped from the cover of full summer foliage.
“It’s beautiful.” Paige didn’t whisper, but her voice was soft and low, as if she didn’t want to disturb their surroundings. “I bet you bring all the girls here.”
“Nope.” He’d never brought a woman there before, though he wasn’t sure why. And he wasn’t sure why he’d brought Paige. “I don’t come here very often. Maybe that’s what keeps it special. I came the day after my dad’s funeral, though. Laid on this rock and looked up at the sky for a while.”
She squeezed his hand. “It seems like a nice place to be alone with your thoughts.”