She glanced down at her simple burgundy long-sleeve shirt and jeans. They were her butt lifting jeans. She wore them especially for Carter. He’d mentioned her ass in the truck. Or rather, she mentioned his, and he acted like he hadn’t noticed hers. Kinda hard to miss. When she was in high school, and even in her early twenties, she hated her big butt. To think, a decade later having a well-rounded backside would be in style.
Checking out her ass in the mirror, she squeezed her cheeks and sucked in her gut. Not that it did much. She wasn’t roly-poly everywhere, not like she was during her party years, but she’d never have a flat stomach or long, lean legs.
Curvy and semi-in shape, she’d call herself. When self-doubt crept up on her, she’d pull up pictures from her past and look at the gains—or rather, losses—she’d made. No one would make her feel like less of a woman again. Love her—all of her—or leave her. If Carter didn’t want her as is, well, screw him.
She glanced at the bed again. Yeah, screwing him would be—
“Ready to explore?” He popped his head out of the bathroom, his toothbrush hanging from his lips.
“We only have an hour before our first session.”
“I saw that.” He disappeared, and she heard the sink go on and off. “Romancing the Stone. Any idea what kind of hocus pocus we’re in for this afternoon? I doubt we’re watching the movie. Although, I wouldn’t turn down a movie date with you.”
Every time Carter touched her, anytime he looked at her with his mischievous blue eyes, and every time he flirted, her body betrayed her by fluttering in emotional bliss.
Lust.
It was just lust. Granted, she wanted the sex, so it wasn’t terrible that she swooned at all things Carter. It was her emotions she needed to keep under wrap. Emotions could not get involved in their sexcapades.
“Lenora is going to talk to us about crystals and finding our colors.” There—take that, lust!
“Great. I’m ahead of the gang. Scilla’s been telling me I’m yellow. Since I already know, can I skip it?”
“And abandon your fiancée? I think not.”
“You’re violet.”
“Those are color auras. Lenora will be reading crystals and giving each couple one to help them with their healing journey.”
“So I’m going to get sex crystals?”
Hailey snorted. “Sorry. It was the first thing I thought of.”
“You’re going to pay for that, you know?”
“I already called dibs on bad sex. You have to use something different.”
“You snore.”
“Do not.”
“Your feet smell.” Carter pointed to her feet and gave her a devilish grin.
“I’ve never had smelly feet. I pride myself in how good I smell.”
“You fart nonstop smelling our bedroom, which is why I’m not into sex anymore.”
Hailey gasped, her mouth hanging open. “You wouldn’t dare.”
Carter inched closer, his teeth showing through his Cheshire cat grin as he leaned in close, his minty breath whispering across her mouth. “You degrade my manhood again, and I’m pulling the fart card.”
“Jerk.” She hid her chuckle as she pushed at his chest, making him fall backward onto the bed.
He reached for her shirt and pulled her down on top of him, his chin nestling between her boobs. “Now this is a view a man can get used to.”
She wanted the sex, wanted it bad, but not yet. Not in the daylight. She’d overcome many of her insecurities, but daytime sex wasn’t one of them. He was hard under her body. Hard everywhere.
“I’m pretty sure the Freemans have a schedule for sex, and right now isn’t it.” She placed her hands on the bed on either side of Carter’s head and pushed herself up. Carter sat with her, and she stood nestled between his knees.
His hands held firmly on her hips, and she resisted the urge to suck in and stick out. “I’d like to take some pictures of the landscape around the buildings. Care to join me?”
There, that wasn’t so bad. She didn’t sound turned on and out of breath at all.
“I go where you go.” He stood, their bodies close, their chests and thighs rubbing against each other.
Her heartbeat kicked up a few notches, and her armpits began to sweat from his closeness. She was sure the women he normally spent time with didn’t perspire just by looking at him. Carter kept his gaze locked on hers, and she was afraid to look away, to break the spell. She needed to. If she didn’t, she’d be a puddle of lust at his feet.
