by Addison Cole
“Sure. He doesn’t bite,” Leanna assured her.
Kurt held Pepper’s collar while the little boy pet him and giggled.
“His name is Pepper.” Kurt smiled at the boy.
“Pepper,” the little boy said as he held his hand out for Pepper to lick.
“How old are you?” Kurt’s eyes bounced between the little boy and Pepper.
“Free,” the boy answered.
“Wow. You’re a big guy. Is this your first time at the beach?”
The boy shook his head.
Leanna felt her heart squeeze at Kurt’s tender tone. He’d be a great father someday. Oh my gosh. What am I thinking?
“Me either.” Kurt glanced up at the boy’s mother. “He’s really sweet.”
“Thank you.” She touched her son’s blond hair.
“Thank you.” The little boy reached for his mother’s hand as they walked away.
“He was sweet, wasn’t he?” They headed back toward the cottage.
You sure were. “Adorable.”
Back at the cottage, Kurt settled into writing and Leanna sat on a lounge chair a few feet away.
Kurt’s cell phone rang, and when he answered it, he spoke quietly. “Hey there.” He listened to the person on the line and then said, “I know. Okay. Yeah, I’ll get them something nice.” He paused. “Really, Siena? I think I can handle picking out a gift. What does that mean? A woman’s touch?” He paused again, then laughed.
Leanna was trying not to eavesdrop—no, that’s a lie. She was blatantly eavesdropping. Who is Siena?
“Okay, fine. Yes. I’ll look for something that’s not too manly. Do you want to just buy it and say I picked it out?” He paused again. “You’re a pain. I love you, too. Okay. Uh-huh. Bye.”
He ended the call and went back to writing. Leanna couldn’t see his face, and she wondered who he loved. Who was a pain? They were boyfriend and girlfriend. Didn’t that give her the right to ask? She watched him typing and resisted the urge.
“Leanna?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“You’re burning a hole in my back.” He rose from the table and moved her hip over, then squeezed in beside her on the lounge chair. “Siena is my sister. My family always says, I love you, and she was giving me a hard time about buying my brother Jack, who is getting married, a wedding present.”
“You didn’t have to tell me who you were talking to.”
“I didn’t have to, but I felt you worrying.” He ran his finger along her thigh, and it sent goose bumps down her leg.
“You felt me worrying? I didn’t even say anything.”
“You didn’t have to. We’re in sync, remember?”
Chapter Fifteen
THE SUN SET, leaving a warm streak of blue against the night sky. An evening breeze swept across the deck. Kurt had been writing all afternoon, and it had taken all of his focus to continue writing with Leanna wandering around in her little pink bikini, touching his shoulders as she passed by. He liked knowing she was there with him. He heard the French doors open, and her sweet scent surrounded him. He glanced at his word count: 8,289. Not bad. He just wanted to finish this one paragraph; then he’d put the computer away for the night.
Leanna leaned against the table, and Kurt’s eyes slid from the keyboard to the curve of her hip. He continued typing as his eyes followed the line of her body up to the playful smile on her full lips.
“I missed you.” She leaned forward and kissed his neck.
Her hair tickled his bare chest, causing his fingers to still on the keyboard. Two. More. Sentences. She slid her hand down his chest to his thighs. He held his breath.
She flicked his earlobe with her tongue. “I missed you a lot.” Her lips grazed his cheek, and then she pressed kisses along his lips as she moved in front of his computer and pushed his legs apart, seductively positioning herself between them, and looking at him through heavy eyelids, hair falling loosely over her shoulders. She leaned in close and ran her hands down his chest. Kurt saved his work and pushed the laptop back, unable to even remember what he had wanted to write. Her chest lifted and fell with each desire-filled breath. He brushed his lips along her sun-kissed shoulder and ran his hands down her ribs to her rounded hips. Oh, he loved her hips.
“Leanna,” he whispered. His pulse kicked up. He shot a look at the empty beach despite knowing they were too high up to be seen.
