Catch of the Year (8 page)

“Hmm,” Jade replied, not denying that was who she meant. “The guy's a menace to my peace of mind.”

“Another bad night?”

“Yeah.” Jade sighed. “It was the heat.”

“More dreams about Paul?” her mom asked.

“Not really.” She reached for her coffee. “I feel like I'm on a teeter-totter. It's weird.”

“What's the problem now?”

Jade explained about the arrangement for that evening.

“You know I never wear my watch when I'm up here. I didn't think about the time,” Jade muttered. “But Paul lost no opportunity to check the ridiculous watch he bought from Dad. He knew everything down to the last second.”

“Like?”

“Like how long it took him to haul out the fish. First fish” — she marked them off on her fingers — “seven minutes. Second, three minutes. Third, four minutes.”

Marigold began to laugh. “What an insult, catching them so quickly when they were totally ignoring you.”

Jade shrugged. “You see? He knew perfectly well he'd had the promised two hours.”

“Dipity dear, you should be flattered. Clearly he likes your company or he wouldn't have bothered to lie.”

“You think so?” There was something rather gratifying about that. A guy who'd manipulate time to be with her.

Her mom nodded. “Must be he feels the connection drawing you together as strongly as you do.”

“Too bad. Because I'm cutting it today.”

A sip of coffee burned her mouth, as if chastising her for her words.

Marigold inclined her head and twirled a strand of hair. “And you'll do this how?”

“By not seeing him tonight.” The temptation was great, but she had to stand firm.

“You're saying this time you really
are
going to leave him waiting on the shore?”

“No. Adrian can go. Take a message across to let him know I'm not coming.” Jade broke off a piece of muffin. Before she put it in her mouth she said, “By the way, where
is
Adrian?” She turned her head and looked around the tiny room as if expecting one of the white walls to turn into a movie screen and reveal his whereabouts. “I haven't seen him so far today.”

“Don't you know? He's gone canoeing on Killarney with his pal Noah for the rest of this week.”

Jade groaned.

“He said to tell you good-bye.” Marigold added, “Said you were sleeping so peacefully when he came to your room he decided not to disturb you.” She turned her sunny smile on her daughter. “So you see how the angels conspire. You and this Paul will be together again.”

Jade finished her mouthful of muffin before speaking, not wanting to spray her mother with crumbs in her vehemence. “No, we won't. Whatever happens, I am not crossing the lake to see him tonight.”

Marigold stood up. With a nonchalant air she rearranged the sleeves of her smock and tossed her hair back. “Whatever you say, dear.”

• • •

After a full morning and half the afternoon spent staring at the computer, Jade was more than ready to escape outside and enjoy what remained of the day and evening. She had quite decided to ignore her rendezvous with Paul. That would finally banish him from her mind.

She rode the bike back to the house and walked down the steps to the entrance. Behind her, the screen door screeched shut.

“Dipity?” her mother called.

Jade stowed her helmet and pulled off her boots.

“Yes, it's me.”

“This fishing jacket and waders down here … do they belong to who I think they do?”

Oooooops. She'd forgotten all about Paul's fancy outfit. Not to mention the fish that were taking up a fair amount of space in her mother's second refrigerator. There was simply no getting away from the guy. She'd have to take them to him. Then she'd explain he'd already had his two hours and give him the kiss-off.

Oooh, but she'd love to indulge in a kiss-off, a proper one, get a good sample of how Paul tasted. She leaned against the wall, closed her eyes, and remembered the marvelous sensation of his lips against hers, how her every sense had responded to his nearness. If that was the effect a simple, chaste kiss had on her, she'd probably revert to Victorian times and swoon if he took her mouth in a full-on smooch.

She opened her eyes, breathed deeply, and told her overenthusiastic hormones to calm down. So far, her efforts to get Paul out of her brain had proved pathetic. Seeing him tonight was bound to reinforce the compelling fascination that sang through her. She'd better come up with something creative or the likelihood was that Paul would continue haunting her. Maybe she should picture him walking around in flippers wearing googlie glasses, the kind with built-in eyeballs. She grinned. Yeah, that might do the trick.

