Love in the Moment: The McCormicks—Book One

by Elena Aitken

  “Okay,” Mitch said after a moment. “I might as well. It’s not like I have anything or anyone to stay here for.”

  Something about the way his brother spoke finally cued Ian in to why Mitch was acting so morose. He’d just assumed it was because it was the end of the school year, and Mitch was always a little bummed to say good-bye to his kids.

  “What’s up?” Ian asked. “What do you mean you don’t have anyone to stay there for? I thought you were seeing one of the teachers at the school. That didn’t work out?”

  “Not so much,” Mitch said. “Or do you really think I would be agreeing to come?”

  Ian shrugged, even though no one could see. “I guess I didn’t really think about it. She can come if you want her to—”

  “She won’t be coming. She won’t be doing anything with me. She dumped me.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah. Oh.”

  “I’m sorry it didn’t work out.” Ian felt a flash of guilt that he was so happy with Gwen. Happy with Gwen. He let that thought roll around for a minute. It had only been a few weeks, but he felt as if he’d been with her his whole life. It felt right. Yes. He was happy with Gwen. “You’ll find someone—”

  “Ah, I’m not worried about it. She wasn’t really my type anyway. More of a time filler.”

  “A time filler?” Mitch had always been the playboy type, bouncing from one woman to the next, but for whatever reason, Ian thought that had changed since he’d settled down with a career he loved. “Well, whatever. I think Cedar Springs will be the perfect place for you to regroup and maybe find a new time filler.”

  Mitch laughed and for the first time during their conversation, Ian caught a glimpse of his brother. Yes. He definitely needed a break for a bit.

  “I think I’ll take you up on that, big brother. But it might be a few days until I get things organized here. I can’t promise Monday. Maybe Wednesday.”

  “Perfect.” Gwen stepped out on the dock and started to walk toward him. He grinned and waved. “Mitch, I’ll see you in a few days. But I gotta go right now. There’s something I need to take care of.”

  “Right.” Mitch chuckled. “I’ve heard that tone before. You go take care of whoever it is and I’ll see you soon.”

  Ian clicked off the phone with a smile and tucked it into his pocket. “Hey, beautiful.” He held out his arms to her and pulled her into a hug and kiss.

  Damn, she felt good in his arms.

  “Hey yourself. What’s going on this morning?” She gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek, but it wasn’t enough for him. Ian turned her easily in his arms and kissed her deeply until a small moan escaped her throat.

  “Umm.” He kissed her one more time. “That’s going on,” he said. “But I do have plans for us today.”

  She wiggled out of his arms and smiled. “I thought you wanted to go over one of the spreadsheets I created.”

  “Babe, I just needed to get you here.” He took her hand and walked down the dock.

  “Don’t be silly, Ian. You know I would have come without an excuse.” He wiggled his eyebrows and she smacked him. “Not like that.”

  The blush on her face and the shake of her head made him smile and he gripped her hand tighter. “Well, whatever. I do have something fun planned for you today.” He stopped in front of one of his new boats. It happened to be the one that she’d taken out for a joyride on the first day. Ian was pretty sure it would always be his favorite boat after that.

  “We’re going boating?” she asked. “But I thought you had a ton of work to do?”

  “I do.” He jumped aboard and offered her his hand. “But we’re opening the day after tomorrow and then I’m not sure I’ll have a chance to do this with you. So it’s now or never.”

  “That seems kind of final.”

  She took his hand and he pulled her aboard and into a hug. “You feel good on my boat.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Well,” he conceded. “You feel good anywhere.” Reluctantly, Ian let go of her and handed her the keys.

  “I’m driving?”

  “Why not? It’s not like you haven’t done it before. But I did want to make sure you knew all the ins and outs of the boat. You know…just in case.”

  She eyed him suspiciously. “Just in case of what?”

  “Just in case you ever want to take the boat out. Or maybe help out at Dockside sometime.”

  “Ah.” She laughed. “There it is. You want me to keep working for you.”

  “No.” He couldn’t resist touching her when she was so close, so he pulled her back into his arms and trailed his fingers down her bare thighs before cupping her behind. “I just want you.”

  *

  Gwen couldn’t stop smiling. Being with Ian, on the boat with the wind whipping through her hair, was absolutely one of the best experiences of her life. The boat sliced easily through the water, so she pushed down on the throttle a little more, urging it to go even faster.

  The speed agreed with her and she threw her head back with a laugh and a shout.

  There were no other boats on the lake so early in the season, except for a few fishermen along the edges, so Gwen stuck to the middle. After a moment, she eased off on the speed and looked over at Ian, who grinned at her.

  “You’re a natural,” he said.

  “I love it.”

  “I can tell.” With the boat still moving, he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her before bending to kiss her neck. She groaned and closed her eyes for a second before remembering herself. “Why don’t we stop and sit for a minute?” he murmured in her ear before he returned his attention to her neck.

  The way he was kissing her and working his tongue around her earlobe, Gwen thought stopping was a very good idea indeed. Ian had a way of kissing her that made everything else disappear. She pulled back on the throttle and turned the key, cutting the engine. Ian was still kissing her neck while his hands slipped down to her chest and dipped under her tank top.

