For Nick (12 page)

All at once, he picked her up and carried her into the cabin below. Bright sunlight filled the cabin, filtering in through the circular windows. He set her down in front of him and with hearts pounding and eyes wide open, they slowly removed each other’s clothing and made love in the bright sunlight. Throughout the encounter, they never broke eye contact.

Andie had never felt so close to another human being in her life. Making love with eyes open in the bright sunlight was something she’d never done, never known. Zach was surprisingly passionate. There was an intensity to him that couldn’t be ignored as all of his strength, power, and concentration were directed at her. This was a side of him she never would’ve predicted.

It was much later as they lay on their sides facing each other, hands tightly clasped, that Andie knew they needed to talk. “Zach,” she whispered. “What are we doing?”

His eyebrows furrowed and the calm, peaceful look in his eyes faded to worry. “I don’t know, Andie. We didn’t expect this to happen.” He let out his breath.”Do…do you want it to stop?”

“Do you?” Andie threw the question right back at him.

He hesitated for several moments, searching her face. “No, my adorable wife. I don’t want this to stop. But I want to reiterate that this is not in any way expected of you. Please don’t ever think such a thing.”

“I know that, Zach.”

“Do you want this to stop?” he asked again.

“No,” she whispered almost inaudibly.

He kissed her tenderly. “I don’t know where this is going, but I want to find out.”

“Me too.”

“I don’t have any answers or promises for you. We’re entering uncharted territory. Our ridiculous contract doesn’t cover this, nor did we predict this. Robert’s going to freak out.”

“This is between you and I. Robert doesn’t need to know, does he?”

“You’re right. It’s none of his darn business,” he mumbled as he kissed her uninhibitedly.

Later, they went out onto the deck and ate the lunch Janine had packed for them. They gathered blankets and made a bed of sorts to lie on and watch the fireworks. That night, they lay side by side on their backs, hands clasped, watching the night sky light up with brilliant shooting colors. Zach took her in his arms and made love to her beneath a firmament of fire, leaving her breathless. It was a moment unlike anything she’d ever experienced before.

Andie knew she was no longer doing this just for Nick, she was doing this for herself.

Andie and Zach awoke at the same time the next morning, buried under a mountain of blankets in the cabin of his boat. It was early and a chill was still in the air. They cuddled up, keeping warm together.

“We’d better get back before Janine calls the Coast Guard, the National Guard, the police, and a SWAT team to look for us. She’ll be worried when she discovers we’re not home.”

“Okay,” Andie told him, but neither one of them moved an inch. Zach pretended several times to try to move, but acted as if an unseen force was holding him down. Andie liked this quirky side of Zach. He could be downright silly sometimes. Who’d of thought? When she’d first met him, she definitely hadn’t. But now he was making her giggle uncontrollably. He really was a goofball.

“Are you all right? Take a breath,” Zach persuaded. When she didn’t stop he said, “Guess I’ll have to kiss those giggles away.”

That stopped her as she responded to his kiss immediately. “
Zany Zach
…make love to me again,” she said in a hushed tone.

“If you insist…” he mumbled. “
Ardent Andie
…”

They made love one more time before heading back to the house.

“Andie…”

“Hmmmm?”

“I like being married to you.” He touched a finger to the dimples on her cheeks when she smiled at him radiantly.

Reluctantly, they made their way back home. Regret filled Andie’s heart at the end of one of the most perfect twenty-four hours she’d ever lived through.

But it wasn’t over, far from it.

Janine was at the boat dock when they arrived. She had just realized they hadn’t come home and was desperately worried. They assured her they were fine, they’d simply decided to stay the night on the boat. She seemed rather pleased with the news and was obviously satisfied with their now affectionate manner towards one another.

“Janine seems happy with us. Evidently we now look the part of honeymooners,” Zach said as he hugged her to him. “To be honest, I’ve never had a honeymoon like this,” he told her in all seriousness. “Ever.”

