Possibilities

by Michelle Grotewohl

  “What?”

  “Keep an open mind. Don’t turn down what could be an amazing experience just because he’s made some silly choices. Okay?”

  “Sure, Vick,” Evie agreed with a ‘Yeah, right’ roll of her eyes at the ceiling.

  They hung up a few seconds later, and Evie laid there for a minute, wondering what had gotten into her sister. Even if Drake had grown in the last few months, and wasn’t womanizing as a hobby anymore, surely he couldn’t have changed enough for Vicki to think he and Evie could be a couple. The idea was ludicrous…

  With a quiet groan, Evie sat up, then stood and grabbed her beach bag. She’d packed it before calling Vicki, after dressing for the day in white shorts and a pink top. She didn’t plan to swim today, but rather would lounge on the first floor back deck, soaking up sun and reading. Her bag held enough magazines and books to read constantly for a week.

  As she passed through the kitchen, she grabbed a fruit and yogurt parfait out of the fridge and took it with her.

  She’d just reclined in a chair and started eating while flipping through Cosmo when she heard the basement door open. Determined to enjoy her vacation just the way she wanted to, she stayed quiet and focused on her magazine.

  Still, she couldn’t help but hear Drake through the open sliding door, moving around the kitchen, making himself breakfast. Then there was silence as he presumably ate.

  By the time she saw him, she’d gone through Cosmo and moved onto another women’s magazine, this one barely legit in half of its stories. Still, sometimes it rang true, so she read it regularly, though often for entertainment value alone.

  As a perfect example, she’d just finished an article on emotional maturity in men and women, and how it differed. Women, according to the article, were mostly emotionally mature around twenty-five, more or less. Men, on the other hand, were later, though definitely there by thirty. It seemed plausible.

  It brought to mind her conversation with Vicki, and she wondered if that was Drake’s problem. Maybe he hadn’t hit thirty yet. She could ask, just to see. But no, she decided. That would mean it mattered, and indicate that she cared. Which she didn’t.

  A few seconds after she’d made her decision, Drake came out on the porch, drawing her attention. “Good morning,” he said with one of his killer grins.

  “Morning,” she muttered, partly because she was trying to ignore him and partly because his smile had knocked her stupid.

  “I’m gonna run to the grocery store. Need anything?”

  Think, Evie, she told herself. “Um, you don’t have to do that.”

  He shrugged. “I’m going anyway.”

  “Okay.” She took a moment to think about what she wanted while he watched her patiently. “Um… Some chocolate sounds good.”

  “Any particular kind?”

  She gave him a look over her sunglasses. “It’s chocolate, Drake. Surprise me.”

  He grinned again. “Right. Chocolate. Got it.” He moved past her, toward the side of the house. “I shouldn’t be gone long. See you in a bit.”

  “Mm-hm,” she mumbled, afraid if she opened her mouth, the question would pop out. She turned her head and watched him go. Just as he disappeared, she said, “Hey!”

  His head and a shoulder reappeared. “Think of something else you wanted?”

  Damn it, she cursed herself. “No.”

  “Okay…” he said slowly. When she didn’t speak right away, he said, “Why did you call me?”

  “Oh! Sorry,” she said with a forced laugh. “Eh…”

  His brows lifted as he waited.

  “How old are you?”

  “I turned thirty beginning of May. Why?”

  “No reason. Just curious.”

  His mouth twisted to the side. “How old are you?”

  She lifted a brow at his question, letting him know she thought it was rude that he’d asked, but when he only smiled at her, she lifted her eyes and said with a half-smile, “Twenty-eight.”

  He flashed a grin. “Okay. See you later.” Then he was gone again.

  She sat stiffly, listening to him walk away, then getting into his car and starting it before leaving. When she was sure he was gone, she slumped in her chair and dropped her head.

  Idiot, she scolded herself. Why had she asked? She’d been determined not to, and yet…

  Not that it mattered, she reminded herself. Even if he was thirty, and the magazine was right, that did not mean Drake had changed his ways. And even if he had, she had no interest in him that way. Well, she did, but it wasn’t something she was willing to pursue.

