“Mmm. But they all park on the other side of the lake. I know a nice spot the kids don’t come to.”
She moistened her lips. “I definitely don’t think this is a good idea.”
“I only want to show you a pretty spot. There’s nothing wrong with that, is there?”
“That depends on what else you want to do while we’re admiring the view.”
He laughed softly. “We’re in a two-seater with a stick shift between us. I’m in pretty good shape, but I’m no contortionist.”
Maybe he just wanted to talk a bit more, she thought as he made another turn, this time onto a hard-packed gravel road. But somehow she didn’t think that was his only purpose in bringing her here.
As he’d promised, the view was lovely from the spot where he parked. They were at the top of a hill, in a clearing surrounded by big trees that were rapidly going bald for the winter. The moon’s reflection laid a bright silver path across the metallic black surface of the lake that stretched ahead of them. Lights from houses and security lamps were visible in the distance, but the spot Riley had brought her to felt very private and secluded.
He released his seat belt and twisted in his seat to face her. “Was I lying? Isn’t this a great view?”
“It’s lovely,” she admitted with a smile. “Very peaceful.”
“I’m going to build a house here someday.”
She tilted her head in surprise. “Do you own this land?”
“An acre of it. My parents bought it for me when they sold their house here and moved to a retirement RV park in Florida. I think they felt guilty for abandoning me here, even though I was basically grown and on my own.”
“That was a very nice gesture on their part.”
“Yeah. I come up here sometimes just to listen to the radio and clear my mind. In the summer, I turn off the radio, open the windows and listen to the frogs and crickets.”
“That must be nice. I love to be outside on summer nights.”
“I should have guessed that. It surprises me sometimes how much we have in common.”
A bit uncomfortable with that observation, Teresa reached up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. “Somehow I doubt we’re that much alike.”
“Oh, I don’t know. The differences seem to be more circumstances than personalities.”
She shook her head. “We both like summer nights, Cajun food and zydeco music. That hardly makes us soul mates.”
“No. But it certainly gives us a good foundation for a friendship.”
Friendship, she thought wistfully. She knew they should settle for that. It was more than she had initially expected to develop between them—but less than they might have had, had things been different.
&nbs
p; Riley reached out to smooth another strand of hair from her face. The car was so small that he didn’t have to reach far. The moon was so bright through the windshield that she had no trouble seeing him. “I think I mentioned once before that I think you look beautiful in moonlight,” he murmured.
“Riley—”
He leaned closer. “It’s been such a great evening. A kiss would finish it off nicely, don’t you think?”
She supposed a kiss or two in the moonlight wouldn’t be such a terrible mistake. If this evening was a one-time event, a special night to indulge in fantasies or what-might-have-beens, a kiss would actually be a very fitting way for it to end.
She unsnapped her seat belt and leaned toward him in implicit invitation. He took her up on the offer without hesitating, his lips settling swiftly, unerringly on hers.
Her arms went around his neck, her head tilting back to give him better access to her mouth. He took full advantage of the freedom she offered him, delving deep with his tongue for a more thorough taste than he’d sampled previously. And Teresa found herself thinking again that Riley did everything well.
She couldn’t say how much time passed before she returned to her senses. It happened between one long, drugging kiss and the next. It seemed as if she blinked and suddenly became aware that she was half sprawled beneath him, entwined in a position she would have sworn was impossible in a two-seater.
And he had denied being a contortionist.