“Shh.” She pressed her finger to his lips as she unzipped his pants, and promptly lost her balance, toppling to the right. He caught her midfall with one strong hand and helped her find her footing again. She covered her face with her hands.
“I am so bad at this whole seductress thing.”
He caressed her cheek. “You’re amazing at the whole seductress thing.” And she was. He couldn’t have been more turned on by the way she looked at him, her tentative movements, or her sensuous body.
“Let’s pretend that didn’t happen.”
“Already pretending.” He had no idea that a woman could be so hot and so cute at the same time, but she pulled it off perfectly.
She nodded and closed her eyes for a beat—long enough for Kurt to take a deep breath and try to calm his racing heart.
He untied her bathing suit top and watched it fall away, exposing her milky-white skin, strikingly beautiful against her deep tan. He pulled her to him and kissed her hard, while drawing her bikini bottom down.
He drew Leanna to him and held her tight. Three words lay on the tip of his tongue, and he held them back. Trapped them in his mind like butterflies under glass, where they flapped and fluttered, trying to set their magnificence free. They hadn’t known each other long enough for him to even think the three words that, when strung together and spoken from the heart, were the three most significant words in the English language, yet they were there, as clear and present as he knew his own name.
THE BRISK EVENING air whipped through Leanna’s hair as they drove toward Provincetown with the top down. They’d stopped by her cottage to pick up clothes for the evening, and Leanna stored the new batch of jam in the room off the kitchen. Now she and Kurt were on a mission to find the perfect gift for his eldest brother, Jack, and his fiancée, Savannah, who were getting married at the end of the month. Pepper sat at her feet with his head on her lap, happy as could be. She couldn’t believe Kurt had accepted Pepper into the fold of their relationship, but he had insisted that leaving Pepper at home would just make the pup feel bad and that dogs who felt lonely tended to act out. How did he know? She imagined that, as with the stain, he’d Googled it. She imagined him researching how to properly care for a misbehaved, needy dog. The thought brought a smile to her lips.
As they passed Pilgrim’s Lake on the right, nestled between mountainous dunes and rows of beachside cottages on the left, Leanna felt as though she was moving forward, and surprisingly, felt more fulfilled. At the same time, what she’d been doing with her life had hardly changed—except for the addition of Kurt.
Kurt reached for her hand. “You’re quiet. You okay?”
“Better than okay.” She watched the edges of his lips curve up and wondered if he was thinking about their intimacy on the deck. She had never before even attempted to be a seductress. A seductress? She was more like Lucille Ball in I Love Lucy. She didn’t know what she had been thinking, except that she wanted Kurt so badly that she couldn’t get enough. She wanted to be closer, to taste him, to knock him off balance and see him with all defenses down, and she’d knocked herself off balance. She thought of the way he’d caught her on the deck and how he brought out the confidence that she exuded in every aspect of her life except relationships. He helped her bring that confidence to their relationship in the most loving and tender ways, but there had been a moment in their passion when she saw everything else in his eyes fall away. And in the space of a breath she could tell that he wasn’t thinking either. He’d dropped all his defenses. He was touching, kissing, moving, driven by the sizzling connection between them, just as sh
e had been.
“Nervous about tomorrow’s meeting?” He turned off the main highway and followed the road into Provincetown to the parking lot by the pier.
“Not really. I will be when the time comes, though.”
“I envy your ability to be so relaxed about things.” He parked and put the top up, then came around and opened the door for her. Pepper ran around his feet, tangling the leash as if he were a tree. He looked down at him and shook his head.
“Sit.”
Pepper plopped down on his butt and whined while Kurt untangled the leash. “Aren’t these meetings huge for your business? I mean, they must be the equivalent of my signing with a publisher for my books, right?”
“I guess. Yeah, probably about the same.”
