A few feet away, Hannah shivered and wrapped her arms around her body.
“Cold?”
She dropped her hands to her sides. “No.”
“Liar.”
Her mouth fell open at the insult, but Stephen grinned and she quickly shut it and shot him a look like Lizzy often did.
He gave a swift rub up and down her arms, loving the feel of her under his hands but wishing he was touching bare skin. Soft but toned, strong enough to handle horses and saddles, yet his fingers easily circled her upper arms with extra to spare.
God, he’d wanted to take her yesterday right there against the wall of the barn. Crush his mouth to hers, rip off the wet shirt that practically begged him to suck her nipples into his mouth. Even now, he imagined pulling her back and into the shadows. He’d slide his palms up slowly until they cupped her breasts, run his tongue along her throat to that spot where it met her shoulder, and—
“Stephen,” Lola sang out his name loudly from a few feet away. She’d fully embraced the chariot notion.
He made a few more passes over Hannah’s arms just because, then let go. “Better?”
She nodded, looking a little dazed. If she wasn’t warmed up, he was hot enough for both of them.
—
They met Lola’s mother at noon, an extremely appreciative woman if a bit strung out. He felt for her. A single mom, taking care of a child and all her special needs while still dealing with the everyday duties of a mother plus working. And she hadn’t been here to shop, but to apply for a better job.
Maybe he could help them out. A car payment, house payment. Hell, he could buy them a house. He’d mention it to Matt, see what his brother was working on.
“So,” he said, as they watched the two of them depart.
“So.” Hannah looked around before bringing her eyes back to his. “I planned on doing some shopping.”
“Great. I love shopping.”
She gave him a get-real look. “Don’t lie. I have four brothers.”
“Okay. I don’t mind shopping. In fact, I need something for my sister. I guess you being a girl and all, you’d have some insight.”
“Maybe. Do you have any ideas?”
“Nope. I’ll leave that to you.” And leave the day open to spend with Hannah.
It was fun trying to win her affections, having to work for it. He was surprised he even remembered how. They crossed the closest arching bridge to the side more heavily strewn with shops and restaurants and started their hunt. Beneath them, ducks and koi paddled for food, conveniently sold by the handful from nearby dispensers.
They moved in and out of shops easily, neither feeling the need to fill every silence. Soap and candles, stationery and handbags. Just outside a bookstore, two kids raced past decked out in cowboy hats, leather fringed shirts, and boots. He slipped an arm around Hannah’s waist to guide her out of their erratic path.
“Did you ever want to be a cowboy?”
“Of course. Doesn’t everyone? And then I think it was a pirate.” He squinted one eye, making her laugh.
“You’d have made a good pirate.”
He did have a habit of taking what he wanted. “What about you?”
She smiled. “A mermaid.”
“Nice.” Very nice, actually. He could picture her swimming through the water, her mass of hair floating behind her naked body. “You could have saved me when my captors made me walk the plank.”
“Ha. Somehow I think you’d be the one doing the capturing.”
“I’d certainly be trying.” Like he was now.
“So you decided to be a legal pirate?” she teased. “Collect booty as a businessman?”
He gave her a sideways glance and grinned as they stepped into a beach-themed store. “I thought about architecture for a while,” he said as they cruised the aisles. “I always liked buildings. But I was good with numbers, so I majored in finance.” In the back of his mind he’d always thought he might end up building with his dad one day.
“I messed around, played the stock market, got lucky. I was young. I took risks, got lucky again. I graduated and got picked up by Goldman Sachs and assigned to real estate ventures. Turned out I had a knack for picking lucrative property investments. A lot of it’s research. Knowing your opponent.”
“Your opponent?” She picked up a shell-covered picture frame, put it back.
“That’s how I looked at it, like a game. Know the person or people on the other side. What they want, what they’re willing to do to win. What you’re willing to do.” In the last few years he’d been willing to do quite a bit.
She nodded and moved to another shelf. She didn’t mention his money or status. Didn’t drop any hints or fish for invitations. Maybe she didn’t know. He kind of hoped she didn’t. “What about you? Did you always want to do what you do?”
“No.”
A shadow passed through her eyes before she turned away. Quick, but he caught it.
“I always liked kids, thought about being a pediatrician maybe, but then I sort of…”
“Sort of what?”
“I sort of fell into physical therapy. It was a natural fit, then the horses. What about this?” She held up a glass wind chime.
“It’s perfect.” Without saying more, they moved to the checkout. Hannah loved what she did, he’d seen that firsthand. So why didn’t she want to talk about it?