Chapter Fourteen
THE NEXT MORNING Jenna lay on her side watching Pete’s chest rise and fall as he slept in her bed. She’d been watching him since before the sun came up, partially because she was still in shock that he was finally in her bed and partially because she couldn’t fathom a time when they weren’t together. They were so in sync with each other’s thoughts and desires. Not only in the bedroom, but even at the barbecue last night. It was like Pete instinctively knew when she was chilly, and he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. When she was talking to Bella and Amy about her mother arriving in two days for a visit, he’d rubbed her shoulders, as if he knew the conversation was stressful for her. She’d never felt so comfortable with anyone, or with herself.
She cuddled up against his warmth, trying to move quietly so as not to wake Joey, who was sleeping on a doggie bed that Pete had brought with them. Pete was wearing only a pair of black boxer briefs, with the sheets bunched up around his hips. Jenna took full advantage, drinking in every inch of him while he was unaware. His shoulders and chest looked enormous as he lay on his back with his heels hanging off the end of the bed. She’d always known her cottage was small, but last night they’d begun making love in the living room and had to move into the bedroom for lack of space. He somehow magnified how small three hundred and fifty square feet really was.
He draped an arm over her back and pulled her against him. “How long are you going to stare at me?”
“Your eyes have been closed. How could you possibly know I was staring at you?”
“Babe, I can feel the heat of your stare almost as sharply as I can feel the heat of your body.” He kissed her and pulled her on top of him. “That’s better.”
“How am I supposed to stalk you if you can tell when I’m doing it?”
“Stalk me?” He arched a brow, and he looked so sexy all sleepy she could barely stand it.
She kissed his chest. “Yeah, sneak peeks at you, take my fill of all these glorious muscles.” She moved farther down his stomach and kissed the ripples of his abs. “And all this pleasure.”
AFTER PETE AND Jenna showered together, Jenna made coffee and toast while Pete scrambled eggs. The radio was on in the bedroom, and Jenna danced as she moved around the kitchen, humming as she spread Luscious Leanna’s watermelon jam on the toast. Jenna tried to bump his hip with hers, but their height difference was too great. She nearly gave him a charley horse. He pulled her into a hug and laughed.
“Are you always this chipper in the morning?” He’d wanted to spend the day with Jenna, but he worried about smothering her.
“Most of the time, but I think this is the Pete afterglow.” She pressed her hands to his waist and kissed his solar plexus, then pushed away to retrieve mugs and plates from the cabinets. She smiled up at him with so much warmth in her eyes that smothering didn’t seem like it would be an issue.
Last night he’d seen the worry in her eyes, and he’d heard it in her voice when she was talking about her mother coming to visit. Despite what he knew must be eating her up inside, she was humming and smiling like her life was peachy. Her mother was arriving tomorrow, and he wanted nothing more than to take her mind off of it for a while.
“I have a great idea. How about if we spend the day in Martha’s Vineyard? I can reschedule the boat repair I have scheduled, and you said you weren’t planning much today anyway.”
Jenna turned with wide eyes. “Believe it or not, I’ve never been to Martha’s Vineyard.”
“I know. That’s why I asked.”
“You know?”
“Just because we weren’t dating doesn’t mean I didn’t pay attention to the things you did and said.”
“See? Just one more reason I’m drawn to you like fish to water. I’d love to go, but are you sure you can delay a boat repair? That sounds pretty important.”
Her hair was still wet from their shower. He moved a few strands that were clinging to her chest over her shoulder and tucked her hair behind her ear.
“You’re important, and we have a lot of years to make up for. I need to clean the pool here—it is Tuesday, after all—but then I’ll clear my schedule and we can go.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her again.
“Can we bring Joey?”
She and Pete had taken Joey for a walk earlier, after they’d finally pried themselves from each other’s arms and gotten up for the day. He loved that she thought of his adorable pup. “We can, but if you’d rather not, I’m sure I can wrangle someone to keep an eye on her.”
Jenna crouched beside Joey and petted her head. “Aw, poor Joey. Look at her. She doesn’t want to be pawned off on someone else.” She kissed the pup’s nose. “Do you, Joey? You want to come with us and spend the day in the sun, walking around, sniffing strangers and being too cute for words.” Jenna tilted Joey’s face up toward Pete. “Tell him, Joey. Tell Daddy you want to come with us.”
As if on cue, Joey barked.