Andie looked up at him, completely vulnerable to his charms. “Neither have I. Ever.”

“This is totally unexpected. But I like it, I like it a lot.”

She agreed wholeheartedly.

-10-

Zach and Andie had breakfast out on the patio, overlooking the lake. Andie couldn’t help but look at the lake differently now. It suddenly held great meaning to her. They’d shared something out on that boat that had changed their relationship, wholly. She was sure of it.

Zach reached across the table and held her hand. “Last night, it was…unforgettable.”

It would appear he knew it too. “It was the same for me.”

“Since we can’t top last night,” he winked, “How about kicking around the local crafts fair today? My mom loved it, so I figure you will too. We can buy some useless trinkets that we’ll never use, that will clutter our home, and eventually end up in the give-away pile when we do spring cleaning.”

Andie couldn’t hide her pleasure at the suggestion. “Sounds good. Let’s go kick.” She just wanted to be with Zach every second, no matter what they were doing. A happiness she’d never known filled her soul.

They took off in their rental car and made their way into town. They parked and joined the throngs of tourists meandering through the kiosks. It reminded Andie a little of a county fair. She felt casual and lazy as she and Zach, dressed in simple jeans and t-shirts, held hands and enjoyed the sights. They stopped at a table filled with floppy hats and Zach plopped one on her head and laughed out loud at the sight. She reciprocated and plopped one on his head. Since this produced even more laughter, Zach purchased them and off they went in their matching hats, feeling silly and carefree, and loving every minute of it. Next they came across a table selling smock style hoodies. They were made of rough cotton, and adorned with bright, colorful, vertical stripes. They tried them on, laughing at each other the entire time. With their floppy hats and striped hoodies, they looked like flower children from the sixties. They bought the matching hoodies and continued through the maze of locals selling their wares, feeling incognito in their hippie attire and saying words like, ‘peace, brother,’ ‘cool,’ and ‘out of sight.’ They were the ‘weirdo’ couple once again. When they came across flip-flops, they just couldn’t resist. They stuffed their shoes and socks in a bag and added matching, bright yellow flip-flops to their newly acquired clothing. To top it off, Zach purchased long strands of beads and they layered four or five necklaces each around their necks. They were now officially hippies and when they found a mirror, they stopped and looked at themselves and laughed hysterically, completely unaware of the stares they received from passersby. They were living in their own little world where only the two of them existed.

They stopped at the face-painting booth and Zach had a peace sign painted on his cheek. Andie had a rainbow painted on hers. Zach seemed oblivious to the fact that they were the only adults in line. They were caught up in the moment, behaving more like two children than grown adults, laughing and acting silly…and having the most fun Andie had had in a very long time. This was the real Zach, and Andie found she liked him more and more with every passing minute. His quirky sense of humor made her happy.

They ate funnel cakes, corn dogs, cotton candy, and huge ice cream cones dipped in chocolate that dripped down their hands as they tried to eat it. They snuck kisses whenever they could, kissing as if they were alone. Andie noticed mothers covering their children’s eyes from the view.

A young boy was walking around snapping quick pictures with his Polaroid, and then selling them to the eager tourists for a whopping one-dollar bill per picture. Regardless of the ridiculous price, Zach and Andie—in their raucous moods—posed for several pictures and purchased all of them. They laughed at the sight of the two of them dressed so ridiculously and Zach said he was going to frame one and put it in his office for all to see.

Later that night, they sat at a picnic table eating barbecued chicken, corn on the cob, and drinking lemonade, while a local band played country music. They joined the crowd and danced for the next several hours, clapping, screaming, and jumping along with everyone else. They kissed during all the slow songs, holding each other close, until Zach whispered in her ear, “Let’s get outta here.”

When they arrived home it was nearly midnight. They entered the house without turning on any lights, stumbling in the door, immediately in each other’s arms, kissing with wild abandon. Zach carried her up the stairs, but they didn’t make it to his room before they collapsed onto the floor of the hallway, making love right then and there.

