The square, slightly yellowed picture was of a riverbank. In the frame was a signpost, the words LOWER CREEK carved into the wood. On the back, in loopy script, someone had written “our spot.” Nothing else. And after reading the diary, which could have been labeled as the most amazing love story ever told, I wanted to know more. I’d felt a need unlike any other to find out all I could about the people in the journal, and thanks to the landmark in the photo, I had a starting point.
Using what was written on the signpost, plus as many other keywords as I could think of to narrow the results, I ended up here. Technically, there were several locations that the search engine had generated. Yet for some reason, I was continually enticed back to this one, even though that particular stretch of the river no longer existed. Lower Creek and other portions of the area were lost when they redirected the water flow for the reservoir.
It wasn’t like any of that was too far out of the ordinary. Definitely nothing that deterred me or made me stop and question it. Neither was finding this resort. And when I discovered that they had one cabin available, I considered myself lucky. Even luckier that it was one of the cheaper ones thanks to its lack of a lakeside view. I didn’t once question the chances of there being a vacancy over a major holiday, not even after Drew had told me that this was their busiest week of the entire year.
In fact, it wasn’t until this very moment that any of it felt coordinated by powers beyond my control. Like a perfectly composed script that had already been penned, and I was only here to play the part. It was as if Fate had schemed with Destiny, devising this elaborate plot just to bring us together.
I had no way of knowing if Drew was my soulmate. These deep, unfamiliar feelings could’ve easily been dismissed as intense, emotionally-driven lust masking as something more profound, something divine. Or maybe I was on a high from the storm and the setting and his closeness as we lay in front of the fire.
Then again, he could’ve possibly been behind on getting his chimney swept, and we were both slowly being poisoned by carbon monoxide. At least with this option, we’d know soon enough.
I pushed up on my knees and craned my neck to peer around the corner, trying to see where Drew had disappeared to. Except I couldn’t see anything; the hallway was dark and quiet. So I stood and slowly made my way toward the back of the house, which was where I’d changed my clothes after we got inside.
Before I reached the end of the hallway, I found him in his bedroom, standing in front of a wall of windows. The room was dark, the sky outside was a gloomy composition of night and storm clouds. But every couple of seconds, brightness flashed through the glass and lit up the space around him. There were windows in the living room, but I hadn’t seen one blip of lightning since the thunder stopped. Yet here it was, hypnotizing him while he stared outside as if in a trance.
I made my way to him, not purposely keeping quiet yet not making any effort to ensure I was heard, either. As soon as I settled at his side, another burst of light dashed across the sky, casting our reflection onto the windowpane. However, it almost looked as though we were two different people. The likeness was obvious, except something about the image that flashed in front of us made me feel like it wasn’t a reflection but a picture. A hologram.
Then again, it had only lasted a split second. There was no way to know what I had seen in such a short amount of time. Not to mention, I was still in Drew’s clothes, so it was entirely possible that I just didn’t recognize myself.
I began to give more credence to the carbon monoxide theory.
It started to make a lot of sense—and it would explain so much.
Without looking at me, Drew found my hand and laced our fingers together. “It’s so beautiful, isn’t it?”
The scene in front of me was more than beautiful. I didn’t have words for it. As each flicker of lightning shot through the sky, it painted more and more of the picture past the window. A smoky haze smudged the reservoir's surface; beyond that was the mountainside, dotted with dark-green trees. And the sky, between flashes, was brushed with strokes of greys.
“It’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen,” I finally said, even though I wasn’t sure he could even hear me. My words were soft and filled with air. “I would give up almost anything to have this as my view every day.”
Realizing what I’d said, I quickly closed my mouth and began to nibble on the inside of my cheek. With each passing day, each memorable night, the prospect of leaving became harder and harder. In less than a week, I’d fallen in love with this piece of earth tucked into the side of this mountain. There was no denying any of that. But I had no intention of moving here, and I worried that I’d given Drew the impression that I was waiting for him to ask me to stay.
That would be utterly preposterous.
First of all, if I wanted to live here, I’d do it on my own. I wouldn’t need to be asked or invited. Very few things in life required permission; beyond that, I believed people should do what they wanted. Secondly, I wasn’t the type of girl to make life-long decisions based on a guy. Actually, I wasn’t the type of girl to even make non-consequential decisions based on one, either. My grandmother had raised my mom on her own, and my mom had done the same with me. I was never brought up believing that I needed a man for anything—other than the obvious, but even that had workarounds.
Although, right now, I doubted a workaround would scratch the itch Drew caused.
“I designed it this way for that exact reason,” he said, his voice sounding closer than before. And when I turned my head to the side, I understood why—he was looking right at me. “I knew I would need reasons to stay other than making my dad happy. And this view serves that purpose. I insisted on floor-to-ceiling windows in here, because staring at four walls made me feel even more trapped. At least this way, I have some sense of freedom…even if it is a smokescreen.”
With my left hand still entwined with his, I lifted my right and grazed his cheekbone with the tips of my fingers, as though wiping away an invisible tear. It wasn’t until he pivoted on his feet to completely face me that I realized I had, at some point, turned my entire body toward him.
Even in the dark room, I could see that his eyes were locked on mine. I could practically feel his touch all over, even though he was only physically touching my hand and barely my hip. The only other part of us with physical contact was my hand on his face, which now cupped his cheek. Regardless, I felt his touch everywhere.
Erotic warmth sizzled in the air around us, while at the same time, innate confidence charged through me. It filled my chest, making it easier to breathe than ever before. And it didn’t stop there. I felt weightless, as if I would float away if he let me go yet completely grounded at the same time. As though inherent certainty rooted my feet to the floor.
Taking control of the situation, Drew tightened his hold on my hip and pulled me into him. Then his lips were on mine. And like he had attempted to do earlier at the waterfall, he pressed me against the window, though this time, having a solid surface to do so.
Using his pelvis to pin my lower half to the cold glass, he released my hip and grabbed my free hand. With his fingers intertwined with mine, he lifted my arms to either side of my head, not once pulling his lips away. Now he had me completely pressed against his hard body.