  Still, she second-guessed herself, maybe Vicki was right. If what Vicki said about him growing up was true, it was an awfully weird coincidence that it was right before his thirtieth birthday, which was supposed to be the deadline according to the magazine.

  She supposed it never hurt to leave the option open, if it came up. Which it probably wouldn’t. Drake liked blondes, not brunettes.

  So yes, having an open mind couldn’t hurt, because only she would know, because he would never be into her that way.

  Evie’s head was starting to ache from her repetitive thinking. Simplifying, she tapped the side of her hand against her other palm and thought, ‘Open mind, yes. Hopeful, no.’

  With a decisive nod, she made herself stop thinking and veg out on fashion and celebrities.

  Back home, Victoria stood at the counter in her kitchen, preparing breakfast for herself before getting to work on her book. She’d just finished putting cream cheese on her bagel when Leon walked in, on his way out the door to his office. Though he and Drake had no jobs for a couple weeks, it was Leon’s job to make sure they continued having them after that. Drake ran the construction side of things mostly on his own.

  Her husband of three months came up behind her, making her smile when he brushed the hair from the side of her neck to kiss her there. “Mm,” he moaned at the taste of her. “I don’t have to leave for twenty minutes. Come upstairs with me.”

  Vicki chuckled but didn’t turn. “I went upstairs with you an hour ago. And considering said time frame, I don’t think it would only be twenty minutes. You’ll be late.”

  “I own the place.”

  “You still have to be there.”

  “I don’t care. I want you.”

  She grinned and felt the warmth of that knowledge flow through her as it always did. “I know you do. And you can have me-”

  Victory lit his eyes.

  “-After work.”

  He growled good-naturedly, but stepped back. Yes, he wanted his wife, but he could wait if she could. He moved away from her, swiping one half of her bagel for a bite.

  “Hey, you had breakfast,” Vicki said as he gave it back. “My turn.”

  He chewed, swallowed, shrugged. “You take a lot out of me. I need food. You want a baby; I need energy to give you one.”

  Their eyes met, held, and both grinned at the thought of starting a family. Because it always made her want him when she thought of it, she went to the table to eat.

  “Drake called me.”

  Vicki felt a jolt go through her, but kept her eyes on her plate. Leon would know if she lied. She was horrible at it, which she would say was because of her pure nature. Yeah, right… The only reason Evie hadn’t known she was lying over the phone was because she couldn’t see Vicki’s eyes. “Oh? How is he?”

  “He’s at the cottage for a couple weeks.” His tone was carefully neutral. Too carefully.

  “Evie’s up there.”

  “I know that. Now.”

  She heard the accusation in his tone at not being told of Evie’s plans, but it couldn’t be helped. “Didn’t I tell you?”

  She heard him coming closer, saw his loafers in her peripheral until he was standing right beside her. “No, you didn’t,” he said huskily, right in her ear. “What are you up to, Vick?”

  “Nothing,” she said calmly, though her heart was pounding, and only partially from his bre
ath hot on her ear.

  “Then why won’t you look at me?”

  “I’m eating.”

  “Vicki.”

  She had two options: One- Keep averting her gaze and hope he believed her, though she knew he wouldn’t; or Two- Look at him and hope she’d magically learned to hide her feelings in the last five minutes. Right.

  With a quiet sigh, she slowly lifted her brown gaze to meet his blue one.

  “What did you do?” he asked again.

  “Nothing.”

  “Liar.”

  Furious with herself, she exploded. “I didn’t! Not really. All I did was told Evie she could stay at the cottage.”

  “Did you know Drake was going to be there at the same time?”

  She wanted to tell him no, but knew it was useless to lie. Like a deer in the eyes of a wolf, she was caught. “Yes.”

  Leon’s head fell, and though she couldn’t see his face, she knew he must be disappointed in her.