Pete lifted Jenna to her feet and kissed her. “Nothing would make me happier than spending the entire day with my two best girls.” Pete didn’t tell her that tonight was the annual Illumination Night on Martha’s Vineyard, a night where all the lights in a neighborhood called the Campground were turned off and paper lanterns lit the streets and cottages. He knew Jenna would be blown away by the magical evening, and he couldn’t wait to experience it with her.
Almost four hours later, after a forty-five-minute drive to Woods Hole and a ferry ride that took equally as long to reach the Vineyard, they parked Pete’s truck and meandered through the crowded streets and quaint shops. Like many Cape towns, the shops were mostly shingle sided, and they were decorated with an island feel. Most boasted aged wooden floors, and some had narrow staircases that led up to a second floor. No matter what the store, Jenna wanted to explore every inch. Pete wasn’t a big shopper, and he didn’t care for crowds, but as they walked hand in hand beneath the summer sun, moving in and out of stores at Jenna’s whim with Joey trotting happily by their side, he realized that it didn’t matter where they were or what they were doing. Being with Jenna felt good.
Her eyes lit up as she inspected everything from knickknacks to kitchen items. He took pleasure in the little things that were unique to Jenna—the way she squeezed his hand when she saw something she loved and how she slipped one finger into the waistband of his shorts and pressed her other hand to his abs when she wanted his attention. It felt like they’d been a couple forever, and he wished they had.
He wished he’d looked past everything else, and they’d come together before his mother had died, so Jenna could have known her. Heck, he wished for that time back so he and Jenna could have had time together before his father lost himself to the disease that changed both their lives.
Jenna sifted through sarongs in an eclectic little clothing shop, swooping one after another around her neck with dramatic flair as she pranced a short path in front of Pete, batting her eyelashes and putting her palms up toward the ceiling.
“Blue? Green? Yellow?” She fingered the edges of the colorful sarongs.
“I love the green.”
She frowned. “I like the blue.”
He laughed. Only Jenna would ask and then dispute the answer. “The blue is beautiful. It sets off your eyes.”
Jenna wrinkled her brow. “But the yellow will go with my yellow bikini.”
Pete reached for her hand and led her to the cashier. “We’ll take all three.” He pulled out his wallet.
“Oh, no.” She began unwinding the vibrant material from her body. “I can’t afford—”
Pete unwrapped the sarongs, folded them neatly, and set them on the desk beside the cash register. He handed his credit card to the cashier, a gray-haired woman with bright blue eyes and weathered cheeks.
“Pete, you can’t buy all of them.”
He draped an arm over her shoulder. “I think I just did.”
“Petey…thank you.” She hooked her finger in his shorts.
The nickname no longer struck him as out of place. It claimed him as hers, and he liked that.
THEY WALKED AROUND until the sun went down, and then they got takeout to eat in the park with Joey. It was intimate and romantic. Pete had ordered dinner for the two of them, and as he handed Jenna her dinner, she was surprised by what he’d chosen for her—oysters on the half shell and a chicken Caesar salad. Two of her favorite foods.
“How did you know exactly what I’d want?” She watched a smile curl his lips.
“I told you before, just because we weren’t dating didn’t mean I wasn’t paying attention. I adore you, Jenna, and I guess that my mind must have known that before my heart caught on, or the other way around. You know what I mean.” He leaned in for a kiss.
She thought she must have died and gone to heaven. All those years she thought he hadn’t paid much attention to her, and meanwhile he was memorizing her likes and dislikes?
“What do you think of the Vineyard?” he asked.
“Amazing, but I’m glad this was my first time. Now we have something that’s ours. Or at least in my memory it is.” She put her hand on his thigh, worrying over the question she couldn’t keep from asking. “Have you…taken many women here?” What is wrong with me?
“Eh, I guess I bring a different woman about every other week or so.” He sipped his drink, and Jenna’s heart sank.
He set his drink down and cupped her cheeks in his hands. “You’re a goof. Do you think I’d take you someplace I made a habit out of taking other women? What do I have to do to prove how different you are?” He kissed her, and the zing Jenna had come to love warmed her all over. “The last time I was here was a few years ago with Sky. I brought her the summer after she graduated from college.”
She poked him in the side. “Don’t do that to me. In fact, if I ever ask you something stupid like that and the answer is not something I would want to hear, lie to me, okay?”
He shook his head. “No can do. I’m not a liar.”
She loved that about him. They poured more water into Joey’s water bowl and watched families stroll around the park.
“So, when are you going to fess up to turning off your hot water so I’d come over and fix it?”
She nearly choked on her drink. She swallowed the liquid and blinked away the surprise. “Excuse me? I didn’t turn off my hot water.”