A gust of wind swept through the parking lot and followed them toward one of the busiest streets on the Cape, Commercial Street. Commercial Street was lined with colorful stores, artists, restaurants, and all types of musicians. Provincetown was an arts community with a year-round population of around three thousand, but in the summer it was the vacation destination of gay men and lesbians, as well as tourists from all over the world, bringing tens of thousands into the small town. The streets held the aroma of salty sea air, baked goods, and patchouli. It was an assault of the senses, an explosion of colorful people, artistic efforts, and one-of-a-kind experiences—and one of Leanna’s favorite places on earth.
A young man playing a guitar sat on the ground outside a restaurant, and they stopped to listen for a few minutes. Kurt threw a few bucks into the guitar case before they continued on their way, passing families with children, men and women of varying nationalities, cross-dressers, transvestites, and a wide variety of leashed dogs. A man whose entire body, including his clothing, was painted silver stood on a crate, still as a statue. Nearby, a tall, thin man with long brown hair sang in front of the Town Hall, dressed in a green minidress and spiked heels, surrounded by onlookers, who applauded and tossed money into a box on the ground. The diversity of Provincetown was just one of the reasons Leanna loved the area. The widespread acceptance seemed to go hand in hand with interesting, creative shops and people.
“There’s something about P-town that makes me happy.” She smiled up at Kurt.
“There’s something about P-town that makes everyone happy. That’s the best thing about this place. Everyone fits in.” He kissed her temple.
Another surprise. She’d wondered if he was comfortable with the crowds and diversity. Now she knew. And she added his appreciation of Provincetown to her mental Like List, which was getting pretty darn long.
At the main intersection, they walked past a gray-haired, paunchy policeman who made traffic direction an art form. He swayed his hips to silent music, bowed as cars passed, and blew his whistle at the throngs of onlookers. Throughout the years, Leanna had danced with that policeman, and now she had an urge to run into the street and do it again.
“I love that guy,” Kurt said as they walked past.
Leanna threw caution to the wind and let go of Kurt’s hand. “Be right back.” She kissed his cheek and ran into the road. If he was going to like her for her, he had to know the real her. And she wouldn’t be Leanna if she didn’t mimic the policeman’s moves and dance with him.
Hands on hips, the policeman blew his whistle at her. She mimicked his actions with a smirk and an oh-yes-I-am shake of her head. He turned his attention back to the line of cars waiting to pass, and as he waved them by, so did she. She had seen many people join him in the street throughout the years, and though he kept a stern face, he always bowed in appreciation when they parted. When he spun in a circle, motioning for the cars to cross the intersection, she was right behind him doing the same thing, and caught sight of Kurt holding his phone up and snapping a picture with a wide smile that reached his eyes.
He wasn’t embarrassed.
He wasn’t acting like he didn’t know her.
He definitely likes me.
Kurt crouched down beside Pepper, one arm protectively around the dog’s shoulder as he pointed to Leanna and said something she couldn’t hear. It wouldn’t matter what he said. Just seeing him embrace Pepper tugged at her heart.
She mimed a thank-you to the policeman, who bowed and made a rolling motion with his hand; then she rejoined Kurt.
“Now, that was priceless. If your Sweet Treats falls through, you could definitely go into the dancing traffic directing business.” He pulled her close and kissed her.
“Sorry. He’s been there since I was little, and I always used to dance with him. I had to do it.” She wiggled and tugged at her T-shirt and cutoffs, adjusting them so they weren’t askew from her walk on the wild side.
They walked hand in hand, weaving in and out of the crowd with Pepper in tow. They browsed a leather shop—where Kurt joked about buying matching leather chaps for Jack and Savannah. They meandered through two art galleries, a kitchen shop, and they came out empty-handed from each.
They stopped at Shop Therapy, a hippie clothing store downstairs and adult toy store upstairs. Dresses and tie-dyed tops hung in the front windows. A basket of sage incense blocked part of the entrance. The shop smelled like marijuana, which the employees claimed was the sage incense they burned. Leanna had her doubts.
Kurt led her to the stairs in the back of the shop with a hint of mischief in his gorgeous eyes.
