“I did. I went for a walk. This town is the cutest, Graham. I’m totally kicking my ass for not visiting earlier.” She came over and set a handful of pamphlets down on the table and returned to the stove. “Look at those. I thought maybe we could check out the town, visit the shops.”
“We can go to the lavender fields today if you want.”
“How?” She came to the table with his plate and a cup of coffee.
“Thank you, Ren,” he said as they made eye contact. For some reason, at that moment, the desire to pull her toward him, to feel her body pressed against his, overwhelmed him. He resigned his mentality to refer to her as a friend, nothing more, because that was all she could handle right now. She needed him as a friend. Graham shook his head slightly, needing to clear his dreams, but the action failed.
Rennie’s hips sauntered back and forth seductively as she approached the table. She sat next to him. Not across, but right next to him, with her knee touching his. The zing his body felt from having her so close was almost too much to bear, but he knew if he moved away, she would be hurt, and he couldn’t do that to her. He refused to hurt her.
“How will we see the fields?” she asked, reminding him of her earlier question.
“Well, I thought since we’re on a minivacation, we should rent a scooter and cruise around the island.”
“I love your enthusiasm and your attempt to make this a minivacation, but it’s way too cold to ride around on a scooter.”
“We can rent a car instead. I just thought . . .” What he thought was she’d snuggle into him, that she’d need him for warmth. “A car is probably better.”
“We’ll have to come back this summer and do the scooter thing. I think that would be fun.”
He nodded. “It’s really fun here in the summer. Maybe we can get the Bs to come over too.”
“I called Brooklyn this morning from the pay phone,” she said, much to his surprise. “I know she was worried. I would be too. I wasn’t thinking straight.”
“Everyone understands, Ren. And if you need to use my phone, just ask. You can use it whenever you want.”
Rennie smiled. “Thank you. Now back to what we are going to do today. What do you think about checking out the shops? I saw a couple on my walk. They all look so cute and charming.”
“Eh, not really my thing. I think there’s a game on or something.” He flinched before she could even slap him. He started to laugh at the mean face she glared at him with. “Okay, fine. Shopping it is.” Graham picked up his fork and started to eat.
“And . . .” She paused, which was a clear indication she was up to no good. She grabbed ahold of Graham’s arm and tugged slightly. “When I was out earlier, I saw this bar. They’re having a New Year’s Eve party tonight. We should go.”
“Ren?” Her name came out of his mouth like a warning. He wanted to take her out. They had always had a good time when they were together, but a bar meant drinking, which meant their inhibitions would be lowered. Screw it. He wanted to take her out.
Rennie batted her eyelashes at Graham and jutted her lip out. He was a sucker for a cute-and-sexy pout. He relented quickly. “You’ll be the death of me, woman.”
“Ha,” she laughed. “If we were in Cape Harbor, you’d beg me to come down to the Whale Spout.”
Graham sighed. “You’re not wrong.”
They finished breakfast. He got up and started cleaning the galley. It was the least he could do, considering Rennie had made breakfast. He topped off her coffee and took the empty pot to the sink. Graham plugged the drain, added a couple drops of dish soap, and filled the sink about halfway. He didn’t want to run out of water for the showers, and he wasn’t sure exactly how Bowie had everything pumped. He washed quickly and set the dishes out to air-dry.
Graham expected Rennie to be downstairs getting dressed and ready for the day, but she was still at the table, watching him clean up. The way she was staring at him made him wonder if she had been looking at him the entire time he was in the galley.
TWENTY-THREE
Rennie had never really been a fan of white T-shirts—or anything white, for that matter. Anytime she wore the color, it always ended up with a stain, or after a couple of washings, the brightness dulled, and the item looked dingy. There was one time when living in California that Rennie bought a white duvet with a bright-blue flower on it. She loved it and had it one night before she passed out on it, leaving a makeup stain she couldn’t get out. The same for her white pantsuit and the turtleneck she bought for a Christmas party to go with a red suit coat. All ruined within minutes of wearing. She’d sworn off white . . . until now.