Meant for You (9 page)

Ethan leaned in and kissed her. “Typical woman.”

He went to the phone to call room service and when he came back, he found Summer standing by the window looking out at the mountains. She was wearing a big, fluffy hotel robe that covered her from chin to toes and yet he knew what was underneath. His fingers began to twitch with the need to touch her again.

He cursed himself. Why did Summer make him so weak? So needy? It didn't seem fair that for all they had in common and how much they enjoyed one another—both in and out of bed—they had to sneak away to be together. What would happen after they returned to Portland? Would they have each other out of their systems? Would they continue to have dirty weekends in secret? Ethan hated the thought. It wasn't fair. None of this was fair. Summer deserved better.

Summer turned and looked at him. “How long until dinner arrives?”

“They said about thirty minutes.” He watched as Summer took a step away from the window and pulled at the sash on the robe. The robe pooled at her feet and Ethan could only stare as she walked toward him.

“Then we better make the most of it,” she said with a sexy grin.

* * *

Summer tiptoed back into the room she was sharing with Gabriella before the sun came up. Leaving Ethan's bed was one of the hardest things she'd ever done, but she still felt guilty about leaving Gabriella alone on what was supposed to be their girls' trip.

Feeling like she was in stealth mode, she quietly made her way over to her bed and was just about to pull the blankets back when the lights came on and she screamed.

“What time is it?” Gabriella asked sleepily.

“Geez!” Summer hissed, her hand over her heart. “You scared the hell out of me!”

Gabriella grabbed the alarm clock and glanced at it before putting it back down. “It's four in the morning, Summer. What are you doing back here?”

“Wait…what?” She sat down on the bed. “What do you mean? This is my room.”

Stacking her pillows behind her, Gabriella sat up and looked at Summer. “So you're saying that you left Ethan's bed to come and sleep here? Alone? Are you insane?”

A blush crept up Summer's cheeks. “I…I just thought that it was a little rude of me to take off like that. I mean, you and I planned this trip, and I should be here with you.”

“Ugh…it's too early to have this kind of conversation.” Tossing her pillows back to their original position, Gabriella flopped back down and rolled over.

“What did I say?”

Rolling back over, Gabriella sighed. Loudly. “Summer, I thought you and I were friends.”

“We are!”

“Okay, then what would possibly make you believe that I would expect you to be here with me when you were already with Ethan?”

She shrugged. “I felt like a crappy friend ditching you like that.”

“I'll tell you what, next time I find a hot guy to spend the night with, I get to ditch you. Deal?”

“Hmm…now that depends.”

“Are you seriously still talking?”

“Uh-huh. I am,” Summer said with a big smile. “So, this hot guy. Is it my brother or some other random hot guy?”

“Your brother?” Gabriella sat up and stammered. “Why…why would you even suggest that?”

“Oh, maybe because you've got a serious crush on him.”

“Like the one you have on Ethan?”

“What are we? Twelve?” Summer asked with a laugh. “Anyway, back to you being in love with Zach…”

“I thought it was just a crush?” Gabriella deadpanned.

“We'll see. Anyway, if it's my brother, then yes, you are allowed to ditch me. Otherwise, I get a say in the matter.”

“That's totally not fair. We're on vacation in the alpha-male capital of the world. I could totally find a hot guy here to ditch you for.”

“You could, but you won't.”

Gabriella narrowed her eyes at her. “And why is that?”

“For the same reason that I wasn't interested in ditching you for anyone but Ethan. Sometimes there's only one guy worth ditching your friends for.”

Gabriella looked like she was going to argue but quickly closed her mouth. “Well, thanks for the insight, but I don't plan on starting my day this early. I have some quality sleep time coming to me. Don't wake me again until noon.”

Summer yawned loudly. “I don't think that's going to be a problem. I'm exhausted.”

“I'm sure.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Summer asked as she walked over to grab a pair of pajamas out of her drawer.

“Aw…do we need to have the birds and the bees talk? I would have thought you and Ethan would have covered all that.”

“Ha, ha. Very funny.”