• • •

Waking slowly that morning, Paul grunted and wondered why he'd left the light on. Back in the city, in the half of a divided house he shared with Steve, he slept in pitch dark, having had special blinds made for his bedroom windows to block out the glare of the streetlights. Now when he opened his eyes, he saw no artificial halogen lamp illuminating his world. Instead, shining daylight flooded in through the undraped window.

He fumbled for his watch. Almost ten o'clock. Fine. Rest was partly what he'd come for. No need to leap out of bed, jump in the shower, and throw on some clothes.

What an extraordinary, wonderful thought.

Looking out the window, his gaze rested appreciatively on green leaves and slim, silver birch branches. He listened to the sound of a jay calling and thought about life. Last night he'd really cracked the fishing code. And the company had been exceptional, too. That Serendipity really was something — funny and appealing, not to mention sexy.

His creativity began playing with her name. Se: He'd like to see her naked, those perky breasts revealed. Ren: He'd like to render her speechless with desire for him. Dip: He'd like to dip into her, slowly, faster, gently, harder. Pity: It was that she wasn't here right this minute.

Wonder of wonders, he was beginning to feel like a normal, healthy male again. Better still, his body was beginning to behave like one. This was a good sign, an excellent sign. Yay.

He stretched mightily. What was also excellent was that, with a bit of luck, he might be able to do something about his recovered sex drive that very evening. The thought of being together with Serendipity filled him with energy. He couldn't remember when last he'd been so intrigued by a woman or looked forward to an evening so much.

Taking a deep breath in, he sat up. Coffee would go down well. Unfortunately, all caffeine was forbidden by his doctor. Determined to stick to the rules, Paul went to the kitchen and chose a herb-tea bag. After brewing himself a cup of Bright and Cheerful Lemon, he went to sit outside, eager to feel in touch with nature again. Already the day was hot. Come evening, conditions should be perfect for another fishing foray. How fortunate that he'd noticed Serendipity's lack of a watch last night, and that he'd had the inspiration to pretend she owed him half an hour. She'd never know it wasn't true.

Used to listening to his intuition, he'd sensed she might not have accepted if he'd asked her for a date. All along she'd blown strangely hot and cold toward him. Yet gut instinct told him they could be good together. This evening he was going to do his best to turn their coming sortie into a night of delight.

He leaned over and set down his empty mug, glad his thoughts of Serendipity had obscured the horrified, desperate messages from his taste buds. They'd quiet down soon enough. Inside and out, there were preparations to be made. But first, he was going to take advantage of the cool water, which glistened invitingly from across the strip of beach. He got up, strolled down to the shore, and plunged into the lake.

• • •

Once again Jade crossed the bay in the boat. As predicted, the evening was perfect. Above, the sky glowed a luminous blue. Deliberately she looked about her, keeping her gaze on the trees, the swimmers, the cottages, trying not to allow her eyes their desire to search out a certain figure on the opposite shore. But when she found herself heading for the public beach instead of the resort, she resigned herself to the inevitable and set her sights on Paul.

There he stood, waiting for her.

The impact brought a small shock. Unfortunately for her resolve, he was not wearing googlie glasses with extra eyeballs, nor ridiculous gear, but only an ordinary tee shirt without sleeves and shorts that stretched midway down well-muscled, dark hair-dusted thighs. She had to look twice, just to make sure he was real and not another dream Paul. How did he do that? Just stand there and look so virile, so handsome, so sexy, so
male
? A small shiver ran down her spine. He might indeed have been a modern Neptune, although he wasn't holding fishing rods. This evening, hanging from one hand, he carried a guitar.

Just in time to avoid ramming the shore and catapulting herself to the ground in front of his feet, Jade remembered to slow the engine. Paul set down his guitar and stepped forward to meet her as she drew closer to the dock. He grabbed the boat and helped pull it alongside. Jade passed him a rope and watched him wind the end around the cleat and knot it to secure the small craft. So he was a quick study. Good for him.

