He’d also asked me to stay the night with him. I was looking forward to our first whole night together in what was about to be my new hometown.
“How did you know it was him?”
Drew was looking straight ahead at the traffic. I couldn’t see his eyes because of his sunglasses, but I thought I detected a little glance toward me. He pressed his lips together and inhaled deeply through his nose. “The second I walked outside, I knew. It was your body language, mostly. I could tell something was wrong. And the way his car was parked, I knew it wasn’t just a neighbor out for a walk.” He paused for a moment. “As I got closer I recognized him.”
I felt my brow furrow in confusion. I’d never talked about what he looked like, what kind of car he drove, or anything else that would have tipped Drew off. “How?”
“Before we left yesterday morning, I looked to see if he had a Facebook profile. I know Tampa isn’t a small town, and we weren’t going to be here for long, but…if he was anywhere around, I wanted to be able to recognize him without you having to tell me. Just in case.”
He was driving with his left hand on the wheel, his right on his thigh. I reached over and slipped my hand into his.
He looked over at me for a couple of seconds, then returned his eyes to the road, nodding his head, lifting my hand to his face and kissing my fingers.
That’s all we said about what had happened. Neither of us suggested that we drop it, but there was an unspoken agreement that as we left Florida behind, we were also leaving the Kevin issue with it.
The remainder of the trip mostly consisted of listening to music, talking about surfing, and about our next trip to Vegas. Drew ran through various card counting drills that he had learned early on, and told me more about it, teaching me as much as he could without using a deck of cards. He said I would need to practice—at least an hour a day, if not more—just flipping through a deck of cards quickly and doing the count.
The method was becoming clearer the more he talked about it. He said before we went back to the tables, though, we would have some intense training sessions.
For the first time in several months, my future was looking brighter. But I didn’t let that make me forget that while planning the future, the only thing that really matters is what you do with now.
. . . . .
Cliff was whimpering by the door, so I let him out as Drew put our plates in the sink. It was just after eight p.m., the sun was setting, and I heard a party getting underway on a boat docked a few slips down from us. It had been a long two days and I had a feeling we would crash by nine.
I closed the door and went into the galley, walking up behind Drew and slipping my arms around his waist. He was drying his hands and when he put the towel down, he turned and lifted me off the floor. I wrapped my legs around him and locked my ankles behind his back as he walked us into the stateroom. Neither of us said anything. We just looked each other in the eyes.
He lowered me onto the bed, propping himself up with one arm. His other hand was near my face and with one finger he traced the outline of my lips before dipping his head and kissing me.
I ran both of my hands through his hair, holding his head close to me as though I would never let him pull away.
With his mouth close to mine, he whispered, “My life changed the first time I saw you.” His lips sealed around mine again, and he crawled toward the pillows, pushing me along as he went, my body surrendering to his guidance. “And you’ve changed it every day since.” He nipped at my chin, then kissed his way down my neck, then back up to my ear. Still whispering, he said, “This is just the beginning for us. I didn’t think it was possible, but I love you now more than I did yesterday.” He raised his head and locked his gaze on me—that searching look of his I’d seen so many times but it always felt like a first. “There are no limits.”
Just over three months ago, life was perfect. Then, suddenly, it was hell.
I’d learned over the course of the summer that even though the Universe can throw your entire existence into a state of disorder without warning, it can just as easily put you right where you need to be.
And sometimes, if you’re lucky, it will give you even more.
I looked into the deep, gray-blue depth of Drew’s eyes, unable to imagine my life without him. As I whispered, telling him I loved him, I knew I’d already had more than my share of good luck.
Still, I was thrilled by thoughts of what might happen next.
Break My Fall (No Limits) Page 22