“Good dog,” she said, patting his chest and moving away from him. Hailey looped her camera around her neck and took out her notepad and pen she’d brought. Since the Freemans were anti-Internet, her notes and copy for the website would have to be handwritten and later uploaded.
Carter took out a small notepad as well and tucked it in the back pocket of his deliciously worn jeans. “Shall we?”
“Do you have the key card?”
He patted his back pocket. “Always prepared.”
“I bet,” she muttered under her breath.
He opened the door and looped his arm through hers, escorting her down the stairs. Once outside, she went into complete photographer mode. While capturing people and taking candid shots were her favorite, she couldn’t turn away from the stunning view. Hoping she could do the resort justice, she took a few longshots and then did close ups of the stone front.
The stones from the old Montessori building gave the resort an historic feel, which went well with the Freeman’s all-natural vibe, and the white clapboard addition with large bay windows made a more inviting, captivating view. The balance between stone and wood was the perfect blend of the old and new.
Hailey didn’t know a thing about flowers and horticulture, so she snapped a few closeups of the early spring blooms making a note to look up their names later. She’d love to come back in the summer when more flowers were in bloom.
Dune grass blew in the wind closer to shore, adding a little buffer between the sand and the lawn. The landscape wasn’t overly done like you’d expect at a resort. Everything was left more natural. Trails led through gardens, dotted with stone benches and bird baths, and to the woods.
Carter stood at the edge of the lawn, hands in his pockets, his back to her as he looked out over the ocean. Hailey lifted her camera and captured him in the frame. She took a few pictures before he turned around. Zooming in, she focused on his smile and the sincerity behind his eyes.
He squinted against the sun, and then he turned to the side and flexed his biceps and forearms for her. Laughing, she snapped more pictures of him before lowering the camera.
“Let me see.” He crossed the lawn to her in four long strides.
“Bossy much?”
Carter lifted the camera, the strap still around her neck, so he had to lean in close to see the pictures. She played back the shots she had just taken. Even though he had the flexing pose down, he looked nothing like the body builders she’d photographed for years.
They’d often ask to see the pictures as well, but they never oohed and ahhed with such appreciation like Carter.
“I look good, don’t I?” It wasn’t an arrogant question. His words were laced with humor.
“For a guy who sucks at sex, sure.” She clicked her camera off and put the lens cover on.
“At least I don’t smell.”
“Carter,” she warned, poking him in the chest. “You’re obnoxious.” She couldn’t help but laugh, though.
They walked the grounds for a while, passing two other couples, both their parents’ age. When they went back inside and found their way to the South Harbor room, they took seats toward the back.
There were five other couples already seated, and each had at least two decades on Hailey and Carter. “I’m going to have to watch you like a hawk. These old timers are going to be all over you.”
“Gee, thanks. You’re telling me I’m grumpy old man material.”
“Sweetheart.” Carter leaned ov
er, his shoulder bumping into hers. “You’re every man’s material.”
“That doesn’t even make sense. You need to work on your lines.”
“Should we add that to our list of goals?”
“Sure. Right after we settle on a wedding date.” Hailey took out her notebook and placed it on her lap, making herself appear to be the epitome of a straight-A student.
Lenora moved to the front of the room, her long skirt flowing behind her, and cleared her throat. “Welcome, friends. Paul and I are honored you chose Acadia Falls Resort to aid you in your journey to happiness. By being here, you and your spouse have already made a special commitment to restore the love and vibrancy in your marriage.”
“My marriage has been pretty dull lately,” Carter muttered, crossing his ankle over his knee and tapping Hailey’s leg with his foot.
Hailey scowled at him, doing her best to hide her grin.
“Each of you have entrusted us with your goals for the week. Lenora and I have put together a series of seminars, activities, and challenges to help you reach those goals. All we ask is that you keep an open mind.” Paul made eye contact with each of them.
