we make a quick pit stop at my place on the way to Ginny and Roman’s?” Peter asked.
I glanced over at him. His attention was fixed on the road. “Yeah, of course. Did you forget something?”
“Actually, there’s something I wanted to show you.”
“Oh?”
He grinned at me and checked his rearview mirror. “I think you’ll like it.”
“Do I get any hints?”
“No, I think you can wait the fifteen minutes to see for yourself.”
I shifted in my seat. “I’ve never been a very patient person, you know?”
“Liar.”
I giggled. He was right. I had patience for days. It was what had made me such a good fit for customer-service work and working with recently married couples at the hotel. Without patience, I’d be on edge all the time and I’d have probably quit my job years ago.
I sipped my coffee for the rest of the drive and wondered what it was Peter wanted to show me. Maybe he’d done a bit more work on the cabin. I knew he’d been spending a lot of time on renovations these past couple of weeks. The work had helped him through the grieving process of losing his father.
I also suspected it made him feel closer to his father, who had also made a living working in construction and renovating homes. Peter still had the full intention of returning to his work as a programmer once his three months of leave were over but I wouldn’t have been surprised if he started doing a bit of manual labor work on the side.
He seemed to enjoy it. And he was really good at.
The real bonus was how good he looked doing it. There was nothing sexier than a sweat-soaked Peter ripping up floorboards and wiping sweat from his neck with the hem of his shirt, flashing a quick view of his abs.
I could start drooling just thinking about it.
We hit the gravel road that led through the brush toward his cabin.
“Can you tell me now?” I asked.
Peter laughed. “No, you’ll just have to wait another three minutes. You can handle three minutes, can’t you?”
“I’m a woman. Of course I can.”
He laughed harder. “Ouch.”
“I wasn’t talking about you.”
“I don’t think that makes me feel better.”
I snickered. “Three minutes can feel like a long time when you’re on the hook for something.”
He glanced over at me with a wry smile. “Tell me about it.”
Chapter 39
Peter
I put the truck in park and killed the ignition. The engine sputtered to a slow stop and the radio went quiet.
Katie arched an eyebrow and looked over at me. “Do I have to stay here or am I invited inside?”
I grinned. “For best results, you’ll have to come inside.”
She made an uneasy but excited sound in the back of her throat before taking off her seatbelt. She looked cute as hell today. Her dark hair was pulled up in a messy bun and held off her face by a yellow bandana. A few loose strands hung free and framed her face, and little sparkly earrings winked in her earlobes through her hair. She wore a plain white T-shirt, jean shorts, and white sneakers with red laces.
Katie opened her door and slid out of the truck. Her shoes hit the gravel as I got out of the truck, and she hurried around the hood to meet me.
“Can you move any slower?” she groaned. “The anticipation is killing me!”
I made a show of taking my sweet-ass time finding the right house key.
“Oh my God, Peter!”
I laughed, dropped my keys, and played linebacker as she tried to race around me to get to them. Katie shrieked playfully when I scooped her up, spun her around, and set her down.
“Give me those keys, Peter! What are you hiding in there?”
She made a mad dash to get around me one more time, and this time, she was successful. She slid through the dirt like she was stealing third base, scooped the keys up, and popped up to her feet running. I broke into a run after her, grinning like an idiot, and caught up to her on the porch steps. She squealed as I engulfed her with my arms and lifted her feet off the floor.
I carried her to the door and let her put the key in the lock. She turned the handle and we stepped inside.
Or rather, I stepped inside. Katie sort of just dangled in my arms with her back pressed up against my chest.
She struggled feebly and cursed at me, but her words were broken up