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He rubbed his hand over his face in frustration. This wasn’t how he’d imagined spending the night with her.
When he couldn’t stand it any longer, he doused the fire, and climbed into the tent. Beth was on her side, facing away from him. He kicked off his shoes and lay down beside her. She didn’t move—not even a little—so he didn’t think she was asleep.
Knowing he was going to have to be the one to break the ice, he rolled over and placed a hand on her hip.
Beth flinched. Any doubt he’d had that she was awake vanished.
Although he wanted to make her talk about it, he knew she had to do it on her own time and in her own way. Drew meant what he’d said earlier. He would wait as long as it took. All he wanted her to do was talk to him.
“I don’t . . .” Beth sighed. “I don’t want you to think that I don’t care about you.”
“I don’t think that.” Drew didn’t want her to worry about what he might think. This wasn’t about him. It was about her.
She turned to face him. It was dark inside the tent and he couldn’t see her expression, but he heard the emotion behind her words and he was pretty sure she was either crying or close to it. “I wish I could say it back. I just . . . I can’t.”
Unable to resist, he reached out for her, and folded her into his embrace.
Beth tucked her head into his shoulder and shuddered. She put on a good front most of the time. Whether she realized it or not, letting him see her this vulnerable said more about her feelings for him than any words.
Drew held her until he heard her breathing change. Kissing her temple, he shifted them both so that he could lie on his back yet still hold her against him. Beth loved him. He knew it in the very core of his being. She might not be able to admit it to herself yet, but he knew she’d get there eventually.
Closing his eyes, he let the warmth of her body seep into his muscles and take everything negative that had happened that day away. He’d told the absolute truth when he’d said he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Beth was the first person Drew thought about when he woke up every morning and she starred in his dreams every night. He couldn’t think of anything better than spending the rest of his days worshiping her in every way possible.
***
The rise and fall of Drew’s chest was the first thing to enter into Beth’s awareness as she awoke early the next morning. She had no recollection of moving into this position with her head resting over his heart. The last thing she did remember was feeling confused about everything except for how good it felt to be wrapped up in his arms. Crazy, considering that the whole reason for her distress in the first place was that she couldn’t tell him that she loved him back. Knowing that she needed some space before she had to face him again, she carefully extracted herself from his warmth and crawled out of the tent.
It was a brisk morning. The wind blew just enough to make her shiver. Beth knew she could rebuild the fire he’d started the night before—there was still a small pile of wood to her right. If she did that, however, Drew would wake up and she’d be right back where she started. The day ahead would be stressful enough as it was. She didn’t want to add to it.
With that in mind, she hugged herself and headed toward the house. Hopefully, Nancy would be up getting things ready for the party and Beth could help. Baking always relaxed her and she was counting on it to provide some much-needed balance before people started to arrive.
Drew found her almost an hour later rolling out piecrust. He walked up to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. It was completely innocent, but it still made her pulse quicken.
“I woke up and you were gone.” A simple statement full of meaning. He’d thought she’d left.
She looked up at him and lowered her voice so that only he would hear. “I needed some space. And I figured your mom might need some help getting things ready.”
He scanned her face as if he could see into the inner workings of her soul. Instead of making her uncomfortable, it had her fighting to hold onto coherent thought. What was it about him that twisted her insides into knots?
Seth stumbled into the kitchen looking for coffee, pulling them both out of the bubble that they had created. Beth wasn’t sure if she was happy with the interruption or not. She knew things weren’t settled with Drew—not by a long shot—but she couldn’t deal with her feelings right now. Not with his family around and everything else that went with it.
The morning flew by as they all worked together, even Seth, to set things up for the big party. There were two long tables placed in the side yard along with ten smaller tables surrounded by as many chairs as would fit around them. She’d thought for sure that the setup was more than enough for any barbecue, but she was wrong. A little before noon people began arriving. By twelve thirty, cars lined both sides of the long driveway and there were people everywhere.
“You doing all right?” Drew asked, coming to stand beside her.
“Yeah. I didn’t think there’d be this many people, though.” If she had to guess, there were at least fifty people present.
He shrugged. “In a rural area like this, a barbecue is a big deal and my parents invite all the neighbors and local farmers. There’ll probably be a few more late arrivals before it’s all said and done.”
“More?” He couldn’t be serious.
Drew chuckled. “Most likely. The Clarks are notorious for being late to stuff like this.”
She felt like a fish out of water. Other than Drew and to some extent his family, Beth didn’t know anyone here.
What she was feeling must have shown on her face because Drew laced his fingers through hers and squeezed. Beth was grateful for the support—especially after this morning. He could have easily left her to her own devices.
It turned out Drew was right. Three more families showed up with covered dishes and lawn chairs in tow. His dad fired up two separate grills and filled them with hamburgers, hot dogs, and brats. The smell of cooking meat filled the yard and seemed to animate the already lively conversations that were taking place among the neighbors.