“All I'm saying is that I'm sure you're exhausted because we'd had a very full day even before you ran into Ethan. And, on top of that, I'm sure the two of you weren't spending the night playing Scrabble.”

Summer giggled. “No, we certainly were not. We—”

“Stop right there! I do not want to hear it.”

“Jealous?” Summer said with a wicked grin.

“Absolutely not. It's just that I kind of work for Ethan, and it will be really hard to face him if I have to hear about all of your sex-capades.”

“They're the best kind.”

“Ugh…going to sleep now,” Gabriella said as she reached over and turned out the light.

It was a little before noon when Summer knocked on Ethan's door. His smile when he saw her made everything inside of her melt. “Hey.”

“Hey, yourself,” he said, taking her hand in his and pulling her into his room. “How are you?”

She blushed. “I'm good.”

Unable to help himself, Ethan pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “Did you get some sleep?” he asked when he finally pulled back.

“I did,” she said softly. “But I would have preferred staying here with you.”

“You know I wanted you to. I don't think Gabriella would have minded.”

“She pretty much told me the same thing when she caught me sneaking back into the room this morning.”

“I won't say I told you so, but…”

“I know, I know. You told me so.” She sighed and snuggled closer in his arms. “What do you have planned for today? Anything?”

“Well, the weather is being very cooperative, so I was thinking of either going for a hike or kayaking. What about you? Did you and Gabriella have anything planned?”

“There's so much to do that I was having a hard time choosing. I think I'd really like to try the kayaking.”

Ethan hugged her close. “Well then, let's go grab Gabriella and see about doing that.”

“Really? You wouldn't mind it being the three of us?”

“Summer, believe it or not, I really like Gabriella. I can't believe she's actually here vacationing willingly though.”

“Why not?”

His eyes went wide with disbelief as he looked down at her. “Why? Have you seen Gabriella? She looks like some sort of sophisticated…model or something. The woman never has a hair out of place. The image of her hiking or kayaking is a little out of my realm of comprehension.”

Summer couldn't help but laugh. “I know. I kind of thought that about her too, but she's got a bit of an outdoorsy side. Not quite like mine and certainly not like yours and Zach's, but I think she'll hold her own nicely.”

“Knowing her, I wouldn't doubt it for a minute. She'll not only hold her own but probably be better at it than either of us.”

Summer pulled back and grinned. “That sounds like a little bit of a challenge there, Ethan.”

He grinned back at her. “Me? Issuing a challenge? Why would I do something like that?”

“Because it's exactly the kind of person you are! You rarely do anything like this for fun, there's always a challenge or a dare involved.”

“Well sure, with Zach or any of your brothers. I wouldn't do something like that with you and Gabriella.”

Now she pulled completely out of his arms but her grin was still in place. “Oh really? And why is that?”

“Because…you're…you're…”

“If you dare say because I'm a girl, I'll hurt you.”

He pulled her back into his arms and kissed her thoroughly. “But you are a girl and not only that, you're not someone I want to compete against.”

“What do you want?”

He chuckled. “Sweetheart, what I want is to lock the door and keep you in here with me and the hell with kayaking and hiking and fishing and whatever else this place boasts.” He nuzzled her neck. “I'd keep you naked in the bed with me and forget that anyone else even existed.”

She purred with pleasure. “Oh, that does sound really good.”

“But…” he prompted.

“But…even though Gabriella is okay with us being together, I don't want to forget about her completely. Plus, I can't remember the last time I actually had this much free time to indulge in all of my favorite activities.”

“So salmon fishing is high on your list?” he teased.

“Maybe not that, but there are so many other great things here to do that I'd hate to miss out.”

“Fine,” he said, pretending to be put out. “We'll go kayaking and admire all of the beautiful nature around us. For now. But later? You're mine.”

Her grin grew into a full-blown smile that lit up her entire face. “That's what I was hoping you'd say.”

* * *

“I think I'm seriously out of shape.”

Ethan stroked a hand from Summer's waist to her knee and back again. “You don't feel seriously out of shape.”