He straightened and his eyes glinted teasingly.

“Hi Dee.”

“None of that, Mr. Smart Mouth.” She couldn't help smiling at him. He was just so wonderful to see. And she couldn't help wondering how he'd kiss.

Drawing her resolve together, she reminded herself she wasn't staying. Definitely not. She turned away to lift the cooler containing his fish, passed it to him, and then gathered up the bundle of clothing.

Paul took both loads from her, put them down, and held out a hand to assist her to shore. Without a thought she accepted the unspoken invitation and put her hand in his.

On the dock, she said, “I brought your gear and the fish but — ”

She didn't get a chance to say, “I'm not staying.” Strong arms pulled her forward. A hard, long body pressed against hers. Paul's hand curved around the back of her head, the other around her waist, holding her close. Before she could mutter another word, his mouth was on hers.

Wonder of wonders, her wish to experience a full-on kiss was granted. Opening her lips, she met his tongue with hers. A hot, melting sensation shot right to her core. She reached up, clutched at his shoulders, and let her desire for him rip.

This was fresh, like nothing she'd ever experienced. He tasted sweet and spicy all at the same time, tender and ardent. She angled her head and explored some more, ignoring the little bell that tinkled at the back of her mind, trying to remind her this was not part of her game plan.

Weak, breathless, and burning, she drew away, reluctantly pulling herself out of that place of delectation, the place where her senses took precedence. She must not, could not, get in too deep. There was something she'd been about to say to him, but what was it? How to get the world to stop spinning and return to its normal balance?

The kiss had wafted away all thoughts of caution. Like little bubbles blown from a plastic stick, they floated up into the ether and popped, leaving no evidence they'd ever existed.

His arms fell to her waist. She heard him catch a breath.

She swallowed, then said, “No worms this evening?”

Paul stared at her as if she were talking Ojibway.

She made a flip movement with her hand. “And what about a rod?”

Paul had a rod. No doubt about it. His eyebrows went up and his grip tightened. He was about to kiss her again. But just then the carefree, treble of children's voices intruded, reminding Jade the dock at the resort was a public place and one where many of the locals knew her well.

He released his hold on her, stepped back, and bent down to pick up his guitar.

“Maybe you're planning to use music to charm the fish right out of the water,” she said, tweaking her hair where he'd squashed it, trying not to reveal how much he'd affected her.

He grinned, dimple peeking. “You got it. Except it's not the fish I'm planning to charm.”

Uh-oh. Her heart gave a whoosh like a goose landing on the water.

“The thing is,” he went on, “it's such a gorgeous evening, I thought we should make the most of being out on the water, appreciate every moment rather than being distracted by all that other business.”

“What other business?”

His eyes glinted wickedly. “Of having to bait my hook all the time, reel in the fish, take the hooks out of their mouths and so on. Besides, I've enough to keep me fed for a few days.”

“Yeah. Adrian did you a big favor and gutted them for you.”

“Oh?” Dark eyebrows rose. “Was that necessary?”

“If you want to eat them it is. Of course, we could have just thrown them back into the lake.”

“No way. I'm going to celebrate my initiation by grilling them on the barbecue. Let's do that together, later, okay?”

Now what to do? Let him stew in his own deception and tell him to get lost? Or tune into her own instincts and go with him?

Paul stretched out a hand and stroked down her arm. He toyed with her fingers, ginger-tea eyes gazing into hers. “Will you take me for a twilight ride, even though I don't feel like fishing this evening?”

Jade stared up at him. How could she deny him when he coaxed so temptingly? How could she deny herself?

Lust was doing a good job of blinding her to possible consequences. Her earlier resolution might have been a large gull, rapidly disappearing into the sunset. Spending time with Paul sounded so much more tempting than returning home to be alone. Her parents had gone off to play poker, which meant she'd be left to her own devices, which could mean she'd mope around, mooning over Paul. A bad idea, especially when she had a chance for a real experience instead of an imagined one. It would be silly to say no, she told herself, firmly shushing the gasping, disbelieving tweet of her conscience.