Last Name - Dr. Rebecca Sharp Page 0,39
saluted us and disappeared through the doorway, the parents having already chosen to visit the servants’ quarters.
“Why would you say yes—”
“Because we need to talk.”
“Right, but now it makes it look like they interrupted us… you…” My words and hands flailed about.
“Kissing my wife?”
I grunted. “I’m not…” I trailed off with a long sigh when I saw the teasing upturn of the corner of his mouth.
Our attention turned to the laughter floating down the hall from the kitchen and for a moment, there was a pang in my stomach that some might diagnose as wanting—wanting to have something like Lars and Suzanne.
Wanting to have that something with James.
“Let’s go outside,” he suggested and placed a hand on the small of my back to lead me toward the exit.
I didn’t shrug it off. In fact, I slowed my pace in order to gain more contact with it.
“Do you want to go for a walk?” I turned and asked when we reached the courtyard, the old Model-T style cars providing a dark, stoic audience of headlights like an interrogation waiting to happen.
He paused for a moment, meeting my eyes steadily, and replied, “I do.”
I pretended like the shiver up my spine from those words was caused by the breeze.
“You can’t keep kissing me randomly like that.”
The disapproving tone of her voice was mitigated by the delicious sway of her ass as she maneuvered the well-trod dirt path in front of us, avoiding the intermittent rocks and roots cluttering it.
“Really?” I feigned shock. “I thought that was the whole point of marriage—so I can kiss you anytime I want.”
I watched her head swivel, like she was checking for any other signs of human life before deciding how to respond. Luckily for me, we’d been the only people on this trail for some time.
“That’s only the non-Vegas versions,” she retorted without missing a beat, and I found my grin pulled much wider.
“So, where are we going?”
“Eagle Falls.”
“Never heard of it,” I told her, though the farther we walked through the thickening wood, the louder the sound of falling and rushing water grew.
“You probably saw a little bit of it from the road on the way here, but the waterfall is broken up into two parts. The upper falls are just over fifty feet tall and the lower ones have about an eighty-five-foot drop. It’s supposed to be a spectacular sight.”
“I’ll have to take your word for it, though I don’t imagine it will be able to top the spectacular sight I’m looking at right now,” I drawled, still enjoying my view of her perfectly round ass.
She groaned. “It’s not much farther.”
“Are you going to throw me in it?” I saw her shoulders bump as she tried to hide the sound from her laugh.
“I’m still debating.”
I hummed. “Well, while you think about that, we need to talk.”
“Yes.” She turned and took a few steps backward, saying, “You never answered my question yesterday on where the annulment stands?”
My jaw vibrated with tension. “My lawyer is going to have the papers ready for me on Monday. He’s just putting together the last few documents we need,” I told her, and then added. “But that’s not what we need to talk about?”
“No? That seems like most everything to me.” She was having to speak a little louder now to be heard above the water.
“Forget the annulment, Carrie. I want to know why this… us… was okay in Vegas, but not here.”
She pulled her hands in front of her and kept up her pace, my question trailing like one more follower behind her.
“Because that was only supposed to be one night,” she repeated her same excuse once more. “Once and done. You weren’t supposed to be here.”
“So?” I demanded. “It’s not like you were seeing anyone, or me, for that matter. And the attraction between us is definitely still there—something I’d be more than happy to prove to you if you chose to disagree,” I warned. “In fact, I can give you some pretty hard evidence right now to confirm just how much I want you.”
I reached out as she stumbled slightly, catching herself before I had the chance.
“So, what’s the problem?” I pressed. “I want you. You want me. We’re both here.”
“James, I can’t—” She finally stopped and turned to me, just behind her were the stairs that led to the viewing platforms for the waterfall that I heard in full force but couldn’t really see.
“Is it because of your ex-fiancé?” I was at a loss of what