She laughed. “I can't believe that kayaking kicked my butt. I hurt all over.”

“Well to be fair, it was a pretty long trip. I wasn't expecting it to be that long of a route.”

It was well after dinner, and they were lying in bed together after Gabriella lovingly threw Summer's things at her and told her to not come back.

At least until tomorrow, when they had plans to go fishing.

Ethan was completely on board with having Summer share his room and now that she was here with him, he felt completely at peace. It was as if she was the missing puzzle piece to his life. Spending the entire day together—and now the night—had Ethan feeling like his life was pretty much near perfect. It wasn't as if he had thought his life wasn't great before, but now? He pulled Summer close to him and just relaxed against her and smiled.

Perfect.

“It was a really long route,” she agreed and placed a kiss on his bare chest. “And yet Gabriella still managed to beat us both.”

“I don't remember it that way,” Ethan said.

Pulling back, Summer smirked at him knowingly. “Such a sore loser.”

“What? Me? How can I be a sore loser when we weren't really racing?”

“Oh? We weren't racing?” She sat up and laughed out loud. “Then what was all that ‘loser has to buy drinks back at the lodge' comment and then you buying drinks?” She continued to laugh before adding, “Hmm? Care to explain?”

Ethan frowned and lay back against the pillows. “Sure, try to be a gentleman and buy a couple of beautiful women some drinks and all of a sudden it's because I'm a sore loser. What is this world coming to?”

That just made Summer laugh even harder. Deciding to take pity on him, she curled back up against his side. “Okay, okay, you're a gentleman, and it was only because you were being polite that both Gabriella and I finished the route ahead of you.”

“Um…you and I got there at the same time. I just let you get to the dock first because…”

“You were being a gentleman?”

“Exactly.”

She leaned in and kissed him on the lips. “Thank you.”

“I could have gotten there first,” he mumbled when she rested her head on his shoulder.

“Oh my God! Are you going to be like this all night?” she teased.

“That depends,” he said, rolling her over so that he was stretched out on top of her.

“On what?” she asked as she shimmied beneath him to have them perfectly lined up.

“On whether or not you can find something else for us to do that doesn't involve talking.” His voice was deep and husky, and Summer shivered as he bent down and kissed her neck.

“I think what you're doing right now will work,” she whispered.

“And yet you're still talking.”

Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, Summer pulled him in close and found a way to keep them both quiet for a very long time.

* * *

For two more days, the three of them played outdoor enthusiasts. They went salmon fishing and took a flightseeing tour over the area. Their days were filled with sightseeing and all kinds of activities, but after dinner each night, Summer and Ethan retreated to their own little world.

“I still feel guilty,” Summer said later that night as she crawled onto the bed.

“Not this again,” he said lightly. “Summer, Gabriella is fine with this arrangement. Hell, she sort of arranged it herself. If I remember correctly, she had your bags packed and waiting outside the door after that first night.”

A small pout crossed her face. “Maybe she was just trying to be nice.”

“She had balloons, a bottle of champagne, and a box of condoms sitting with them,” he said wryly.

“She hides her pain well.”

Ethan laughed as he sat down on the bed beside her. “Is this your way of telling me that you don't want to be here with me?”

“What? No! Of course not. Why would you even say that?”

“Because no matter how much Gabriella's given us her blessing, you're still obsessing about it. I know none of us planned this, but I thought you were just as happy as I was that we're here together.”

She reached up and cupped his cheek in her hand. “I am happy to be here with you. I never thought we'd get to have this kind of time together. But I can't help but feel a little bit guilty. I'm trying to get over it, I really am, but every time we say good-bye to her after dinner, I feel like I'm deserting her.”

“Do you want to go and stay with her tonight?” he asked casually, even though he didn't really want her to go. “Have one of those girly sleepovers?”

“You know those don't really include pillow fights in our underwear, right?”

“Way to kill a guy's dream,” he grumbled. “But I'm serious. If it's bothering you that much, maybe you should go hang out with her.”

