Tiny Island Summer (19 page)

“To be continued,” Charlotte whispered.

“These are beautiful, Eric,” Darcy smiled as they walked down Main Street Ashland. Painted on the sides of many of the buildings were huge murals depicting the history of the town from logging to war.

“I thought you’d like them.”

Darcy turned to face him. “Thank you for taking me here.”

Eric grabbed one of her hands, brought it to his lips, and kissed it. Darcy’s smile never faltered, even as she tried to make herself feel more for his affection than she did.

“Come on, dinner’s over here.”

Hand in hand, they walked through town toward the beautiful Hotel Chequamegon. The grand hotel sat on the lake with stunning views, of course. A maître d’ led them to the veranda, and they watched big shipping boats pass by as the sun began its descent.

“I think I could live here for years and would always want to stop and marvel at the sunset,” Darcy told Eric wistfully.

“They are pretty spectacular, aren’t they?”

“How did your deadline go?”

“Okay, I think. But I’ve been running on only a few hours of sleep for the last few days.”

“What were you working on?”

“A book proposal.”

“So you haven’t started writing yet?”

“No, not quite. But I’m getting close. And what have you been up to this week?”

“I may have found a job. I’m going out for an interview next Wednesday.”

“You are? What’s the job?”

“Running a small gallery. I know it doesn’t sound very exciting when I say it like that, but the gallery does a ton of business and they are always heading out on buying trips. The job is fifty percent travel, and, honestly, I’d love to do that.”

“Where is it?”

“London,” Darcy said sighing.

“Like the United Kingdom?”

“Yeah. I lived there for a year during college, and I’ve always wanted to go back. It’s just . . .” she trailed off.

Eric didn’t supply her with any words. She needed to process her emotions and describe them in her way.

“I guess I never thought it would be hard to leave,” she added.

Eric nodded.

“I feel like I’m having a breakup talk with you before we’ve even started,” Darcy told him.

“It’s a job interview. You might take it or you might not. I’m not going to run off screaming in the other direction,” Eric teased.

Darcy offered him a half smile. “You sure? It’s a good chance to get out. You might wish you’ve taken it.”

Eric reached across the table to grab her hand and interlock their fingers. “Never.”

Dinner came, giving them ample distraction. Eric’s intensity never wavered, and yet Darcy’s feelings did. She liked Eric, but the more she learned about him the less she understood why he was with her. Eric was mature and interesting and had lived a full life. Darcy had only just started out and already floundered. She could listen to him talk about his work and the places he’d traveled for hours on end. He had a gift for storytelling, making people and events come alive.

Even as much as Darcy liked him and as self-confident as she could pretend to be, she felt nervous and awkward with him. She didn’t know how to act around him. Eric was everything any girl was looking for, and she was a bit of a mess romantically. She worked long hours and was barely breaking even. She had no idea what her future would hold. Darcy was quite clearly in the midst of a quarter-life crisis and couldn’t seem to see her way forward.

Eric, on the other hand, had it all figured out. She couldn’t help but wonder if she had somehow bamboozled him into thinking she was much cooler than she actually was. Darcy felt unsettled about it all, and her stomach tied itself into knots. But she knew that she needed to let it all go. Darcy took in a deep breath and exhaled all her anxieties.

After dinner, Eric grabbed her hand and led her to the water. They found a picnic table and sat down on the top of it. He smiled at her and kissed her hand again before pulling her in closer with a gentle tug on the wrist. Darcy let him rest their interlocked fingers on his thigh and, quite naturally, her head fell to his shoulder. Eric turned to her then and stared deeply into her eyes. He brushed her hair behind her ear with his free hand, and then they kissed. The kiss sent tingles and shivers all through her body. It was a kiss of sweetness and promise and adoration. It was never urgent or begging or desperate like the kisses she’d shared with Ben.

When he broke away, he looked back into her eyes for reassurance. Darcy smiled in response, a smile that started with her eyes. Eric smiled too, and somehow he was transformed from beau to protector. Maybe he sensed her inner turmoil, all the things she worried about that she left unsaid. It felt nice to let him take care of her, and she couldn’t help but relax for perhaps the first time since they’d started seeing each other. He kissed her forehead, and she leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder. They sat together intimately and comfortably for a while, each lost in their own thoughts. Darcy smiled, not wanting to break the beautiful spell of the moment by raising her head from his shoulder.