  “You have the most beautiful body.”

  She bristled at his choice of words, her body automatically stiffening.

  His kisses paused, and he turned her so she faced him. “Look at me,” he said. When she didn’t, his words were firmer. “Look at me, Gwen.”

  She did.

  “You are amazing. You are beautiful and luscious and everything about you is sexy as hell. I don’t know who ever made you feel differently,” he continued. “But to me, you are the most gorgeous creature on earth.”

  “Ian, I—”

  “You are.”

  He had no way of knowing that so many of her insecurities had come from when she was a teenager and in love with him. A love that was absolutely not reciprocated. He had no way of knowing that so much of who she was now was shaped from those days. Of course he had no way of knowing. She hadn’t told him. Her body flushed with guilt, but he took it to mean she was embarrassed.

  “Gwen.” He tilted her chin up so he was staring in her eyes. “You. Are. Amazing.” He punctuated each word with a kiss. “And I think I might be falling for you.”

  His words flowed through her to her core and lit it up. She’d waited her whole life to hear him say it, and now that he had, it was better than anything she could have dreamed about because there was no doubt in her mind that she was absolutely falling for him, too. And not just the fantasy of him that she’d held on to since she was a kid, but the real Ian McCormick.

  She moved her hand up to his cheek and cupped his face. “I think I’m falling for you, too.”

  He answered her with a kiss that left no room for doubt about how either of them felt. He easily bent and scooped her up out of the driver’s seat. He walked the few steps to the large flat bench at the back of the boat and set her down, coming up over top of her.

  “What are you doing?” Gwen propped herself up on her hands and looked around. There was no way they could fool around on the boat. It was broad daylight. Anyone could see. Sure, there weren’t
a lot of other boaters, but it’s not as if they were entirely alone either. It was—

  “Stop thinking.”

  “I’m not—”

  “You are.” He eased her back on the bench with a kiss on the lips, and then one on her neck and then one on the top of her cleavage where her tank top slipped down. “But I think I know how to make you stop.”

  She laughed, and despite herself, found that not only had she started to relax a bit, she’d also started to become very turned on. “Do you now?” Ian could light her up with only a few simple kisses and in the few weeks they’d been together, her body had learned exactly how to react to his touch.

  “Oh.” He kissed her again while one hand slipped up and under her shirt. “I think I do.” He pressed her back with a gentle push on her bare skin until she was flat on her back. She stared up at the blue sky and let the warm sun heat her face. The rest of her was warming up quickly, but it had very little to do with the sun.

  Ian put his hands on her hips and swung her around before lifting her so she was reclining in the boat. He didn’t give her time to react as his hands slipped down to the button of her shorts. He made quick work of the clasp and slid the cut-offs over her ass and flung them to the side, leaving her exposed except for her panties.

  “Ian, I—”

  “Ssh.” He put a finger to her lips before he dipped his head and kissed the inside of her thigh. His breath was hot on her skin. From her vantage point, she could see all around the lake and when she looked down, the gorgeous man between her legs. It was decadent and quite possibly the most erotic thing she’d ever experienced.

  His kisses grew more insistent, moving up her leg to the apex of her thighs and the thin piece of cotton that was now completely soaked. She could feel him smile against her before his fingers slipped under the elastic.

  “Ian, we really can’t.” She tried to move from his grip, a halfhearted effort at best, but he held her fast.

  “I don’t see why we can’t.” His voice was muffled. “And we are.”

  Before she could protest further, he pulled her panties down her legs, and kissed her squarely on her heat, causing a cry of pleasure to escape her mouth. His tongue moved expertly against her, bringing her to a fevered pitch within moments. Gwen forced herself to keep her eyes open in case another boater happened to come by, but also, and more importantly, to watch as Ian easily brought her to climax.

  Within seconds, it no longer mattered whether there was anyone else around because she couldn’t have quieted her screams, even if she’d tried. But it didn’t matter, because besides a few ducks that skittered away on the surface of the lake, there was no one around to hear the pleasure he brought out of her so easily. And if there was, Gwen was pretty sure she wouldn’t have cared.

  *

  “What was that you were saying?” Ian reclined easily on the bench next to Gwen and pulled her into his arms. “Something about not being able to fool around out here.” He grinned wickedly even though she couldn’t see it.

  “I don’t think those were my exact words.”

  “I don’t think it matters, babe.” He kissed the top of her head and snuggled her closer. He couldn’t seem to get enough of her lately. It was crazy how fast things could change in only a few weeks. She’d gone from being a complete stranger to someone he legitimately couldn’t imagine his life without. And that was crazy. He shouldn’t even be thinking that way, but he didn’t care to stop himself.

  “Tell me,” he said, after a few moments of gentle bobbing on the lake. “You haven’t told me what you’re going to do when summer is over. Are you going back home?” He tightened his grip on her a little bit, as if she would choose that exact moment to leave. “As a matter of fact, where is home? I just assumed it was Vancouver.”

