Waiting for You (12 page)

“Does McAlister Industries have a grocery store chain I’m not aware of?”

“No. If so, I’m not aware of it, either. But I do know he has a poker
buddy who does.”

Aidan shook his head. “I can’t let you do that.”

“What? Make a phone call? Ask Devon to make a phone call?
Because
neither one is a big deal. I’d be thrilled to do it – besides, it’s
kind of self-serving. If you expand your business, I can bilk you for more
money on the house expansion.”

“You
seem
like the type
of
person
to bilk.” Aidan mocked s
eriousness
.

“It’s a character flaw of mine.” She matched his teasing tone.

“I’ll think about the offer,” Aidan conceded. “So does that mean you’ll help with the house?”

“I’m thinking about it.”

“You have to see the rest of the place; then decide.”

“There’s more?” Karise asked.

“Not only is there more, I saved the best for last.” Aidan stood and
offered his hand to Karise.

She placed her hand in his, allowing him to tuck it into the crook of his arm. “Then consider me intrigued.”

“Just the way I like it. Come on, we need to stop by the house to grab a few things.”

“The plot thickens.”

“I was thinking we could have a picnic,” he told her.

“Is that a crack about my shirt?” Karise dug in her heels, giving
him her fiercest scowl.

Aidan laughed. “As much as I wish it was, I really did have a picnic
planned for today.”

Karise relented, allowing herself to be tugged along if for no other
reason than to satisfy her curiosity. After picking up a picnic basket and
blanket, they set out through a field behind the house. When they
passed by a pocket of goats, Aidan paused to point out each animal and tell her something about it. When Karise learned the field was called the
bachelor pad, where the male goats were kept so their stink wouldn’t
impact the cheese, Karise smirked. Several quips came to mind, but she bit them back. It probably wasn’t very nice to tease him when he’d gone
to so much trouble.

They passed through another gate. A large hill loomed ahead,
making Karise wonder if their picnic site was worth the trouble. Aidan
picked up the pace, glancing over at Karise as they neared the top of the hill.

When they reached the peak, Karise knew without asking they had
reached their destination. Before them stretched an endless field of red
poppies. Individually, the flowers were silken works of art. Collectively,
they were breathtaking.

“What do you think?”

“There are no words.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought when I stumbled across this place. I’d owned the farm for two months before I even discovered it.”

Karise stepped forward, holding a hand out to skim the tops of the
flowers as she waded into their midst. “Magical,” she whispered.

“Yeah,” he agreed, his voice taking on a huskier tone.

Karise studied the field for a moment longer before turning back to smile at Aidan. “Thank you for bringing me here.”

He took a step toward her. “You’re welcome.”

“You may never get me out of here. I just might decide to live right
here, in this field.”

Aidan chuckled. “You might get cold at some point. Besides, the
poppies don’t last long. This is the peak of their season. After that, it’s
just a field.”

“A field with a promise worth waiting for,” she amended.

“Something like that.” There was a pause. The expression on his face made Karise wonder what he was thinking. She was pretty sure that whatever it had been, it was more than his suggestion that they pick a spot to eat, which were the next words out of his mouth.

Karise only nibbled at the food he spread out in front of them. Her
mind was racing in too many different directions, and her stomach
had way too many butterflies for food to be a top priority. She listened
as Aidan talked about how this field had inspired many of the designs
used in his marketing material. The gentle cadence of his voice was
like a caress. She couldn’t keep her eyes off of him – all of the excuses
she’d been hiding behind faded away a little more with each syllable that fell from his lips.

Aidan
paused
mid
sentence
to
eye
her
warily
. “Is
everything
okay?”

Karise nodded. “Yes, sorry. Go on.”

“Am I boring you?”

“Quite the contrary.”

“You’re killing me, Karise. What is it?”

She hesitated then took a deep breath and threw caution to the
wind. It’s possible she leapt at him. She couldn’t be entirely sure. All
she really knew was that she was right where she wanted to be now: in
his arms. His surprise quickly gave way to eager acceptance as he met her kiss with one of his own. He was salty and sweet at once. The
hint of sandpaper on his jaw grazed her soft skin. A low growl of longing rumbled deep in his throat as he pulled her more firmly on his lap.

She wrapped her legs around his waist, arching into him as his
mouth pulled away from hers to roam the skin exposed by the V of
her shirt. Her fingers sank greedily into his dark hair as he left a trail of fire across her flesh. Karise couldn’t tell if she was flying or falling or something in between.

She kissed his temple, then his cheek, then reclaimed his lips. He leaned into her, deepening the touch. Time melted away. Karise was
aware of only two things: She’d never felt anything remotely like this
before, and she wanted more of him. She shifted positions, gently
pushing him back on the blanket. She ran her hands up his sides,
shoving his shirt out of the way as she did. Karise had lost many nights’
sleep thinking about the very muscles she now traced with her fingers.
She moved to kiss his jaw, then his throat, then met her hands at his
chest. He stopped breathing when she traced a feathery trail of kisses along his abdomen.

With lightning speed, he scooped her up and flipped her onto her
back, his mouth setting fire to her throat while his hands splayed her small waist before moving up to her rib cage. He shifted his weight,
the friction of his jeans against her shorts nearly her undoing. It hit
her like a tidal wave – she’d reached the point of no return. Either she
stopped him here or they crossed a threshold in this poppy field.

