Capri's Fate (28 page)

He inhaled and released a long contented sigh. "I love you."

His gut clenched. He'd forgotten. He lifted his head. Had she heard him?

Ch
apter Twenty-Five

Capri
lifted her head from Thall's chest. She'd fallen asleep partially from the euphoria that enveloped her and from listening to the rhythm of his heartbeat. "What did you say?"

"I think we should get up and go to your parents' place. You know, sleep in an actual bed."

She blinked. "What's wrong? Your voice sounded funny."

"Nothing's wrong." He smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Nothing at all."

Heaving a large sigh, Capri snuggled back against his warm chest. "I don't think I could possibly walk home. I am blissed out. My muscles are soggy noodles."

Thall chuckled and wiggled out from underneath her. After dressing, he struggled with getting
Capri into her clothes. "I'm much better at getting your clothes off you. This bra thing is…mind boggling."

He shook the last of the sand off her
top, slipped it onto Capri. "There. All dressed and presentable. Give me your hand."

Capri
stretched out her arm, offering him her hand. With a swift move, Thall pulled her to a standing position and with a swipe of his arm on her thighs he lifted her.

Giggling, she wrapped her arm around his back.
"Wow, you're a lot stronger than you look."

"Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound."

She rested her head on his shoulder. "My own personal Superman."

"Where to madam?"

"To bed, sir. To bed."

The cadence of Thall's progress toward the cottage and the warmth of being held so close lulled
Capri into a light sleep. Being placed onto the bed woke her. She groaned.

"Here." Something light landed on her.

She opened one eyelid and peered at her canary yellow, silk pajamas. "Too much work to put these on." She closed her eye and lay back as Thall removed her clothes. His hands trickling from her neck to her belly made her smile.

"Do you know how beautiful you are?" His voice was soft.

"I know how beautiful you make me feel. Come here." She tapped the bed next to her. "Snuggle in. I want to be held by you all night. Listening to you breathe."

Thall dropped his clothes and climbed onto the bed. He nestled up behind her and wrapped his arm over her waist. He kissed the back of her neck. "Good night."

"Sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite."

Thall chuckled. "I don't think I want to know what that means."

She wiggled her butt against his belly. "Go to sleep."

~ * * ~

Late in the afternoon, Capri and her mother sat on two bright red Adirondack chairs at the edge of the dock. A slight breeze cooled them in the mid-July heat.

"Your father really likes him, you know."
Capri's mother sipped her second Margarita as she watched a puffball of a cloud float across the horizon. The boat creaked against the side of the dock.

Capri
gulped the last of her drink and poured her third. "He's not real, Mom."

Her mother twisted her neck to gaze at her daughter. "What do you mean? Not real. We heard you two last night?" She swallowed another mouthful. "Actually, I'd say the whole lake heard you."

Kill me now!
Capri dropped her head and shook it. "I'll never ever be able to go into town again."

Her mother raised her glass and held it out to her daughter. "What happens at the lake…"

"Stays at the lake." Capri tapped her glass against her mother's and chuckled.

"Now back to the conversation at hand. Is he a fake boyfriend? Like someone you hired for the weekend? Because if he is, your dad will be crushed. They painted the front porch this morning, drank beer all afternoon while pretending to be fishing, and now they
're burning steaks." She waved at her husband.

"Dad's got a bromance."

Their laughter floated on the cool evening breeze. "Let's go set up the table and you can tell me all about this." Tiffany swallowed the last of her drink, stood and returned to the cottage.

As
Capri settled in beside her mother on the path, she took a large courage building breath. "I know you're going to think I'm crazy, but he's not human. Well, not completely human."

"I thought you outgrew your imaginary friend when you were four."

"No, he's real, just not human."

"Oh, you need another margarita. You're making no sense." Tiffany pulled open the cottage door. "Or maybe I do. I do believe you're one ahead of me."

Capri stepped into the cottage and her mother released the door. It swung closed with a gentle click. Capri turned. "Let me try it this way. He's a child of the Fates."

"The Fates?" She led her daughter to the kitchen. "You mean the three women who control our destiny. Tree of Life and all that."

Capri nodded and opened a cupboard to get out the dishes and glasses for the meal.

Tiffany snorted. "Those are legends. Myths. Fairy tales." She grabbed some silverware and napkins.

"Thought so too." Capri followed her mother to the back deck where she set the picnic table while her mother returned to get the salad and wine.

Tiffany uncorked the bottle and nodded her head in the direction of the men. "While I'm dying to know what you're talking about and I'm sure this is a margarita induced hallucination, the guys are coming with the steaks, so let's leave this conversation until after dinner."

"Don't want to rain on Dad's bromance?"

"Don't want to rain on my what?" Her father put a platter of steaks on the table.

"Nothing Dad. Just a little private joke." Capri kissed her father's cheek. 

Bud and
Capri slipped onto their seats while Tiffany did a quick check that everything was ready. "Steaks, salad, wine, dessert, plates, glasses. Thall, you can sit next to Capri." As she sat, she indicated the spot with her hand. "Thall?"

He blinked. "Oh, sorry. Uh, just had a déjà vu moment."

"That's the second one today." Bud glanced at him. "You had one when we were fishing this afternoon."

Thall shrugged
, and slid onto the picnic table bench next to Capri.

"Don't sit."

He paused, knees half bent and looked at Capri's mother.