“Open communication, deepening your friendship, learning to compromise, and sexual insecurities are only a few of the topics we’ll touch upon. To start, Paul and I will help you find your crystal. The green aventurine crystal is for repairing the friction you may feel toward your loved one.” Lenora held up a piece that resembled a wand. “Moonstone will help with respect, and brings light into your relationship, helping you find intimacy and romance.”
“Jade is for those who harbor feelings of jealousy. It also increases passion in your relationship,” Paul added.
They went through six more crystals, pink sapphire to help one be intuitive in love, peridot to repair feelings of doubt and failure, kiwi jasper for faithfulness, and shungite to eliminate pessimism and friction in the bedroom. Maybe Hailey should take a few of those to keep in her pocket. Or the peridot.
“Rhodonite is for those who have a hard time making a commitment,” Paul said, holding up the last stone.
An elderly man up front raised his hands. “I’m pretty sure Cindy used that rhodonite on me thirty years ago. I was scared as heck to get married, and then one day I caved.” The man chuckled, and his wife scolded him.
“There may be other commitments some of you are hesitant to face. We’ll keep the rhodonite out for anyone who needs it.” Lenora smiled kindly at the couple up front and then drifted her gaze to the back where Hailey and Carter sat.
“That’s for you.” Hailey pushed at his foot, knocking it off his knee.
“You need that green one to help ease up on your friction.”
“Hmmpf.” Hailey crossed her arms and returned her attention to their hosts.
After selecting their crystals in private, each couple was directed to find a quiet place somewhere on the grounds to talk and discuss their choices. Hailey took out her camera, ready to photograph whatever inspired her as she followed Carter through a maze of trails along the coast.
“Do you know where we’re going?” she finally asked.
“I’ll know when we get there.”
She stopped along the way, framing a sailboat far out on the ocean, and then a butterfly on a pink flower. When they were almost out of view from the resort, she turned and took a series of pictures of it in the distance, framed only by the ocean and a grouping of trees.
They wandered further until they reached the end of the sandy beach and had to climb across a cropping of rocks. “Let me help. I don’t want you twisting an ankle or breaking your camera.” Carter reached for her hand.
Instead of taking it, she put her camera back in her bag and used her hands on the rocks to help pull her up. “All set. Thanks.”
“You don’t like to ask for help.”
“I have no problem asking for help when I need it.”
“Can you humor me then and let me be a gentleman?”
“And ruin your bad boy reputation?”
“Never a bad boy.” The corner of his lip quirked.
“Party boy.”
“That’s a little better.” He moved to a flat rock and sat. “Come join me, fiancée, and talk about our magic crystals.”
“They’re not magic.”
“You mean you don’t believe in all that frou-frou stuff the Freemans dished out this afternoon?” he said with a tsk.
“I don’t believe in magic, but I believe in the healing powers of mind over matter.”
“Meaning?”
She sat next to him and took out her peridot, rubbing it between her fingers. “Life is what we decide to make of it. There will always be hateful and cruel people in the world. We can choose to join them, believe them, or prove them wrong.”
All that money spent on therapists and it took a silly crystal to get her to say those words, and even believe them.
Carter took the crystal from her and put it in the palm of his hand, examining it in the sun. “Why did you pick this ugly puke yellow stone?”
“It’s not ugly.” She snagged it back.
“What’s it supposed to mean?”
“If we were a couple, I’d tell you. Since we’re not, it’s none of your business.” She softened her snark with a shoulder bump against his. “What stone did you pick?”
“Nope. It works both ways, sweetheart.”
“I showed you mine; now show me yours. You don’t have to tell me why.”
Carter hesitated, and then with a sigh, he dug into his front pocket and took out the rhodonite.
“Did you pick it to please the Freemans or...”
“Or am I really afraid of commitment?”
“You can tell me it’s none of my business.”
