Bet On Love (9 page)

“What do you think that was all about?” Cole handed me a beer, and I couldn’t help but notice it was my favorite lager.

“Curiosity, probably. You know, see what happens when we have some alone time.” Ugh, again I spoke too much information, as Cole froze with the beer to his lips and his eyes filled with a crazy combination of mischief and desire.

“How much time do you think they’ll give us?”

“For real?” I set my drink on the well-used picnic table. “Let’s get camp set up first.”
First?
What was I saying?

Cole appeared behind me in a flash and wrapped his arms around my waist. I allowed myself to lean into him and sighed. Being in his arms had never felt so good.

“So I’ve still got a chance?” he said against my ear.

Good grief, I was doing it again! I couldn’t give in totally. Goodbye would be hard enough. Reminding myself to keep it light and that I was only here for Abbey, I leaned forward and spun around to face him.

“Focus, cowboy. We have work to do. Unload the rest of the truck, and I’ll start laying out the sleeping bags.” I caught the playful gleam once more and cut him off before he could speak the thought I knew darn well he was thinking because it had briefly crossed my own mind. “You just stay out. I don’t need any help.”

Just stand there and look yummy, was what I wanted to say. Thank goodness I didn’t slip up. That would have led to more than I could handle, judging by the sudden rise in my body temperature and a sweet ache which always occurred whenever I thought of Cole Martin.

In this case, silence was a good thing.

***

Once we’d made quick work of the camp, we grabbed the fishing gear and headed toward his brother’s site. I had to admit the place was peaceful. Other campers waved greetings as we walked by on the pine needle covered gravel road. They obviously presumed we were a couple. Yeah, hate to disappoint them and their friendly smiles would surely change if they only knew the details. We could hear Abbey’s tinkling laugher as we approached a screen tent strung with plastic lanterns. White lights wrapped around a couple trees surrounding the site and the beginnings of a fire could be seen from where we stood on the road.

“Hey Dad, we’re back here!” Abbey ran to the front as if to stop us from going further.

“I thought you said there was no electricity?” I accused, sill in awe of the glittering lights, and thought about my styling tools I’d been forced to leave behind. Tomorrow morning would not be pretty.

My arms fell to my side, and I suddenly felt defeated. I may not be from Beverly Hills, but my west coast persona couldn’t be denied. I wondered if maybe in all of their innocence, they weren’t right. Getting on that plane was sounding better and better.

“I didn’t believe her and told her I’d prove it. That’s why I had Dad reserve our particular site.”

And then I melted. Abbey believed in me. The girl didn’t know me, but she was willing to give me the benefit of the doubt all because of her father and the fact that we were married. Hats off to Cole for raising such a wonderful young woman.

“Trust me, Shelby can hold her own. She’s tougher than you think.” Cole laughed and placed his arm around my shoulders. I don’t think he realized what it did to me, but the warmth from Abbey’s smile heated my skin better than any campfire could. “Aunt Kelly break out the marshmallows yet?” Cole stepped forward, and the instant cold made me shiver. Smart man. I needed to stay detached if I were going to make it through this in one piece by tomorrow.

“No, she said we had to wait until later. Uncle Rob is still getting the fire started. It’s going to be awesome.”

“Sounds like fun, but I thought we were all going fishing?” He looked suspiciously at his daughter, then back toward the bustling camp. “Must be I have to help your Uncle, or he’ll never get to the point.”

“I heard that,” Rob Martin walked around the tent with his beefy arms full of wood, his full head of salt and pepper hair covered by a baseball cap. “Listen, we both know who’s the better fire starter in this family.”

“No, I don’t eat sushi, thank you very much.” I saw Abbey wrinkle her nose, so I vigorously shook my head to drive my point home. Sure, I’d tried sushi when Grant and I had gone clubbing with friends, but I couldn’t get past the texture of it. “It’s not my style.”

“You haven’t gone all vegetarian on us, have you?” Rob asked, a worried expression glazing his face.

“Hell, no, I’m still a meat and potatoes girl.” I laughed when his features relaxed, then added, “So I hope you’ve got some serious burgers in your cooler.”

“You betcha, we’re doing them with my secret chili-cheese sauce.”

“He puts beer in it,” Abbey whispered and faked a gag.

“That’s okay, the alcohol burns off while it’s cooking and adds really good flavor,” I whispered back. I remembered Rob’s cooking phase all those years ago. He wasn’t a bad chef at all, but had decided the role of accountant worked better for his family.

“Believe me Abbey, your father doesn’t have to show off.” I caught Cole puffing up his chest with a smirk and realized I’d had yet another slip of the tongue. “Ugh, knock it off!” I swatted his arm. “I just meant that I know way too much about you for there to be anything to show off about.”

