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The shower stopped.
“Mark?” came a hesitant voice from the bathroom. That’s when he remembered he’d forgotten to put a towel out for her. In fact, they were all in his dryer.
“One second!” he called. He swung open the utility room and grabbed a fresh towel from the dryer. He opened the bathroom door and saw her peeking out from the fogged glass door of the shower, hair wet, luscious curves only slightly visible through the door. The steam from the hot water hung in the air, heavy and wet. He held the towel in his hands, but suddenly he didn’t want to give it to her.
The sight of her, naked in his bathroom, made him stir once more. He wanted her. Again.
“I’ll help you,” he offered, holding up the towel. She gently stepped out of the shower and he dried her off, laying a kiss on her shoulder. She stood, back facing him as he worked the terry cloth over her body. She groaned a little and leaned into him, pressing her body against his, setting all his nerve endings on edge. He wanted her. Badly. He dipped his head and laid a trail of kisses down her neck.
She turned around then and stood on bare tiptoes, kissing him on the lips. The kiss turned passionate, and the towel dropped away. He pulled her into his arms, all caution long gone. All he knew was that she belonged here, with him, and he wanted to explore every delicious crevice of her body once more.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
LAURA COULD STILL feel Mark’s hands on her, even though she’d long since headed up to her condo to get a fresh set of clothes before dinner. She still remembered the long, deep kiss they’d shared at his front door before she’d ducked out and hurried upstairs.
The whole day felt like a blur, a wonderful, awesome blur. He’d promised to take her out to dinner, and she needed to change. Laura hummed to herself, happier than she’d been…well, since before Dean. She’d almost forgotten what happiness felt like.
She did a little twirl in her condo living room, not caring how silly it looked. She wanted to take advantage of the lightness, of the wonderful feeling of contentedness. She knew how quickly life could take it away. If there was anything she’d learned from the miscarriage, it was to celebrate life’s small victories. The big fails were always just around the corner.
Even the distant worry about unprotected sex retreated to the back corners of her mind. The chances of an STD were likely low. She’d been tested after Dean and knew she was clean, and Mark had told her he’d had only one partner since his ex-wife, and he’d used protection. The chances of a pregnancy were even lower than that. But I’ll get condoms, she promised herself. Not making that mistake again. Just in case.
Her cell phone blared on her kitchen counter, announcing her sister calling.
“I’ve been trying you all day,” Maddie scolded when Laura picked up. “Where have you been?”
Laura hated that tone—the motherly, nagging, you-owe-me-an-explanation tone.
“Sailing,” Laura replied, almost biting off the word.
“Sailing! Well, isn’t that nice. I’ve been working all day and running around the kids in the never-ending mommy shuttle service and…” Maddie began listing all the ways her life was busier and more important than Laura’s.
Laura sighed as she listened. She knew that on some level it was just Maddie’s way of venting, but she wished she didn’t have to make it sound so much like a life competition. Just because Laura didn’t have kids and wasn’t, right now, employed, didn’t mean her life was amazingly easy.
Maddie eventually took a breath and switched subjects. “When are you coming home?”
“I don’t know,” Laura said, hedging. Now with Mark in the picture, she didn’t even want to think about going home. Ever. Not that she should allow herself the luxury of even thinking there might be a future with him. Still, if she went home to California, she’d ensure there never would be one.
“It’s not right,” Maddie declared. “You. Alone on that island…”
“I’m not alone,” Laura said, sounding more defensive than she should, and then immediately regretted making the confession.
“What do you mean? Have you met someone?” Now Maddie’s radar was up. She’d pounce on the little detail like a mother hen worried about a wandering chick.
“Well…sort of. I’m helping a man build a boat.”
“You’re what?”
“Restoring one. He races sailboats. Wants to sail around the world. He might even teach me.”
A long pause met her on the other end of the phone. “Let me guess. You’re not just helping him. Are you? He’s good-looking?”
