said before Gemma. This is about more than the physical chemistry that we have between us.” He touched the side of my face again. “I really like you and I know you’re most probably going on dates with other guys, which I totally understand. And I know one of these guys will most probably swoop you up and be able to give you everything that you want, but,” he stared at me. “I’d like you to still give me a chance until that happens.”
“What are you saying?” I stared at him slightly confused.
“Well, we met on a dating app, so we both know that both of us were seeing other people.”
“You’re seeing other people?” I tried to ignore the stir of jealousy in the pit of my stomach.
“Actually, I haven’t seen anyone in a couple of weeks.” He shook his head. “My mind has been on you.”
“Oh really?” I grinned. “Interesting. I don’t know if I believe that, a player like you.”
“I’m not a player per se.” He shrugged. “I didn’t say that I want to be with a million women, I just said that the path to love and the path to marriage and the path to relationships isn’t always what you think it should be.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s true. So what are you saying now, Connor? I’m not sure I understand.”
“I’m saying I still want you to come to the cabin with me tonight and to see how the evening goes and then tomorrow, whatever your decision is, I’ll be okay with it.” He studied my face for a couple of seconds. “I’d really like to show you the cabin, I think you’ll love it. It’s my favorite place in the whole world.”
“Really?” I said, surprised. “I thought you’d be a big city guy what with your love of music and—” He interrupted me.
“I love music, I love people, but there’s something about being in nature that transports you away. You hear every single sound. Every bird chirping, every frog croaking, every rooster cock-a-doodling, every cow mooing, every owl hooting, everything. You hear the wind pass by your ears. You hear the leaves shaking. Sounds of nature.” He looked at me. “There’s nothing more beautiful.”
“You make it sound amazing, you really do.” I gazed at him knowing that I wanted to go with him to the cabin. I wanted to see, I wanted to experience, I wanted to feel his happy place, even if it was just once. “Okay,” I said, “let’s do it, let’s go.”
“You mean it?” Happiness lit up his face and he grinned at me and once again, he was the confident, happy, handsome man that I knew.
“Yeah, let’s do it,” I grinned at him. “What’s life if it’s not for living, right?” I put the book down on the couch next to me and took a deep sip of the wine. “Let’s go to the cabin and let’s just enjoy the evening and then tomorrow will be tomorrow and I’ll decide what to do next then.”
“You won’t be disappointed, Gemma, I promise you,” he said, and he leaned over and gave me a big kiss, caressing the sides of my face as he did so. This kiss felt different from our previous kisses. This kiss didn’t have the promise of sexual intimacy and possession. This kiss had the promise of understanding, patience and love, which was a crazy thought because there was no love between us, just a mutual admiration and chemistry. I pulled back from him and looked into his eyes smiling.
“Now let’s go, before I change my mind,” I said with a grin and stood up from the couch.
“Come on then,” he said. He grabbed my hand and squeezed it tightly. “I promise you, you won’t regret changing your mind. Tonight is going to be the best night of your life.”
“Oh yeah?” I said, with a small teasing grin. “How can you be so sure of that?”
“Oh,” he said, as he looked at me. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”
Chapter 27
“Do you like to play car games?” Connor said as we drove along the highway.
“What do you mean, car games?” I looked over at him, pleasantly surprised by how comfortable I felt with him on this road trip to who knows where.
“I don’t know. When I was young, my brother and I used to play a game called I Spy.”