He popped his breath. “Really old-looking, but she sure moved like a damned rabbit.”
“You think she’s really a woman?”
Shit no. For all the lavender and “darlings” and purple loafers, Lindsey Vanessen was as far from a woman as any man he’d ever known. Just thinking about him left a hole in Seth’s chest the size of a damned polo pony. “Yeah, she’s a woman all right. But I lost her.”
Lindsey stared out the window of his suite at the buds bursting on the trees. One morning of self-absorption was about all he could take. The moon made him antsy too. Almost full. He’d like to go get Jazz out of school and take him riding. The school probably wouldn’t see an afternoon on horseback as an educational experience.
Bath time. He’d run some scented water earlier, and the jasmine fragrance wafted in from the bathroom. He’d drown his sorrows. Tying up his hair, he walked to the bathroom, tossed his robe, and slipped into the steaming water. Ahhh. Good.
Would be nice to have a companion in this tub.
Don’t think about that.
His fingers drifted across his belly and combed through his pubic hair.
Wish somebody else was doing that.
Shit. Relax.
Will I ever feel like I did with Seth ever again?
“Dammit!”
He leaped to his feet in the bubbly water. Peace. He wanted peace!
His phone rang.
“Shit.” He grabbed for it, lost his balance, slipped, and hit his butt hard on the marble surround. “Ow!” He caught himself before he tumbled on the floor and managed to step out on the bath mat. He picked up the caterwauling phone, now on its third ring. “What?”
“Uh, Lindsey?”
He glanced at his phone screen, then put it back to his ear. “Hi, Bruce. Sorry, I nearly fell.”
“I should have called to warn you I was going to call.” He giggled.
Cute. “Right. What can I do for you, darling?”
“Well, you said I should call you if I wanted to ask you out on a date.”
Oh God. Could he do pale and pallid after hot and sexy? Shit, he’d best get used to it again. “When did you have in mind?”
Bruce’s voice brightened. “When are you free?”
The words popped out. “What about now? I’m free. Are you?”
“Uh, wow, yes, I can be. Something special you want to do?”
“Anything that will give me some bloody peace.”
“Hang on.” Bruce seemed to put his hand over the phone, and Lindsey heard muffled voices. “Sorry. Had to check that I can get the time off.”
Lindsey sighed. “It’s okay. I don’t want to interfere with your work. It was a harebrained idea. We can do it another time.”
“No, no. It’s fine. How about we meet at the club and I take you on a picnic? I’ll get the chef to make us up something. It’s warm today, and nothing is more peaceful than a picnic.”
Yes, counting the ants in his food was soothing. “Sounds lovely. How soon shall we meet?”
“In an hour?”
“See you there.”
Since he didn’t much care how he looked, Lindsey dressed in record time and was sitting at the bar in the club in jeans and a white cable-knit sweater, sipping a well-deserved martini, when Bruce walked in.
Bruce put a hand on his shoulder and kissed his cheek. A little presumptuous, but nice. “I like it when my dates are anxious.”
Anxious to get away from his own thoughts. “If I’ve rushed too much, I’m happy to sit here and drink while you arrange the details.”
“No, I called from home, I mean, the office to make the arrangements for food and wine. Everything should be ready.”
Lindsey chugged his vodka, pulled the olive from its stick with his teeth, and slipped off the barstool. “Lead on, Macduff.”
Bruce looked a little confused at the reference to Mr. Shakespeare but led the way to the entrance to the club, where the doorman waited with a huge basket and several side bags. Bruce inspected the contents briefly. “Good job. I’ll get the car. Wait here, dear.”
Bruce trotted off. Dear? Really? Oh hell, he just felt cynical today and, if truth be told, a touch tipsy. He didn’t usually drink much on an empty stomach and the vodka had hit hard.
The doorman smiled. “Hope you have a lovely picnic, sir.”
“Thanks. It’ll be nice to be outdoors. I spend so much time cooped up.”
“One of the reasons I like my job. Being outdoors. Where are you going for the picnic?”
“No idea. It’s all Bruce’s plan.”
“Rain Rocks is a nice area. Lots of pasture for sunlight but also trees for shade.”
“Thanks, I’ll suggest it.”
Bruce pulled up the car. He must have followed Lindsey’s lead and not trusted his car to the valet. He mentally shrugged. Nothing special about that black Mercedes. The doorman opened the trunk and put in the basket and bags. Lindsey glanced in as he walked around the car to the passenger side. Large folded blanket, a tablecloth, it looked like, and a couple of folding chairs. Good man. Bruce had thought of everything. Even some plastic rope for tying up the blankets after they’d used them.
He reached to open the door, but Bruce was right there. “Let me assist you, kind sir.”
Still cute. He slid onto the leather seat. Bruce slammed the door, and Lindsey saw him in the side mirror handing money to the doorman. Then he got into the driver’s seat, and the doorman closed the door and gave them both a quick wave.
Bruce drove to the parking lot exit. “The doorman suggested Rain Rocks. Sounds like a good spot.”
“Yes, he mentioned that to me also.”
“Rain Rocks it is.”
The drive was pleasant enough. They listened to music and chatted. Lindsey didn’t know the Rain Rocks area that well. Kind of wild, and he wasn’t that much for roughing it. He liked his sports with a lovely bar or restaurant at the end of the course. Still, it was better than sitting in his bathtub thinking about Seth. He shuddered. Just the name felt like a kick in the stomach.
“This is Rain Rocks.” Bruce pulled off the road into a flat dirt area that had tire marks, so it must be a parking lot for hikers. No vehicles were there now. Tall trees rimmed the area, with the aforementioned rocks behind. The big stones had a light-and-dark pattern that looked like raindrops, explaining the name. Pretty but isolated. Being here with someone he really wanted to be alone with would have been okay. Hmm. As it was, a picnic at the zoo might have been nice.
Bruce got out and walked toward the trunk. Lindsey sighed and slid out his side door.
Bruce unloaded all the supplies. “Shall we walk in a ways? Then we won’t be bothered if someone else comes here to park.”
Like Smokey the Bear? “Sure. Lead the way.”
Lindsey grabbed the bags and chairs while Bruce hefted the basket, tablecloth, and blanket. They walked on a rough trail for about ten minutes and got to an open clearing with a few scattered trees and forest on the other side. Far enough. He wasn’t wilderness trekking. Lindsey headed for a tree in the center of the clearing. “That looks nice.”
Bruce paused. “Oh, uh, okay. How about that tree over there?” He pointed to the far side of the clearing.