Chapter Nine

Cole and I walked in a comfortable silence through brush covered paths toward the lake. I loved the peacefulness of the campground. People prepared their sites for the night and small glowing sparks signaled what would soon be fires burning to keep the mosquitoes at bay. We broke through a clearing onto a cluster of flat rocks. The view of the lake and some smaller islands looked like a picture from a postcard and totally rivaled my ocean view back home.

“I can see why. I bet it’s pretty easy to forget all the craziness of the real world, huh?” I looked down at my hand which was still in his, and then into those ocean blue eyes.

Who was I to talk about the real world when I had been living in a whirl-wind fantasy world these last few days? Nothing about this was real, nor would it ever be. I slipped my hand free and cleared my throat.

“The crazy is always there, Shelby. This place just puts in perspective what’s really important.”

I fiddled with the latches on the tackle box, not wanting to make eye contact. He’d just touched on the big fat reality between us, and I needed to stay focused on that. Our separate lives were the important thing.

Perspective in check.

“So what kind of lure do we need?” I held up a rubber frog.

“No frogs. Choose one of the glow-worms.” Cole crouched down to inspect the tackle box. “You have your choice of neon pink or day-glow yellow.”

“Pink works.” I watched him tie the worm onto my line and attach a small red and white bobber. “So we sit and wait?”

“Waiting sucks, but it can be worth it in the end.” He stepped back, casting his line toward the small cove and some thick reeds. I chose to ignore his remark. I’d been waiting all my life and it still sucked. “Be careful of those rocks right there. They could be slippery,” he cautioned and pointed to the spot in front of my feet.

“Yeah, yeah,” I mumbled, wondering once more if this was part of his evil plan. He was so laid back I just wanted to swat him. Not that it would matter. I honestly couldn’t remember him ever losing his temper.

No sooner had I tossed in my line than a small motor boat cruised by, causing waves in the smooth surface of the lake. Cool water lapped over the rocks and across my sandal-clad feet. I wasn’t sure at first when I felt a gentle tug on my line. After the second and third tug, the bobber disappeared below the surface and I inhaled sharply.

“You okay?” Cole asked, obviously tuned in.

“I think I got one!” I said with a touch of excitement. It had been a long time since I’d caught a fish, and I’d forgotten the thrill of feeling the fight at the other end of the line.

“Are you sure you just aren’t caught on a rock? Let me see.” He reached again, and I moved away. I could show him, too, that I wasn’t some Beverly Hills Princess.

“I can do it.” I turned the reel and pulled up, the tension on my line visible through the air.

“Then pull him in,” Cole coaxed and gazed out toward where my bobber now sat. Again I pulled up with the pole and cranked the reel. Nothing happened. “C’mon, let me see if you’re caught on something.”

“No, I want to do this.” I tried to move again, but Cole was fast to grab the pole. We both yanked at the same time, snapping the line.

“Told you, you were snagged,” Cole said as we both jerked back a bit. My foot slipped and with his free hand, Cole tried to steady me. I latched on, but couldn’t keep my balance and pulled him into the water with me. We both broke to the surface laughing.

“I’m so sorry,” I said as I slicked the hair out of my face.

“If you wanted to swim, all you had to do was say so,” he replied, doing the same.

“That wasn’t my intent.” I splashed him. “But now that I’m in, the water feels great!” I flicked water at him again and ducked under to avoid retaliation. Cole dove as well and, in an instant, grabbed me around the waist and hauled me back out of the water.

“I’ll teach you for splashing,” he said, lifting me and tossing me a few feet away.

“You’re such a brat!” I yelled when I surged up to counter attack, only he dodged me and I did a major belly flop back into the water. I heard his muffled laughter from under the surface. “You did not just do that,” I ground out while treading water to catch my breath.

“Oh, yes I did,” he teased, “and I’ll do it again.” The tension between us eased back to our comfortable companionship. Just like in Vegas, it was as if time had never passed. We were together as I’d always dreamed, as we always should have been.

“You’re just asking for trouble, Mr. Martin.”

“Bring it, GT, you know you can never win.”

“Bull.” I dove at him again, only this time he caught me and I instinctively wrapped my legs around his waist. He registered a look of surprise when our hips touched, which quickly changed to smoldering as our eyes met. “Bull,” I challenged still engaging his stare.

Cole’s response was to devour my mouth with his own. Funny how we never did go back to fishing.

***

“You ready to go back?” Cole propped himself on an elbow and smoothed a piece of wet hair off my cheek. “They probably think we’ve gone AWOL.”

“I bet.” I laughed, reaching to caress his whiskered jaw line, the taste of his kiss still fresh on my lips. “Too bad our tent wasn’t right here. I really don’t want to move.”