She placed her hands on his chest, pushing him gently away. He
took her cue and stopped his tender assault. When he would have pulled
back,
she
held him
tighter
,
snuggling
against him. It took a few
moments
for both of them to regain their breath. While they waited, he stroked her hair and she clutched his shirt as if she might fall otherwise.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin the moment.”

“Hey, don’t ever apologize for telling me what you want,” he
murmured against her brow.

As much as Karise tried not to compare Aidan to William, she
couldn’t help marveling at the difference. William would have seethed
quiet irritation, making her feel smaller and smaller inside. She didn’t
feel small now in Aidan’s arms. She felt cherished. Why on earth had she settled for small? Why hadn’t she waited for cherished?

Karise knew that, at some point, she’d have to sort out what this
new development meant, how far she was willing to take this thing. He
was more than a rebound, but she wasn’t sure she was ready for a
relationship. It might not have a label yet, but it was clear the boundaries
had
shifted
, placing them in that magical moment where it was okay to
reach out to take the other’s hand or brush aside a stray lock of hair. Now
that they could touch each other, both were hesitant to break contact.

They held hands the entire walk back, stopping every so often to steal
a leisurely kiss before
strolling
a little bit further. When they reached
the main house, a shiny sedan was parked next to Aidan’s truck. When
Zoe burst out of the house, eager to see her daddy, Karise tried to pull
her hand away. She didn’t know anything about raising children, but
she knew it could be tricky to know what to communicate and when.

Aidan was having none of it, though. He tightened his fingers
around
hers, pulling
Karis
e in closer. Without
missing
a
beat
, he scooped
Zoe up in his free arm, happily accepting the kiss she planted on his cheek. She wrapped her skinny arms around his neck and beamed at them both.

“Did you show her the flowers?” Zoe accurately guessed where they’d been.

“They were beautiful,” Karise answered. “You’re lucky to live here.
It’s like something from a fairy tale.”

“It is a fairy tale,” Zoe informed her. “Daddy tells me a little more
each night. Did you see the pixies?”

“You have pixies too?” Karise stopped short and placed a hand on
her hip. “Now I am jealous.”

“I haven’t seen them either,” Zoe mourned. “But Daddy told me they live in the hollow tree at the edge of the flowers.”

“Pixies do like hollow trees,” Karise commented. “I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for them now that I know they’re there.”

Zoe nodded, as if to agree that was the wisest course of action.

“Come on.” Aidan nodded toward the house. “I want you to meet
Elsie and Mark.”

As many new people as she’d met since arriving in California, one
would think Karise would be immune to it at this point. She had
no
such luck, though. With each friend of his she met, she was nervous –
especially after Jack Cooper’s instant dislike of her. She was in no hurry
for a repeat performance of that disaster.

Elsie was waiting on the front porch for them, greeting the trio with all of the effusive warmth Karise would expect from the head of
the visitors’ bureau. The woman’s auburn hair spilled in soft curls
across her shoulders. Her alabaster skin was enviable in its perfection,
but it was her smile and easy laughter that drew Karise in. Within
minutes, Karise felt she’d known Elsie her entire life.

As talkative as Elsie was, her husband Mark was equally quiet. It
was obvious he took everything in, sorting and analyzing the information
as it came but without comment. She found that when he did speak,
though, all ears instinctively tuned into his gentle voice, as if everyone
knew what he had to say was worth listening to. The pair was the very
picture of yin and yang.

After visiting for a few moments, Mark declared it was time to
go. He still had cattle to tend to before dinner. As they walked the
couple to their car, Elsie turned to Karise. “I have to ask, did you ever
have family in the area?”

Karise nodded. “I hadn’t thought about it until you said something,
but I think Dane McAlister might have been from this area. I’ll ask
my brother.”

“Well that would be ironic,
becaus
e the
McAlisters
and the
Williamses
used
to be inseparable. Wouldn’t it be funny if it was the same McAlisters?”
Elsie put a hand on Karise’s arm as she chuckled.

Karise had no idea what Elsie was talking about but didn’t have the
heart to say anything, so she smiled in response. When they were alone,
she turned to ask Aidan what he thought she meant, but he beat her to it.

“You have no clue what she meant, do you?”

“Nope.”

“The Williamses were Kate’s family.” He cast a meaningful glance
at Zoe. “I’ll fill you in on the rest later.”

“So maybe my name is why Jack doesn’t like me?”

“Uncle Jack doesn’t like you?” Zoe looked horrified.

“He likes Karise just fine,” Aidan assured his daughter.

Karise mentally cautioned herself to filter better when little ears
were present. She followed Aidan and Zoe inside, her mind still mulling
over the new possibility as she sank onto the couch. Clyde lumbered
up to her, his head completely covering her lap when he rested it there.
She sank her fingers into the thick fur around his neck and placed a kiss on top of his head. She’d never kissed a dog before, but he was too sweet not to. She might not be in a relationship with Aidan yet, but she was pretty sure she was in love with his dog.

KATE INVITED AIDAN,
Zoe, and Karise over for dinner, saying that
Jonathan’s medicine had helped the earache enough for company to
be welcome. She also said it was because their dinner the night before
had been cut short, but Karise suspected it had more to do with
reconnaissance
than anything. Kate must be dying for information,
knowing Karise had spent so much time with Aidan over the past 24 hours.