“I would if I didn’t think it was, but since I want it to be your business I’m willing to be an open book.”
Hailey let that settle in as she took the pink stone from him and held it up to examine. “You’re not the relationship kind of guy, I take it.”
“I wouldn’t say that.” He took the stone back from her and put it in his pocket. “More like no one has come into my life to make me think about a relationship. Except for one person.”
Her heart fluttered. Did he really mean she’d changed his mind? That she was special enough to make him think about settling down? While this was quite sudden, they barely knew each other. Her heart palpated in her chest. For the first time in ... ever, a decent guy was interested in her, and not just for sex. Her palms sweated, and she wiped them on her jeans as she waited for him to finish.
“Jenna and I dated two years ago. At first, it was more of a blind date, although I knew I was paired up with her. I hadn’t expected to hit it off so well. She wasn’t my ... usual type.”
Hailey’s shoulders slumped forward, and her throat tightened. What a fool she’d been for thinking he meant anything with his flirting the past few weeks. She wasn’t any more special to Carter than she’d been to the men before him.
“She’s not a blonde bimbo, so I’m surprised as well.” Hailey couldn’t help her snark. Better to come off a bitch than let him know how she really felt. She looked into the wind and let it dry the wetness in her eyes.
“Those were my thoughts as well. Although, I have a few blonde friends who are anything but bimbos. Lily and Grace are smart businesswomen with hearts of gold.”
“I’ve only met them a few times, but will take your word for it.” Guilt filled her chest for judging others on their appearance. She was a total hypocrite.
“I won’t say I was in love with Jenna; we didn’t date long enough for it to turn too serious before Tristan came back in her life. That was a tough punch in the gut.”
“I’m sure that was a mess.” From the little she knew of Tristan, and by the way he adored his wife, she could only imagine the testosterone pissing match between him and Carter.
“That was the surprising part. I didn’t want to like Tristan, and I sure as hell
didn’t want to let go of Jenna, but they’re both really good people. We were in an awkward situation, and we made the best of it. Tristan was willing to step down if Jenna chose me, and I...” Carter drew one knee up and rested his wrist on it as he gazed out over the Atlantic.
“You miss her.”
He sniffed, not like he’d been crying. More like a deep in thought kind of half sniff, half snort. “Nah. I loved her like a good friend. I still do, and I’m fortunate to see her all the time.”
“Why so nostalgic then?” Hailey hadn’t expected them to have a heart-to-heart this early into their trip. Ever, really.
“She ... changed my way of thinking about women, you could say.” He tilted his head and locked his gaze with hers.
“And, uh, what’s your way of thinking now?” Ah! Why did she ask that? She didn’t want to know. “That women aren’t sex objects and some actually have personalities?”
That mischievous grin was back. “Some more than others.”
“Typical,” she groaned, thankful the playful Carter was back.
“Now let’s get back to your ugly crystal. Lenora said it’s supposed to help eradicate doubts and failures around your relationship. You really think our engagement is going to be a failure?” He placed his hand over his heart and frowned. “I’m insulted.”
“When an engagement starts off with no proposal, no ring, no commitment of a date, and lousy sex, yeah, I’m pretty sure our marriage will be a disaster.”
“Easy on the sex, stinky.”
Hailey smacked his arm and laughed. “I’m pretty sure our hour is up. We should head back.” She got to her feet and held out her hand to help Carter up.
He took it and kept it in his as they headed back to the resort. They walked in silence, and she couldn’t help but think of what it would be like if this were real. Strolling around a gorgeous couples’ resort hand-in-hand with a wonderful man who made her laugh and turned her on at the same time.
They took their seats toward the back again and endured the next session on the seven levels in the Sound Relationship House theory. Hailey doodled and took notes; she wasn’t sure why. She wasn’t here to work on her relationship.
She didn’t have a relationship. A working one with Carter, but nothing more.
All of You (A Well Paired Novel Book 7) Page 11