“It’s not that bad,” Beth said. “And I have to get ready for work. I had to switch to get this morning off, so I’m working the supper shift tonight, until closing.”
“I’ll pick you up.”
“I can walk, Kevin. It’s good for me. If the weather turns bad, I’ll take a cab.”
“At nine o’clock? I’ll pick you up.”
They were still arguing as they walked away and Paulie shook her head. Cute couple, even if they were trying to pretend they weren’t one.
While she understood where Beth was coming from, as far as not getting married because of the kid, it was clear to everybody in a hundred-foot radius they had some serious chemistry going on. Instead of fighting it, she should just go with it.
She was making a list of which supplies needed replenishing after the Superbowl bash when her cellphone beeped to let her know she had a new text message. As hard as she tried to stop it, she felt herself smiling when she saw it was from Sam.
Miss me?
Like she was going to give him the satisfaction. Speaking of fighting chemistry… Not really.
I miss you. What are you wearing.
Nothing. I’m naked. Bob says hi, btw.
The phone rang almost immediately, Sam’s name flashing in the caller ID window. “Hello.”
“By Bob, you better mean that stupid Battery-Operated Boyfriend acronym.”
“Hi, Sam.”
“Tell me you’re not in bed with some guy.”
“Okay. I’m not in bed with some guy.”
She could practically feel his anger vibrating through the phone. “Dammit, Paulie, I’m in Germany and I’m supposed to be meeting a few very important investors for drinks in a few minutes. Don’t screw with me.”
“I’m working, dumbass. Who has time for a roll in the sheets at one in the afternoon?” She leaned her hip against the bar, trying not to dwell on how much she’d missed hearing his voice over the last couple of months. Email and text messaging weren’t the same.
“I’ve got a few more days in Europe and then probably a week to ten days closing some deals in Boston and making some arrangements to be away for a while. I probably won’t be back in New Hampshire for a couple of weeks.”
“Take your time.” He needed to make arrangements to be away for a while. How long was he planning to be around? “No need to rush on my account.”
His low chuckle seemed to vibrate from the phone, through her hand and to parts of her body that felt sorely neglected of late. “I’ll see you soon, Paulie.”
“Yeah, whenever,” she forced herself to say and then she snapped the phone closed.
It annoyed her the way her pulse seemed to quicken when she thought about Sam Logan. Sure, he’d been great in bed five years ago. And sure, she’d come within about twenty feet of rose-petal-strewn aisle of marrying him, but that was a long time ago.
And the underlying problem—her discontent with being Paulette Lillian Atherton—remained. She wasn’t going back to being that person, even for Sam. And Kevin had been right about the situation. While it was fun hanging out here in her world, Sam hadn’t left her parents’ world. Eventually, if she let him in, he was going to want to take her back there.
There was no way in hell that was going to happen.
***
The Annual Guys-Only Sledding Trip—of Doom, of course—was usually a highlight of the year for Kevin, but this time he couldn’t get his head in the game.
He usually lost himself in the feeling of skimming over the packed snow. The wind rushing past his windshield. The sheer adrenaline rush of flying over a frozen lake. The smell of two-stroke exhaust. But all he could think about was Beth.
He should have kissed her goodbye.
She’d played it so cool, telling him to have a good time and bidding him goodbye with a cheerful wave like he was a casual acquaintance she was wishing bon voyage. He should have gone back and kissed her until she wrapped her arms around his neck and begged him not to go.
Instead, he’d let her act like it was no big deal. Just a bunch of guys flying through woods at seventy miles per hour—or more if nobody was looking—in the snow. Icy corners. Fallen trees. Thin ice. Assholes coming around corners on the wrong side of the trail. There were a hundred ways he could get hurt and she hadn’t even seemed concerned he’d come back in one piece.
He slowed down for a notoriously sharp and icy corner he normally would have slid through sideways and heard the machine creeping up behind him. If he could hear Pop, he was too damn close. It was dangerous to be right up on his ass like that.
When he hit the straightaway, he saw Mike and Evan had pulled off onto the side of the trail, so he fell in behind them. After killing his engine, he unplugged the cord to his face shield and got off the machine. With his visor flipped up, he unbuckled his helmet and took it off, then dragged the balaclava off.