On the counter sat a bottle of Bartolo Mascarello’s 2008 Barbera d’Alba, a medium-bodied red that wouldn’t be overwhelmed by the strong flavors in the burgers. A Duke Ellington album he’d bought on iTunes earlier that afternoon was playing on the iPod.
He was nervous, and not exactly sure why. He and Allie had had a nice day together yesterday and again today. After a run and swim that morning, they’d packed lunch and driven around to the east side of the lake for a short hike at Shelving Rock Falls, an easy three-and-a-half-mile round-trip, but a beautiful one, with spectacular views. He hadn’t done that trail since he was a kid. Allie had seemed fairly relaxed, though he still had the feeling she was holding back, reluctant to open up about herself. Whether from fear or reticence, he wasn’t sure.
Everything she did say seemed to come straight from her heart or her funny bone. Spending time with her made him realize too many of his interactions with friends and colleagues were superficial and serious. One of the reasons he enjoyed Sandra was how much she made him laugh. But apart from her, he’d somehow lost touch with the fun people in his life.
God forbid he turn into his father, obsessed with his studies, socializing only with other serious academics, attending parties with what seemed to be a permanent scowl. Dad had even been somber and intense about golf and tennis. Did he ever cut loose? Jonas couldn’t imagine.
With Allie, Jonas was rediscovering—or maybe discovering for the first time—a more playful part of himself.
After the hike, Allie had retreated to the attic. Jonas had been restless, unable to sunbathe, read, nap or find anything to do that satisfied him. When he found out Erik and Sandra were taking off tonight, the idea of cooking dinner for Allie in the cottage came to him, and he’d jumped at the chance to shop for groceries. When that wasn’t enough, he’d gone for another run, not very far, but fast. He’d needed to strain his muscles, to blow out some of this extra energy. He’d needed space to clear his head and try to figure out what the hell was going on.
It wasn’t like him to be so unsettled.
Was it just that Allie had awakened the sexual beast that had been more or less dormant since Missy? In the last couple of days, since their erotic encounter on the deck, Allie had put distance between them, and he’d been nearly crazed with the desire to touch her, as much as he enjoyed her company on every other level. Maybe sexual frustration was building in him retroactively, from the long spell between partners, and he—
“Hello.”
Jonas started, then turned sheepishly, embarrassment changing to ridiculous pleasure at the sight of her. Allie was dressed simply in a yellow and white vintage linen dress over some kind of gold camisole. Her wheat-colored hair was swept up and pinned at the back of her neck. Her tanned skin made her hazel eyes even more vivid. She looked sophisticated and elegant. His heart gave a painful thump. He wanted to kiss her. Badly. Instead he saluted her with the charcoal lighter as if it were a sword. “Hi.”
“Sorry I startled you.”
“No problem. I was pondering briquets.”
“How deep.” She looked over his blue shorts and casual white shirt in a hungry way that probably mirrored how Jonas had been looking at her.
Did he say he wanted to kiss her? Make that he really, really wanted to kiss her. Keeping himself from attacking her today had been physically painful.
But okay, he’d play it her way for now. They had two more nights this week before he left. He’d already decided to come up again next weekend so they could have two more. He could afford to be patient a while longer.
Then it would be his turn.
“Have fun in the attic this afternoon?”
“Ohhh, yes.”
Just the way she said those two words made his cock stir. Plenty of women had turned him on, though he’d dated only two seriously, but none of them had engendered such a fierce, primal response from him. Allie wasn’t the outwardly sexiest or most beautiful, but there was something about her that had pushed too many other thoughts out of his head, and made him want to alternately ravish and protect her.
Maybe she represented some fantasy come to life. Maybe he was secretly turned on by his great-grandmother....
Suppressing a snort of laughter, he led her over to the table on the deck where he’d set up the evening’s beverages. “Glass of wine? Gin and tonic? First one then the other?”
“A gin and tonic would be perfect. Great summer drink.”
“I agree.” He plunked ice cubes into two tumblers, splashed in some gin and a squeeze of lime, and filled up the rest of the glass with tonic, wondering what she had planned for tonight and whether he’d survive waiting to find out. “Here you go.”
“Thank you.” She lifted her glass to his, her eyes dancing. “Here’s to today.”
“Today.” He gestured her to sit. “Nice memories in that chair.”
“So there are.” She flashed him a sexy look and sat, crossing her thighs, reminding him of how she’d crossed her ankles so primly last time. Was this Allie more relaxed or a different character altogether? For a second he thought he saw something glint between her legs—he was a guy, of course he’d looked.
If she were any other woman, he’d be thinking glitter panties? What the hell?
But with Allie, he couldn’t wait to find out.
“Jonas. It’s truth-telling time.”
“My truth or yours?” He sat in the chair next to hers, nodding when she pointed at him. “Okay. What do you want to know?”
“How many women you’ve had here.”
“Had here like brought up to visit?”
“No, had like had.”
“Hmm.” Jonas put down his drink and pretended to count on his fingers, then switched hands, then switched back. “One.”
“One?” She laughed in surprise. “No way.”
“What did you expect?”
“I don’t know. It seems like the perfect place for girlfriends.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” Part of him contracted into anger.
“But you never brought them here? How come?”
“My parents. Nice people, but very critical, controlling and very particular. Around them my friends were on eggshells, always afraid of doing the wrong thing.” He smirked. “Erik was lucky, he didn’t care.”
“You did.”