“Wanna go up?”
Her heartbeat sped up, and she felt her cheeks burn. With Bella and the girls? Sure. But with Kurt? Even the idea of looking at adult toys with him made her a little dizzy.
“Um…How about…?”
He laughed a little under his breath and kissed her forehead. “Don’t sweat it. I only know what you’re into by asking.” He led her safely back through the shop to the racks of women’s clothes. “Show me what you like.”
Oh geez. You think I’m a prude. “I don’t mind…that stuff.”
“The dress?” he asked, holding up a dress.
She rolled her eyes. “No.” She pointed at the ceiling.
“Babe, I was teasing. You’re enough for me. I was just giving you the option.” He pressed his cheek to hers and whispered, “I didn’t want to stifle your pleasure.”
Her stomach fluttered, and she felt herself getting aroused.
He touched her cheek and grinned. “Better change the look on your pretty little face, or I’m going to have to make love to you right here.”
My good boy is a naughty boy. I love that. For a second she considered his words. No, no, no. She took a deep breath and focused her attention on the dresses. He held up a dozen, and she loved all of them, but there was one particular aqua tank dress that was just her style. It was cotton, short, had a scoop neckline and a zillion tiny buttons down the front.
“The last thing I need is another summer dress. The summer’s almost over.”
“You sure? You’d look beautiful in it.”
She wanted the dress, but she was being careful with her money until she knew where she was headed after the summer. “Nah. I have enough.”
He took one last look at the dress before they left the store.
They stopped for gelato at the Purple Feather—and bought Pepper a doggy dish of gelato, too—and sat outside on the brick patio while they ate.
“Do you have a gift in mind for Jack and Savannah? What are they like?”
“Savannah is strong and confident. She’s an entertainment attorney in New York City. She’s funny, she adores Jack, and she challenges everyone. Him, her brothers. She’s a lot like my sister, Siena, in that way, and Jack’s a strange combination of big, bad, and sensitive.” Kurt ran his hand through his hair and smiled a little, as if he were thinking of his brother.
“Are all the Remington men like that?” She watched a group of men dressed as women, heavily applied makeup on their faces, hand out cards, and knew they were part of a show taking place at one of the bars. She’d give anything to have killer legs like the dark-haired man had.
“Well, considering I’m a Remington man, I’d have to say no.”
“Why?” She leaned in close and lowered her voice. “You’re big and bad, and you can’t even tell me you’re not sensitive.”
“I might be big size-wise, but I’m not bad. Jack would rip apart anyone who bothered Savannah. He’s ex Special Forces, and he also runs a survivalist program. I’m a writer, not a fighter, and I’m not sure I’d ever want to live in a tent in the woods. I like my creature comforts.”
She leaned back. “Hmm.”
“Hmm, what?” He picked up Pepper’s empty dish and set it on the table.
“I think you’re wrong. I think if someone hurt me, you’d be all over them, and I would bet you my van, which I love, that if I asked you to go camping with me, you would go.”
Kurt got up and threw away the empty ice cream dishes. When he came back to the table, he held a hand out to her. “It’s scary that you might know me better than I know myself.”
Chapter Sixteen
KURT DROVE LEANNA home Thursday morning to prepare for her meeting with Mama’s Market. She’d gathered samples of each jam in a pretty basket and, dressed in a sundress and sandals, wore her hair loose. Traffic was light on the way to Yarmouth, and she arrived early. She hadn’t been nervous on the way, but now, as she entered the one-story office building, her stomach coiled tight. She felt Al’s presence, as if he were right there with her, and she drew confidence from the feeling. She had envisioned a sweet old couple sitting on a couch in a house set off the beaten path, with a garden out front and cats romancing the property. After all, the Mama’s Market in Wellfleet was run out of a small house at the end of the parking lot behind an old white church off of Main Street. The produce and breads were sold out of baskets perched on long wooden tables with tablecloth coverings. They didn’t even use a cash register. The staff calculated customer totals with paper and pencil.