A small smile played across her lips. “No, I'm exactly where I want to be, Ethan,” she replied. “I'll get over it and I know you're right—Gabriella's fine with me being here with you. I just overthink things like this.”

“Well, stop thinking,” he said as he slowly began to lie down and guided her with him. “We're fine. She's fine.” Summer rested her head on his shoulder and Ethan felt her body relax.

Honestly, he wasn't sure what he'd do if she wanted to leave. He'd let her, of course, but it would be hard. He was just starting to get used to her being with him and really getting to know Summer as a woman—not the girl he had grown up with—and he was enjoying the discoveries.

When they were younger, he'd known her to be athletic, but he'd never realized so many of her interests mirrored his own. She loved a challenge and didn't shy away from trying new activities, but she did it all just for fun rather than because she was trying to prove something.

Which was what he was slowly beginning to realize he'd been doing for a long time through his activities with Zach. They had always competed with each other through school and well into their twenties and now thirties, but Ethan was finally seeing it was time to be done with that. He knew he was a good man, a good athlete, a good friend. There was no need to keep up with the challenges or try to prove that he was invincible. Holding Summer in his arms and enjoying the activities as they had for the last several days made Ethan happier than any adventure he'd ever gone on.

And it wasn't scary.

It wasn't an adrenaline rush.

And yet he was completely content.

A soft sigh beside him had him looking down and seeing that Summer had fallen asleep. As much as he loved making the most of their time together, it was moments like this that meant the most. While Ethan knew it couldn't be like this forever—they were eventually going to have to return to their normal lives and deal with whatever fallout there was going to be from the Montgomerys—that didn't mean he couldn't relish it for now.

* * *

“So what's on the agenda for today?” Ethan asked the next morning as he and Summer joined Gabriella for breakfast.

“Actually,” Gabriella began hesitantly as they all sat down, “I think I'm just going to hang out around the lodge today. I'm going to be lazy, maybe get a massage or something, and curl up with a good book. I'm not used to all this crazy outdoor stuff.”

“But you're so good at it,” Summer said, reaching across the table and squeezing one of Gabriella's hands. “We're supposed to hike today, remember?”

“I know, I know. I'm seriously ready for a day just to veg. You guys go and do your thing. A day of doing nothing is way more appealing to me right now than hiking around with twenty pounds of gear on my back.”

A little part of Summer totally related to that. As much as she was enjoying her time with Ethan, she wouldn't mind a day of pampering. Just the thought of a nice deep-tissue massage, a pedicure… She almost groaned with imagined delight.

“If you'd rather go with Gabriella,” Ethan said, “that's totally fine. I think you'd have a great time making it a girls' day.” He remembered their conversation from the previous night and thought this could be the perfect compromise.

And the thing was, Summer knew he meant it. Ethan wasn't the kind of man who would make demands on her time or belittle her for wanting a day to relax and be pampered. She was completely torn about what to do and decided to put off making her decision until after breakfast.

“Who's up for Belgian waffles?” she said cheerily.

Sensing her friend's distraction tactics, Gabriella chimed in. “While I do enjoy a waffle the size of my head, I think I'm going to be sensible and have a fruit platter.”

“You can't do that,” Summer said firmly, placing her menu facedown on the table.

“Why not?”

“Vacation. You are not allowed to be sensible while on vacation. This is the time when you're supposed to break all the rules and not think about diets and whatnot.”

“That's ridiculous.”

Summer shook her head. “It's completely true. Trust me. Look around this room. Do you see anyone having fruit for breakfast?” Before Gabriella could answer, Summer continued. “No. You don't. Why? Because no one eats fruit on vacation.”

“That's the dumbest logic I've ever heard.” Then she paused. “But far be it from me to commit some sort of vacation faux pas.” Picking up her menu, she looked it over again. “Fine. I'm going to have the eggs Benedict with a side order of potatoes. Happy?”

“Not enough carbs in my opinion, but whatever,” Summer said as she continued to scan her menu. “Belgian waffles with strawberries for me.”

“Uh-uh,” Gabriella said disapprovingly.