"Sorry." She smiled and patted his arm. "Steak sauce. I forgot it. In the fridge door
, second shelf. If you'd be a dear."

A few
minutes later, Thall placed the bottle on the table and sat next to Capri.

"What took you so long? Couldn't find the fridge?"

He raised his hands. "Thought I might just wash up. We painted all morning and handled bait this afternoon."

"You're forgiven."
Capri kissed his cheek. "Now let's eat. I'm famished."

When the last of the cherry pie and ice cream had been devoured, Bud had to run to the Bradfords' cottage to check everything was secure with them being away for a week.

Thall looked at
Capri, who smiled and nodded. He jumped up and followed Bud.

Tiffany suggested they clear up the meal, and then they could sit by the lake and chat. W
hen they'd finished the cleanup, Tiffany grabbed a bottle of wine, glasses, and they headed for the pier. The cloudless sky darkened as the sun set for the day. Settling into the chair beside her, Capri accepted a glass of wine and waited for her mother to speak.

"I'll just dive right in here before I burst with curiosity. You said he wasn't real. I touched his arm. He feels real."

Capri swallowed her wine. "He is human. Sort of."

"Okay, twenty questions is over. Come on. Spill it. Tell me everything. I have a full bottle of Pinot Noir here, and the guys will be gone for a bit."

"We really did meet at a sex toy convention." The words embarrassingly spewed out of Capri's mouth.

Her mother shook with laughter. "That is so Kat. She dragged you there didn't she?"

"Yes. We went out for dinner, and she asked if I trusted her and the next thing I knew, I was standing in the middle of…of… the most awkward place I've ever been. I kept expecting Aunt Maddie or Reverend Penn to be there."

"Reverend Penn?"

"Yes, he'd have a horrified look on his face and shake his finger at me. Bad Capri. Bad, bad Capri."

Her mother chuckled as she filled both glasses. "You have an overactive imagination."

"I get that from you." Capri smirked, slapping at a pesky mosquito. "Anyway, I'm walking along, trying really hard not to look at anything, and this voice says, Buy something fun, something erotic and something dangerous."

Her mother peered at
Capri over the top of her wine glass. "So did you?"

"Did I what?"

"Buy something fun, erotic and dangerous?"

"Mom!"
Capri's stomach did a backflip at the thought of her mother even thinking of such things.

"Oh, come on. You're thirty-two. You've been married."

Capri gulped several mouthfuls of Pinot Noir. "Yes. Actually, I bought something I've always wanted. A red bustier. It's gorgeous."

"Good for you. Now, on with your story."

"Well, he, the voice, followed me home and we had some great sex."
Did I just say that out loud?
She swallowed hard and held out her glass. "More wine."

Capri
's mother held the bottle over the empty glass. "You had sex with a voice?"

"Yes and don't ask me to explain it. Long story short
, I got promoted, and needed to fly to this remote place in Indonesia. Thall, who it seems has been interested in me for a long time, can take corporeal form. Human."

"Completely human?" Her mother giggled.

"Yes, completely human and well-endowed too." Both women snickered into their wine glasses. "I must say Mom. You're taking this rather well. Not what I expected."

"I've had three margaritas and two, maybe three glasses of wine." She swallowed a mouthful of fermented grape nectar. "My daughter is dating. He's handsome and well endowed. What else could I ask for?"

"He's six thousand years old."

"Looks good for his age. And can still perform. I'm hoping your dad can still get it up at eighty-five."

"Mother!" Both women shook with laughter.

"I'd say they're talking about us."
Capri's father's voice floated across the darkness.

Capri
shivered when Thall rested his hand on her shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze. She tilted her head to the side and brushed her cheek against it.

"It's getting late. What do you say Tiffany, about turning in? Long day." As
Capri's mother stood, Bud clapped Thall on the back. "Thanks for all your help today. Couldn't have done it so fast without you."

"Glad to help. And just so you know, bribing me with beer works every time."

Tiffany slipped her arm around her husband's waist. "Let's go and leave these two some privacy."

"What privacy?" Bud snorted. "Half the lake heard them last night." Chuckling, he turned and escorted his wife to their cottage.

Thall sat in the unoccupied seat.

"Having fun?"
Capri finished the last of her wine and placed the glass on the dock.

"Yes. I like your dad. Nice guy."

"He's got a bromance on you."

He squinted. "Do I want to know?"

"He likes you. He'd never get my brothers, Pat or Steve, to help paint anything. They don't do renovation jobs. I think they're both allergic to hammers. And Dad can't get me to go out in the boat. But you did both today, and you let him teach you how to cook the perfect steak."

"He was surprised I'd never BBQ'd before. Told him I grew up in a big apartment complex. Never had a chance to learn."

Capri studied his profile. It was just visible in the dim light. "You're getting pretty good at coming up with excuses and explanations. The apartment and your supposed déjà vu moment."

He rubbed his face. "Big football match today. Oh, you call it soccer. Lots of players and fans invoking us. Busy day. Hard to be in two places at once."

"I thought you said Fates couldn't lie."

"No, I said we weren't good at it. But we're great at bending the truth."

"I told my mother about you."

He raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"She took it pretty well. Mind you, she said that was because of all the alcohol she'd drunk today. Tomorrow might be a different matter."

"You know." Thall pointed at the boat. "The padded seats on that thing are way more comfy than here."

Capri jumped up. "You have the most perfect ideas. I can snuggle up next to you, wrapped up in your arms. "