  “What? It’s not a big deal. So they’re there at the same time. That doesn’t mean they have to sleep together, or fall in love. They’re just two people, vacationing at the same resort. So what?”

  “Is that what you want?” he asked quietly without lifting his head.

  “What?”

  “For them to fall in love.”

  “Well…” She took a calming breath, because he didn’t sound upset, only resigned. “It wasn’t my goal, per se. I just wanted Evie to loosen up and relax on her vacation, and Drake’s good at taking life as it comes. Plus he’s matured lately. But if they did…” She grinned. “I wouldn’t complain.”

  “What makes you think they’d be any kind of couple?”

  “Well, she’s so much like me, and he’s so much like you.”

  He finally lifted his head, and she was surprised to see a smile on his face. “And?”

  “And we’re so happy,” she said softly.

  He cupped the back of her neck and stroked his thumb over her cheek. “We are.” He brought his mouth to hers, gentle affection pouring from him.

  When he moved back, she looked up at him with glazed eyes. “You’re gonna be late.”

  “I know,” he murmured, hoisting her up so she could wrap her legs around his waist.

  Chapter Two

  If Evie knew what her sister was doing at that moment, she’d be terribly jealous. But, since she was blissfully unaware of Vicki’s activities, she couldn’t be and only had to focus on relaxing.

  She finished reading the second magazine- and still had many to go- and was now several chapters into a romance novel. She’d heard Drake come in a while ago, but she hadn’t seen him, and figured he was doing his own thing somewhere in the house. She couldn’t help thinking, if things kept going this way, her vacation wouldn’t be bad at all, even with him underfoot.

  A short while later, she closed her book and went to make herself lunch. She made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, added a small handful of plain Lay’s to the plate, and went back out to eat in the sun.

  Just after she’d finished, Drake came out of the house. “Hey- Never mind.” He started back in.

  “Wait,” she called before he could go inside. “What?”

  “Nothing. I was just gonna make myself some lunch, and thought I’d see if you wanted anything. But you’ve already eaten, so…” With a shrug, he went back in.

  Evie sat for a moment. He’d sounded… almost hurt, by the fact that she hadn’t asked him about lunch when she’d made her own. And how polite of him, to think of her simply because he was eating.

  Should she have done the same? She’d meant to give them their own space, but realized belatedly- as in now- that it had been rude of her not to at least offer. They were both there, after all. Just because they weren’t together didn’t mean they couldn’t coexist.

  Lifting her empty plate, she followed him inside. He was already rifling through the fridge for lunch meat. Quietly, unsure how to start, she tossed her garbage and moved beside him to put her glass in the sink. He glanced her way briefly, and then went back to choosing his sandwich toppings.

  “Drake?”

  “Yeah?” His voice was muffled by the fridge, but it sounded a little empty to her.

  “Sorry for not asking you about lunch when I ate.”

  He straightened, his hands full, forcing her to lean her head back to see him as they were so close. She’d always been into tall men… “You don’t have to apologize. Like you said last night, I’m in your way by being here.”

  “That’s not what I-”

  “Besides, just because we’re both here doesn’t mean we have to share meals.”

  “No, I suppose not. But just because we’re not here together doesn’t mean we have to ignore each other, either. So I’m sorry.”

  His gaze searched hers for a moment before he smiled. “Thanks.”

  His smile unnerved her just enough to make her suddenly unsure of herself. With a nod, she side-stepped him and started to go back outside.

  “Evie?”

  She turned quickly, mildly startled and full of nerves. “Yeah?” she asked, hoping she didn’t sound as breathless to him as she did to herself.

  His smile was back, and brighter, telling her she probably did. “Wanna go out on the boat after lunch?”

  She blinked. “Eh…”

  “I’ll drive. You could relax, read in the sun. We can anchor down somewhere and I’ll fish while you just chill. Maybe we could go for a swim.”

  ‘Open mind, Evie,’ she reminded herself. “Yeah, okay. Sure.”