  She nodded. “It is. And…I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

  The first day she’d come to help him out at the Dockside, he’d asked where she’d worked to develop such mad organizational skills and she’d been fairly vague about it, only saying that her office job days had come to an end and she was taking a little bit of a break before deciding what she wanted to do next.

  “You still don’t know what you want to do?”

  She shook her head. “But I don’t really want to talk about that right now. Not after…”

  He chuckled. “After the best orgasm of your life?”

  She twisted in his arms. “That’s a pretty bold statement.”

  “Am I wrong?”

  She kissed him in response.

  He didn’t need verbal confirmation. Ian knew the answer because it was exactly the same for him. “So what would you like to talk about? Anything in particular?”

  Gwen shifted around so she was facing him completely. “The festival?”

  “The Summer Equinox Festival?”

  She nodded.

  “What about it?”

  She took a deep breath. “Will you go with me?”

  It was silly, but she actually seemed nervous to ask him. As if she were a teenager or an insecure kid. There was absolutely no reason she should be nervous or insecure. She had to know that the answer would be a resounding hell yes. Damn, he’d go anywhere with her. He couldn’t help it; he laughed a little before answering. “Gwen.” Ian cupped her chin and stroked his thumb along her cheek. “Of course I want to go to the festival with you. I want to go everywhere with you.”

  She tipped her head, but he could see the smile she was trying to hide.

  “Do you believe in love at first sight?” He could hardly believe the words coming out of his mouth, but he didn’t stop himself.

  “Love at first sight?” She got a strange look on her face when she repeated the words. Almost as if she’d bit into something sour.

  “I know it’s crazy,” he said quickly, before she could get scared. “But hear me out.”

  She shrugged, but still looked more than a little doubtful.

  “I can’t even explain it,” Ian started. “But from the moment I saw you at the bus depot, I felt like I knew you.”

  “Ian, I should—”

  “No,” he interrupted her. “Let me finish.” He took a deep breath and kept going. “I know we haven’t been seeing each other for very long, and this is totally not something I’d normally say, but…” He smiled at her and his heart squeezed a little. “Earlier I said that I think I’m falling for you. But I was wrong.”

  She frowned.

  “Gwen, I think I might already be in love with you.”

  The second the words were out of his mouth, it felt right. Just like everything else that had happened with Gwen, it just felt right. He didn’t feel a sense of panic, or as if he shouldn’t have said anything and wanted to take it back. It just felt…right.

  *

  Love. Love? Love!

  It took Gwen a moment to process what Ian had said. But only a moment. Love. Did he really use the L word? But they’d only been seeing each other a few weeks. It couldn’t possibly be love. Could it?

  Why not?

  Why not indeed? Especially because every time she looked at him, that’s exactly what she felt.

  “Gwen?”

  She realized she hadn’t said anything yet, but Ian didn’t look worried as she might have expected for a man who just confessed his love to someone he’d only been seeing for a few weeks.

  Probably because he knew exactly how she’d respond, because she felt it too. Gwen scooted up on her knees so she looked directly at him. “I think I might actually be in love with you, too,” she said and meant every word.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Gwen could no longer ignore the growing number of voicemails on her phone, or emails piling up in her inbox. Especially considering she’d posted on her website four days before and it had nothing to do with Mr. Summer. She’d only glanced at the comments, but it was clear that for the most part, her readers wanted more. There were some positive comments from readers that were happy to have some of the focus b
ack on health and fitness, but the vast majority wanted to hear more about how things had gone with Mr. Summer. In fact, some had even foregone the comments section on her blog and were now just emailing her personally. Gwen’s inbox was overflowing.

  But just because her social media life was blowing up didn’t mean she wanted to deal with it. Quite the opposite. What she really wanted to do was revel in the new relationship she had with Ian. She wanted to enjoy it and not write about it and not feel guilty every time she looked at the man who’d declared his love for her only a few days ago. She really wanted to stop feeling guilty. And for the most part, she could. As long as she ignored her blog and everything that went with it. But Jade Johnson had other ideas.

  Gwen’s cell phone lit up next to her at the table. She’d been sitting at Deanna’s kitchen table, trying without much success to focus on writing something that would satisfy her readers. The words just weren’t coming. But the phone calls from Jade were.

  Repeatedly.

  With a sigh, Gwen picked up the phone and instead of hitting the button that would send the call to voicemail, she pushed the green circle and took the call.

  “Hi Jade.”

  “Gwen! Where have you been? Are you okay? I’ve been trying to get a hold of you. What’s going on? You’ve barely been posting and then—”

  “I’m fine,” she interrupted. “I’ve just been busy.”

  “Busy with Mr. Summer?” If she’d been sitting in front of her, Gwen was positive Jade’s eyebrows would have been wiggling. “Tell me you have some juicy news for me.”

  “Well…I…”

  “Are you saving it for a post? Leading your readers on? Making them wait to build up—”

  “No.” She couldn’t do it anymore. She couldn’t keep going with the deception. Not now when her feelings for Ian were so real. Too real. But in a very good way.