“Yeah, in a second.” She reached for his hand. “I don’t have a lot of friends outside of work, and I want you to know that I really appreciate what you’ve done. It means a lot to me. I’m a little nervous about calling, though. When I came to the Cape it was with the intention of figuring out how to be normal, and finding my dad’s ball was supposed to be something for me to focus on so I didn’t think about playing the cello day and night.”
“What are you worried about? That if you find the baseball you’ll suddenly begin practicing for hours on end?” He gathered her hair in his hands and laid it over her shoulder, then kissed her cheek. “What’s so bad about that?”
“What’s so bad? I’d lose this. You. The ability to be normal.” Her stomach twisted.
“Babe, there are twenty-four hours in a day. Two, three, four, or even five hours of practice? That’s nothing.” He touched his forehead to hers. “Besides, I’ve just found you. There’s no chance I’m going to let you get away that easy.”
“You don’t get it. Practicing is just a piece of my life. I work crazy hours. Maintaining friendships outside of other musicians is nearly impossible, and musicians can be cliquey, like any other industry, I guess, but they can be whiny and complainy. Ugh. It’s a whole different world.”
“That doesn’t sound very different from any other industry. Maybe you just think your life is really different because it’s the only one you know. I work at night all the time, and every office has cliques and complainers. You just rise above it, work around it, ignore it as best you can and move on.” He pressed his leg against hers. “What else?”
“Maybe you’re right. I don’t know. As you said, playing with an orchestra is really all I know. All I’ve ever known. I could go on and on, but it’s not that I hate what I do. I love it. There are times when I crave it like addicts crave a fix. But there are aspects that make it difficult. There’s a lot of travel, some international. It can be exhausting, and…lonely.” She hadn’t realized that until just now, but after spending time with Jamie, she knew what she was missing out on. “Listen to me. I have a job millions would give their eyeteeth to have, and I’m complaining like a child. I just want a little break from it, and the baseball was supposed to distract me from playing, because I really am drawn to it like it’s my drug of choice.”
“Okay, so what I’m hearing is that you love playing, you get lonely, and you want this vacation to be about something other than playing. So if you find your dad’s baseball, you need another distraction until you figure out what you really want to do with your career, right?” He had a serious look in his eyes.
She rolled her eyes. “Ridiculous, right?”
He folded her into his arms and touched his lips to hers. “Not at all. I’d say it’s my lucky summer, because I’m really good at being distracting and even better at keeping you company.” He took her in a deep, passionate kiss that made her tingle all over.
“You are incredibly good at that,” she said against his lips.
“Here, let me distract you again.”
She melted against his lips, her whole body warm and wanting. He was so much more than a distraction. He was becoming the air she needed to breathe.
She made the phone call, hardly able to believe she was getting that much closer to finding her father’s baseball. Her father didn’t even know she was looking for it. She’d struck it lucky when she found what she was sure was his baseball on eBay, and she’d only found eBay because a fellow musician said she was selling her violin on eBay and they got to talking about the website. She’d shown her how to find the site on her phone and how to bid. Luck had been on her side—even if she hadn’t won the baseball, she’d met Jamie, and that made it all worthwhile.
Steve didn’t answer. She left a message with her name and phone number and gave Jamie back his phone.
“Now we wait, I guess.” She told herself not to be too hopeful, but she couldn’t help it. Hope swelled within her.
“Hardly. Now we go enjoy life a little.” He drew her up to her feet and took her in another delectable kiss. “You’ll be sick of me by the end of the day.”
“Not a chance in the world.”
“This is our second date, you know.” He dragged his eyes down her body lasciviously as they descended the stairs.
She felt naked under his heated gaze, and she could hardly believe how much she wished she was.
They ate lunch on the lawn of the Orleans Windmill, overlooking the water, and soaked in the sun before heading across the street to the Bird Watcher’s General Store. By the time they got back to the car at the Salt Pond Visitor Center, it was nearly six o’clock.
“Do you mind if I call Vera and make sure she’s okay?”
“Not at all. I’m going to use the ladies’ room.” Inside the ladies’ room, the fluorescent lights were bright and unforgiving, and as she patted her face dry, she assessed herself in the mirror. Even in the harsh lighting, she noticed a difference in her looks. Her eyes were brighter, and despite being up half the night thinking about Jamie, the fine lines she’d seen around her eyes for the past few months were gone. Not only did she feel happier and more at ease, she was pleased to see that she looked less stressed as well. Before coming to the Cape she’d begun to feel twice her age, and she wondered how much of what she was seeing was caused by Jamie and how much was a result of taking a break from the orchestra.
When she came out of the restroom, Jamie was waiting for her.
“How’s Vera?” she asked, feeling a little guilty for monopolizing his day.
“She’s fine. She spent a few hours at the pool, and she’s already eaten dinner.” He wrapped his arms around her waist. “How do you feel about wine tasting?”
She glanced down at her clothes. “I should probably shower and change first, but it sounds fun.”
“You’re such a tease. You really need to stop talking about showering together.” His eyes darkened.
Her mouth went dry at the idea of being naked beside him. “I…I never used the word together.”
“Maybe I made that part up in my fantasies.”
His lips met hers in a succulent kiss that turned her mind to mush. His hands slid to her lower back as their hips came together, and her entire body flushed at the feel of him. He was so hot. Everything he said and did was hot, sensual, sexy. No wonder her brain melted every time she was near him. If this kept up, he’d have to pour her into bed by the end of their third date.
Chapter Seven