“Hi, Kurt.”
He turned and waved to Bella and two other women sitting on the deck of one of the cottages before heading up to Leanna’s door. Pepper clawed at the screen, and Kurt crouched so he was eye to eye with the white fluffy pooch.
“Sit.”
Pepper did.
“Good boy.”
“Did I hear you call Pepper a good boy?” Leanna came out of the bedroom wearing a white gauzy dress, cut midthigh in the front and below her knees in the back and belted at the waist with what looked like a brown scarf of some sort. Her hair cascaded in loose waves over her shoulders. She pulled open the screen door with a sweet smile.
“Wow, Leanna. You look incredible.”
That earned him a smile and a tippy-toed kiss. Her sweet, summer scent enveloped him.
“You smell amazing, too. What is that?”
She shrugged. “I have no idea. Whatever lotion I grabbed from my dresser, but thank you. Now I wish I knew which one it was.”
He was slowly coming to understand and appreciate that this was how she lived her life, easy, free from worry, natural, and that those moments he’d witnessed—forgetting her bike, leaving her clothing in his car and at his cottage, and even the disarray of her kitchen—hadn’t been moments at all, but peeks into the remarkable woman that she was.
And he liked it. A lot.
“These are for you.” He handed her the bouquet.
“Wildflowers? How did you know they’re my favorite?” She wrapped her arm around his hip and snuggled against him in a one-handed hug. “Thank you.”
While Leanna put the flowers in a vase, Kurt opened the bag he’d been carrying and crouched beside Pepper, who was wagging his tail and panting for all he was worth.
“Yes, I brought you something, too.” He held a doggy treat in his hand, and Pepper climbed right up onto his white pants and licked his cheek. Kurt laughed as he pulled back from him. “Sit,” he said a little less sternly than he had before.
Pepper obeyed.
“Good boy.” He handed Pepper a treat, and Pepper carried it beneath the table and scarfed it down.
“I can’t believe you brought Pepper a treat.” Leanna crouched to watch Pepper eating.
“I figured he deserved it. He might be lonely if I steal you for the evening.”
She slid her arms around his waist again, as if she’d done it a million times before, and she gazed up at him.
“Thank you for the leash. I can’t believe you bought that and the baking soda even though you thought I was going out with Carey.”
“I didn’t want to come between you two, but the thought of you trying to walk Pepper with a rope long enough to trip a thousand kids worried me.”
“It was very thoughtful of you.” She moved away to slip her feet into a pair of flat, strappy sandals. “Where are we going?”
“That depends on what you feel like doing. There’s a movie playing on the back of Town Hall, and I brought a bottle of wine. We could grab a quick dinner and head there, or have dinner on the beach, or go to a restaurant in town. Or maybe head up to Provincetown and walk around, grab a bite to eat?”
“You gave me so many options. It’s hard to decide.”
Pepper whined up at them.
“Oh, hush. You’ll be fine.” Leanna reached down to pet Pepper, and he pawed at Kurt’s pants leg. “Are you starved?” she asked Kurt.
“Never.”
“Really? Sometimes I’m so hungry I can’t see straight.” She tucked her hair behind her ear as she rose to her feet.
Why doesn’t that surprise me?
“I love the beach at night, and I haven’t gone much this summer. Why don’t we grab something quick to eat at PJ’s or Mac’s and take it to the beach with the wine? If we get bored, we can go see the movie.”
Bored? Between his writing endeavors and his love of exercise, Kurt had never experienced being bored a day in his life.
She took his hand and they went outside.
Pepper whined and barked behind the screen door.
“Let me just go ask Bella to take care of Pepper. She won’t mind, and I’ll only be a minute.”
Kurt looked down at Pepper’s big, sad eyes.
“If we’re not going to a restaurant, we can bring him with us. Unless you don’t want to.”
She stopped cold. “You…want to take him?”
Kurt looked at Pepper again. “He’s kind of like your kid, isn’t he? Doesn’t he go everywhere with you?”
“Pretty much, but I never date, so he doesn’t really know dating etiquette.”
“As opposed to…flea market etiquette?” He reached for her hand.
She stared at their linked fingers. “Point taken, but won’t he be a total mood killer?”
He brought her hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss to it. “I’m not sure there’s any such thing when I’m around you.”
She stepped in close and ran her finger down the center of his chest. “Well, Mr. Remington, you know how to cut right to a girl’s heart. Are you sure you don’t mind?”
He eyed Pepper again. “You’re a package deal, and I have a feeling that I might as well get used to it.” He leaned down and kissed her long and slow, and when their lips finally parted, he wasn’t so sure he even wanted to leave the cottage.
Chapter Ten
THEY DROVE TO Duck Harbor and left their shoes, a blanket, and a bag with the wine and sandwiches that they’d brought on the side of the dune and walked hand in hand by the water’s edge. Pepper trotted happily beside them, tethered by his new leash. The wet sand was cold between Leanna’s toes, and a light breeze came in with the crashing waves. It had been a long time since she’d walked hand in hand with a man. Kurt’s hands were big and strong, and as strange as it seemed, the word safe came to mind when she thought about their interlocked fingers.
“Tell me about your life, Leanna. You said you’re here for the summer, but where do you live when you’re not at the Cape?”
She’d been trying to figure out how to explain her crazy life all day, and now, walking beside Kurt, she threw out the preconceived ideas she’d come up with and decided to go with complete honesty. What did she have to lose besides maybe the most thoughtful guy on earth?
“I lived in Pullman, Washington, for a few months, where I was helping a friend with her floral business. I gave up my apartment when I came here to start my business. I’m kind of a wanderer, I guess. Growing up as a military brat sort of set me up to move around a lot.”
“Your family is military? My dad’s retired army, four-star-general through and through.”
“Yeah? Did you move around a lot?”
Kurt shook his head. “No. I guess we were lucky in that regard. I like knowing I’m coming home to the same comfortable and familiar house. But my dad is the epitome of a military father. Strict and maybe a little cold at times. How about you?”