Page 35 of Acadia Falls

Like I said, I’d met countless city girls who’d said the same thing. “Beats stepping over dead cats on a smelly New York sidewalk,” I joked.

She laughed. “It sure does.”

We returned to the house and found four cases of wine on the front porch. Maran eyed it. “Alex said we were getting a delivery. She didn’t mention it was enough to stock a whole wine cellar!”

“I like that she goes hard.” I hoisted the cases up one by one and brought them in. Then I grabbed the lobsters and the vegetables from the truck. Once we were in the kitchen, I quickly found a lobster pot and a wine opener. I helped myself to the Vejas’s wines, pulling the bottles out and inspecting the labels. “Is pinot okay? I’d pour us a sauvignon blanc, but it’s probably too warm.”

Maran blinked at me. “You like wine?”

“You really do think I’m a hick, don’t you?”

“No.” Her grin, however, gave her away. “But I did.”

“Ha. That’s fair, I guess. I never did go to college or get off this rock. We don’t even have cable at the house—we got a dish.” I waggled my eyebrows at her. “You ever go out with a guy with a satellite dish before?”

“No, I haven’t.” Maran laughed again.

She sure was pretty when she laughed.

“We should probably start cooking. Fun fact about me: I go to bed at about seven thirty. At least, I do when I’m trying to be good.”

“I’m sure you need eight hours of sleep to do what you do.” Maran moved past me into the kitchen. She started filling the pot with water. “Do you sleep well because you’re outside all day?”

“Usually.” I scrubbed a hand over my face as I remembered the other night when I tossed and turned, thinking about Blondie and the offer from Everly Reyes. “How about you? Does glaring at a computer all day help you sleep?”

“No, it doesn’t. I think it’s terrible for you. That’s why I try to run every day, to make sure that I get outside for at least a little while.”

“You run in the city? That can’t be good for you.”

“Oh, please.” She swatted me with a dish towel. “Are you going off about the air quality again?”

I caught the towel and pulled her closer. “I’m just saying that breathing in all that pollution cannot be good.”

“Probably not.” She smiled up at me. “And I’m sure it’ll catch up with me someday. But not today.”

“I’m glad about that.” I put my arms around her and pulled her in for a quick kiss. Goddamn, did Maran taste good. She was like sunshine and something else, probably some remarkably expensive shea butter shower gel, courtesy of the Vejas.

She wrapped her arms around my neck, and then I was surrounded by her—her scent, her hair, her warmth. I had that same feeling again, like something was unfurling inside my chest.

Fu-uck. I was starting to like this girl.

“I’ll make the salad,” Maran offered, “if you boil the lobsters. I can’t put them into the pot!”

“Does it make you upset?”

She nodded, her eyes growing wide. “They’re delicious, but I hate to hurt them. Same thing with all animals. I’d go vegetarian, but I never feel good when I try it.”

“So you’re an animal lover?”

Maran nodded vigorously. “I want a dog so bad, but I can’t picture having one in New York. It doesn’t seem fair, you know?”

“That’s because it isn’t,” I agreed. “Dogs shouldn’t be living in a city like that. Except for one of those small ones you can carry around in a bag.”

Maran laughed. “I don’t want one of those. I like big dogs. I want one I can go running with.”

“Big dogs, fresh air, running… It doesn’t sound like you should be locked up in an office all day in some skyscraper.” I shrugged. “Just saying.”

“I’m only going to do it for a little while.” She broke free of our embrace and started washing the vegetables. “I’m going to make good money with this firm. Enough so that all my student loans will be paid off in five years.”