“We should probably get back,” Eric began as the chilly night air began to seep into their bones.

Darcy smiled and let him grab her hand and lead her back to the car. They drove with the radio on and held hands the entire time. Eric pulled the car into her driveway and before he even parked, unease came over Darcy. They got out of the car and walked to the front door.

Eric leaned in to kiss her after she unlocked her front door. Without thinking, Darcy turned and gave him her cheek. She turned to consider him and saw equal parts hurt and confusion flash across his eyes. A question that didn’t need to be asked hung in the night air between them. Darcy shook her head dismissively.

“Sorry, Charlotte’s watching,” Darcy whispered and blushed furiously.

“You don’t want to give her a show,” Eric teased, quickly returning to his jovial self with her explanation.

Darcy smiled back. “Not tonight,” she replied.

Eric gently stroked her arms. “When can I see you again?” he asked her.

Darcy shivered at his touch. “Sunday? Do you want to come over for dinner with John and Char? I’d like you to get to know them.”

“Sunday it is,” he said with a smile.

Eric dropped his hands and paused. He’d given her a moment to reconsider her no kissing on the front porch position. Darcy wanted to leap into his arms yet at the same time she wanted to run up the stairs. She didn’t know which one she wanted more, so she forced herself to stay in place.

“Bye,” she whispered.

Darcy watched Eric get back in his car and drive away. With a sigh, she turned and walked into her house and upstairs. She’d slipped out of her clothes and drawn a bath when Char burst in.

“What the—” Darcy shrieked and drew her knees to her chest in an effort to maintain some modesty.

“Oh please. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” Char replied dismissively, sitting on the lid of the toilet. “But what on earth was that?”

At Darcy’s aghast look, Char continued. “Hey, I heard enough. With the windows open there are no secrets for one hundred miles.”

“I knew you were spying.”

“Of course I am. We’ve barely talked about this guy. I need to get my information where and how I can.”

Darcy rolled her eyes at Char’s dramatics. “Sorry, forgot to include you in my relationship.”

“So it is a relationship then?” Char raised an eyebrow but kept her tone even.

Darcy narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

“I don’t know. I like him a lot but the timing feels off. I’m leaving in a week.”

“I’ve been thinking about that.”

“And?”

“Be sure you’re not running away. Make sure that taking this job is one hundred percent what you want to do.”

“I know, I agree,” Darcy blew out a sigh.

“You’ve got to stop analyzing everything. You will never be happy if you keep doing that. Life is not always about being cautious and circumspect. Sometimes you’ve got to live.”

“And what does that mean exactly?”

“Maybe you need to address whatever is going on between you and Ben.”

“Nothing.”

Char eyed her skeptically. “I’m going to bed. It sounds like we’re spending our weekend cleaning and cooking for this double date on Sunday.”

“Oh yeah, sorry about that.”

“It’s fine. I would like to get to know him better.”

Char walked out and Darcy tried to relax in the bath. But the water had grown cold, and she couldn’t stop her mind from racing. What was going on between her and Eric? Did she want to be with him or with Ben? Did Ben even care anymore? He seemed to have a never-ending string of women. Darcy had no desire to fall into that mess. Did she want the London job truly, or was it a chance to run away?

She’d gone from years with no dating to a sudden swell of social activity. It overwhelmed her and the only option was a sleepless night.

“Is this your move then? Crashing a double date?” John asked as Ben grabbed the bottle of wine off their kitchen counter.

“You said to make a move. You didn’t specify how,” Ben replied.

“I guess at least you’re not bringing a girl with you,” John said, narrowing his eyes. “This time.”

“It is a nice change of pace, isn’t it?” Ben asked, smirking.

John shook his head.

“It’s not like I’m coming empty handed. I had to drive out to Washburn for this.”

John didn’t respond. Not that Ben expected him to, inviting himself along to be a fifth wheel was an uncharacteristic and unexpected move. Ben would never have imagined doing something like this. But he had to do something. He couldn’t let her end up with that guy.

