Harper blinked and finally looked DJ in the eyes. “Like the morning after pill?”
“Kind of. Much stronger obviously, but along the same lines.” DJ touched her hand. “You don’t even have to tell Deacon if you don’t want to.”
Eight
Distance
Deacon flipped his hair back out of his face. The water was bracing, but it helped to clear his head. He wasn’t the type to sleep into the middle of the day. Waking to find Harper gone had also thrown him off. Her note had been cryptic as hell.
Had he done something wrong?
They’d been a little off since the beginning of the trip, but he’d chalked it up to them being tired. The studio and her schedule was doing a number on their alone time, but they were making it work.
At least he thought they were.
He waded inland, relieved to see a familiar shape on the beach.
Harper’s sun streaked hair was blowing around her face. She had a sweatshirt on with her little white shorts. The breeze was misty with the leftover rain showers, but not exactly sweatshirt weather. He slogged through the waves that beat against his thighs, trying to push him back into the ocean.
The flex of muscles had been just what he needed. He’d certainly been using a goodly amount of muscles with his more than active wife, but he’d missed exercising. The burn of a hard swim out in the current had wiped the last of the cobwebs from his brain.
He smiled, cupping his hand over his eyes to get a good look at her. She held up a blue beach towel, meeting him at the ankle deep waves. “There you are. I missed you.”
She smiled up at him, but the crinkles at the corners of her eyes were missing.
Her polite smile.
He knew that face. Knew every curve and freckle.
He took the towel from her, swiped it over his face and chest, then his hands before tossing it over his shoulder. “What’s up?”
She put her hands on his sides and tipped her face up to him. “I love you.”
He cupped her face, his thumbs skimming over her slightly sunburned cheeks. “What’s going on?”
Her fingers tightened on his ribs, but she didn’t move closer to curl around his back like she usually did. “What? I can’t say I love you, now?”
“No, of course not.” He lowered his mouth to hers. The kiss was about as reciprocal as kissing a doll. He brushed her nose with his and tried again. Finally, she sighed into his mouth, her lips softening for his, her arms sliding around to his back. She rose on to her toes, opening for him. Drawing him tight to her. Suddenly, she broke the kiss and pressed her cheek to his chest, burrowing into him.
“Hey, hey. Baby,” he crooned into her hair. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, resting his chin on top of her head.
He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he knew upset Harper signals. Sharing wasn’t always her default reaction. Sometimes she needed to be held before she gave up the goods on whatever was bothering her. The tide rippled around their ankles and the sun was cresting into the horizon.
Content to wait her out, he simply held on. When she was like this, questions only made her clam up more. When a few minutes turned into more than ten, he started to worry.
Had he done something stupid? Had she gotten a call from Annie?
Had something happened to her parents?
Questions rolled around his head until he couldn’t bite them back any longer. He pressed his cheek to her temple, brushed his lips over the crest of her cheek. “Baby, you gotta give me something. I can guarantee the stuff I’m making up in my head is worse.”
She turned her face into his and he tasted the salt of her tears.
“Harper.” He pulled back and cupped her face, bringing her eyes up to meet his gaze. Red rimmed blue eyes filled up with tears, starring her eyelashes. He brushed each one away as it rolled down her cheek. “What is it?”
She shook her head. “I’m just tired and I feel like crap. I don’t know why I’m so out of sorts.”
“Let’s get you back to the cottage. There’s a huge clawfoot tub that is calling your name. I’ll wash your hair and we’ll re-hydrate with that kickass flavored water you make with frozen raspberries. Because I am an awesome husband and went to pick up groceries while you were gone.”
She gave him a watery laugh.
His chest loosened a little. That was more like it. “We can watch a crap movie and be bums.”
Harper feathered her fingers through the hair on his chest. “Or, we could go home, get cleaned up, and go out to that little club you wanted to go to.”
“Lawless, if you’re feeling like crap, that’s not going to be any fun for you.”
“It’ll get me out of my funk. Music always does.”
“Are you sure?” He really did want to hear some music. Get out of his own head, hear someone else play. But not at the expense of Harper. She liked music, but it wasn’t the heart of her like it was for him.