  He grinned. “Great. And if you’re up for it when we get back, we could go to dinner, to celebrate our first full day of vacation.”

  Whoa, cowboy, she thought. That was an awful lot of ‘not ignoring each other’ for one day. Still… Open mind… “Perhaps.” Then she escaped to the deck, certain she could feel his eyes on her retreating back.

  When Drake finished eating, they each put on their swimsuits and met down by the pontoon. Evie carried a bag, Drake a tackle box and fishing poles. She noticed he was wearing his black and blue Hawaiian-print swim trunks with a white t-shirt. She, on the other hand, had pulled shorts and a tee over her bikini. Of course, if she’d known she wasn’t going to be alone, she probably wouldn’t have packed it.

  As it was, he took one look at her, and pulled a face that said both he had expected her fully clothed and was disappointed because she was. Ignoring the flutter that started in her belly, she stepped onto the pontoon to help him cast off.

  Once they were underway, Evie lounged across the bench seat closest to the steering wheel, just in case Drake needed something or wanted to talk. She watched the scenery as he took them on a casual circuit around the massive lake, glancing at him a time or two to see he was enjoying himself. Only once did he catch her, and he sent her a cozy smile that had her insides clenching.

  After nearly an hour, he headed to the middle of the lake, gesturing for her to drop anchor when he stopped. Following his quiet directions, she shortened the rope until he was satisfied, and went back to her bench.

  Neither spoke for a while. Drake set up the pole he would use and cast off the front of the boat, toward what looked like an old sunken dock and some weed beds. Evie dug her romance novel out of her canvas bag and was quickly immersed in the story of a vampire, a hunter, and their forbidden love.

  But despite the compelling story, after more than an hour, the beauty around her began to seep in and distract her, though she tried like hell to stay in the book.

  Drake must have noticed her getting fidgety, because he asked, “What are you reading?”

  She turned slightly to look at him, but he was watching his line. “Romance novel.”

  For some reason, he smiled. “What’s it called?”

  “Knight in Blood-Red Armor.”

  His smile widened. “What’s it about?”

  She narrowed her eyes, but answered. “The woman is a vampire hunter, the man is a vampire. Sh
e wants to kill him, he wants to kill her; so they hate each other at first. But now…”

  When she didn’t continue, he glanced back at her. “Now, what?”

  “You don’t really care.”

  “How do you know?”

  She lowered her head and gave him a look through dark lashes. He only grinned and raised his eyebrows, telling her to proceed.

  With a shrug, she said, “Now they’re holed up in his castle, sparring and training together so they can fight an enemy that wants them both dead.”

  “Have they had sex yet?” He looked directly at her when he asked.

  “Um… No. Not yet.”

  He turned back to his line. “But they will?”

  It was easier to speak now that he wasn’t scalding her with those crystal blue eyes of his. “Most romance novels have sex in them, and I’m familiar with this author, so I’d say it’s a given.”

  “Nice.”

  She waited for him to say something more. At the very least, for him to pull the macho card and make fun of her ‘smut book’. But he didn’t.

  After a couple minutes, she decided she would give her eyes a break and put the book away. She rose and went to where Drake stood, and knelt in the chair beside him to lean against the back. “What are you fishing for?”

  “Bass, pan fish, whatever.”

  She’d thought she’d heard him reel in a few while she was reading. “How many have you caught?”

  “Seven.”

  She looked into the empty bucket between them. “Where are they?”

  “Threw ‘em back.”

  “Why? Can’t you eat them?” Fish sounded good to her.

  He shrugged. “Could. But they were so small, we’d need dozens to make a meal. Not worth the time it would take to clean ‘em.”

  “Oh.” She didn’t know what else to say, so just watched him quietly.

  “Wanna try?” he asked after a minute, offering her the pole.

  “Um…” Open mind. “Sure.”

  “Come over here,” he said, taking a step back so she could have his spot near the gate.

  Evie stood and moved to the area he’d previously occupied, taking the pole as she went. He stayed behind her, but not so close that he was touching her.