“Please, don’t try to punch him. He’s okay,” John said, his eyes narrowing.

“But if I put him in a hospital bed, at least he couldn’t be showing you up in the sweet boyfriend department.”

John snorted.

“Don’t try to put this all on me,” Ben continued. “You’d rather have me dating Darcy for your own benefit.”

“Maybe,” John agreed. “Come on, let’s go.”

“You think I should show up before the guy? Won’t she just kick me out?”

“No, never. Darcy is far too polite for that.”

Ben followed his brother out the front door and over next door. John rang the doorbell and after a moment, Charlotte answered. She smiled as John walked in and kissed her on the cheek. When she caught sight of Ben, he jaw dropped. Before she could comment, Darcy called to her.

“Char, can you help me with the door?” she asked.

Ben slid around Char and walked into the kitchen. Char gasped but Darcy didn’t even notice. Darcy thanked him without glancing up and continued on her way.

“Ben, are you sure this is the best idea?” Charlotte whispered over to him as Darcy set the table on the patio.

Ben kept his eyes on Darcy. She moved as if in a dance, setting the table with vases and glasses and dishes and lighting a million votive candles and bug torches. He’d never noticed how graceful she was before; her skirt twirled as she moved. He’d also never seen her dressed up, but he couldn’t deny she looked good in the dress that grazed her midthigh and exposed her entire back. She had her dark hair down and it rippled in loose waves over her back. She’d always had a ponytail, whenever he saw her. He had no idea it hung a few inches beneath her shoulders. Seeing her now reminded him of the idiot guy in a teen movie who doesn’t realize how beautiful the girl is until she takes off her glasses. He was that idiot guy.

Perhaps feeling his eyes on her, Darcy turned around with a sudden jolt and froze. Ben smiled and held up the bottle of wine he’d brought, offering it to her.

“Here she comes,” Char said, alerting him.

“Char, help me out here. Where is the corkscrew?” he whispered.

Darcy walked in before Char could pass it to him.

“Hi Ben,” she said, biting her lip and shifting her weight from foot to foot. “Um. I’m kind of surprised you’re here.”

“Do you want a glass of wine?” he asked, uncorking the bottle and pouring her a glass before she could say no.

He poured another for himself smoothly, raised it, inclined his head to her and took a drink. Darcy looked very put out. Adorably so to Ben’s way of thinking, but he could see frustration creasing her brow.
            “Here Char,” Darcy offered the drink to her friend as she passed by.

“How can I help?” Ben asked.

Darcy opened her mouth and shut it several times. No doubt, she was trying to figure out how to dissuade him from the evening. John was right. Her good manners wouldn’t let her kick out a surprise guest. No matter how unwanted the surprise might be.

She walked over to the fridge, pulled out a salad and butter, grabbed a loaf of bread off the counter and handed it all to Ben. He struggled to balance everything and his wine, finally putting his glass down on the counter.

“Char, please take out another place setting and find another chair. And John, I have some food for you to take out too. Do you mind manning the grill?” Darcy barked out orders.

Ben shared a secret smile with John as he walked outside to deposit his goods. John shook his head slightly, as if to tell him not to press his luck. But Ben couldn’t help but grin, feeling like he’d won a battle somehow. Those feelings quickly evaporated, however, when he heard the doorbell ring. Even though he stood outside, the screen doors and windows made secrets of any sort impossible.

He clenched his jaw and began to grind his molars. Unbidden, he found himself moving back inside through the kitchen. Ben watched as Darcy floated to the front door, opened it, and greeted Eric with a hug and a quick kiss. He’d brought her flowers and she cooed over them as she led him into the kitchen, his hand grazing her waist the entire time.

Ben knew the moment his presence registered, he watched as Eric’s grip on Darcy went from lazy to possessive. Darcy must have felt it too. She stopped in place.

“Good evening,” Ben said, grinning from ear to ear.

“Oh, right. Eric this is John’s brother Ben, Ben this is Eric,” Darcy supplied.

Eric assessed Ben openly, he returned Ben’s smile but it didn’t reach his eyes. Clearly, he was on high alert. But Ben felt stupidly pleased with himself. She hadn’t called Eric her boyfriend.