“Mmmm…
zealous Zach
…”

“
Amorous Andie
…” he murmured against her lips and they laughed as they finally made their way to the bedroom.

The next morning Andie awoke to Zach bringing her breakfast in bed. The toast was cut into neat little triangles and the crust had been removed. “You have a good memory,” she said, pleased.

He climbed into bed with her and kissed her softly. Then with a boyish grin, he told her, “Guess what?”

“What?” she played along.

“I gave Janine the day off. We have the house to ourselves for the next twenty-four hours. What do you think we should do?”

His expression was positively mischievous. She raised her eyebrows at him. “I’m sure we’ll think of something.”

They did.

They ended up staying in bed all day, lounging in their pajamas, watching old movies, and making love whenever they felt like it. They snacked all day, getting crumbs in the bed and not caring. They made a huge bowl of buttery, salty popcorn and took turns throwing a piece of popcorn at each other to see if they could catch it in their mouths.

They soaked in the bathtub till the skin on their fingers turned prune-like. Then, spontaneously, they dressed in their fanciest clothes and Zach took her to an elegant restaurant. They dined over candlelight, holding hands and smiling at each other.

“I’m not sure I can choose a day, but if I had to, I’d choose today as my favorite day so far,” Andie told him, feeling a little amazed at how comfortable and relaxed she’d felt the entire day.

“I’ll agree with you there, but the day on the boat runs a very close second.”

“I can’t argue with that.” Their expressions boasted huge silly grins. “Zach, do you realize you haven’t made a business call in four, almost five days?”

“Do I own a business? I forgot. While you’re at it, what’s my name again?”

“I can’t help you. I don’t know mine either. I’ve forgotten everything but you.”

Zach tightened his hold on her hand, his demeanor utterly serious for once. “I guess now would be the right time to get down on my knees and beg you to marry me, but we’ve already done that. This has turned into an incredible honeymoon, Andie.” He paused. “Life is filled with surprises.”

“Fortuitous surprises,” she added.

“My favorite kind,” he agreed.

“You do realize half of my suitcase is filled with books. That’s why it weighed so much. I had no intention of…of…fulfilling my end of the contract during this first week.”

“I suddenly love ridiculous contracts…and fulfilling them with gusto,” he said as Andie guffawed. “Now, let’s get out of here before I embarrass you and make love to you right here in the restaurant.”

“You wouldn’t,” Andie challenged.

“Don’t test me on that,” Zach answered, pulling her close.

He waited till they got home, but this time they only made it to the living room floor with him mumbling, “I want heeerrr,” in a deep growl.

“I never should’ve told you that story…I’ll never live it down,” she said as he covered her face with kisses.

“I love it,” he murmured. “It expresses my sentiments exactly.”

They spent the night in each other’s arms once again, seemingly insatiable when it came to each other, and slept in until noon.

She awoke to find Zach dressed and awakening her with a kiss. “Hey, I’m really sorry, but I do have to make a few business calls today. I won’t be long. Do you realize we only have one and a half days left? Think about what you would like to do today, Mrs. Drake. See you in a little bit.”

Andie showered, missing Zach’s presence, dressed, and wandered downstairs. She could hear Zach’s smooth voice deep in conversation. She stood at the door and watched him for a few minutes. Her heart leapt in her chest at the sight of him, taking her slightly off guard. This was crazy, people don’t meet and fall in love like this. She didn’t believe in the whole insta-love thing. Yet things between her and Zach were good, amazingly good. When he noticed her, he smiled, a warm, welcoming smile. His eyes lit with recognition and affection, making her feel surrounded by—dare she say it—love. They were both certainly acting as though they were wildly in love with one another. But they didn’t speak of such things. This was so unexpected for both of them. Still, Andie had a feeling she knew where this relationship was going and the thought filled her with joy. She placed her hand to her lips and blew him a kiss and in response, he winked at her.