He arched a brow. “Jenna, I was there, remember? I fixed it?”
“I swear I didn’t do that. I even checked the fuse box to make sure it hadn’t flicked off.”
“Tripped.” He flashed a sweet smile.
“Whatever. Do you really think I’d take a shower at Bella’s if I could have—Oh my gosh.” She narrowed her eyes. “We’ve been had.”
“We have?”
“I didn’t do it, but I’d bet a million dollars that Bella and Amy did. Or at least Bella. They were less than pleased when I asked Charlie out.”
“Well, then, I’ll have to thank them.”
She remembered her towel falling and the way Pete had looked over her butt, all the while causing her entire body to catch flames. She thought she might just have to thank them, too.
“I wasn’t pleased about you asking him out either.”
She snuggled into his side. “Who are you kidding? If I hadn’t asked him out, you might never have been interested in me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. I have always been interested in you. If I wasn’t interested, would I know that your favorite color is orange? Or that the dinner we’re eating is your favorite? Would I know that on Tuesday mornings you peek at me from around the side of your cottage? Or that you’re afraid of sharks? Would I know that you secretly wish you could go out on the sand barge with the seals when they gather at low tide on the beach near P-town—regardless of the ten-thousand-dollar fine if you’re caught?”
Holy cow. “Pete? How do you know all that?”
He ran his finger down her cheek. “Because during all those get-togethers, the only thing that interested me was you. I might look like I’m a million miles away, but my mind has always been on you, Jenna. Just you.” He pressed his lips to hers in a sweet kiss.
“I never knew.” Oh, how she wished she had. Maybe she wouldn’t have been so nervous around him. “You said, just me, but at the Beachcomber you were all over that blonde.”
Pete smiled and turned away.
“This is one of those times when you should lie to me.” Jealousy sliced through her.
Pete moved closer and set their food aside; then he pulled Jenna’s legs over his and wrapped her in his arms. “Babe, I have some fessing up of my own to do, and it’s a little embarrassing.”
Jenna braced herself for a blow. “If you slept with her, please lie to me.” She heard the fear in her own voice.
He shook his head. “She’s only a friend, babe. But I did something that I probably shouldn’t have. You were with that guy, and it made me insanely jealous.”
“I like where this is going.” Jenna smiled and ran her finger along his lower lip.
Pete’s eyes went dark.
“Keep going.” She could tell by the way his mouth twitched that he was embarrassed about whatever he was going to reveal, even if he was staring at her like he wanted to devour her.
He touched his forehead to hers. “I feel like a stupid teenager.” He shook his head. “Here goes. I asked her to make you jealous so you would want me as badly as I wanted you.”
Jenna threw her head back with a loud laugh. Her hand flew to her mouth. “You tried to make me jealous? Me? The woman who has been trying to get your attention forever?”
He looked away. “I’m not proud of it.”
“Well, it worked. She basically told me that you were an animal in bed. I thought she’d slept with you, and between that and your comment about erotic, sensual sex…”
A coy grin curved his lips. “Promises, not comments. I got your attention.”
She kissed his chin. “Petey, you had my attention the first time you cleaned the pool in that white tank top and black board shorts, with your John Lennon sunglasses.”
Pete laughed. “You remember my round sunglasses?”
“There are so many things about you that I’ll never forget. And the list just keeps getting longer and longer.”
AN HOUR LATER they were standing at the edge of the crowded Tabernacle in the Campground neighborhood of Oak Bluffs, where Illumination Night was taking place. The Tabernacle was surrounded by small cottages decorated elaborately with flowers and brightly colored paper lanterns hanging from their eaves and off the porch railings. The cottages were built very closely together, boasting vibrant colors, peaks adorned with gingerbread, and decks complete with fancy balusters. Children played on the lawns, light sticks glowing like sabers in the darkness, as people of all ages sang and moved to the melody beneath dozens of paper lanterns that hung from the rafters and on the railings of the Tabernacle.
Pete watched Jenna’s eyes widen as she took in the enormous wooden Tabernacle. A band played on a stage beneath the high ceiling, and the crowd began to sing “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.” She gasped an excited breath, and he was glad that he hadn’t ruined the surprise by telling her about it ahead of time. Her hand flew to her chest, and she opened her mouth to say something to Pete, who could do little more than beam at her delight. She didn’t say a word. Her eyes shifted back to the crowd, and a few minutes later she joined the crowd in singing, “Someone’s in the Kitchen with Dinah.”
Jenna wrapped her arms around Pete’s waist and gazed up at him. Joey wagged her tail at their feet. “What is all of this?”
“It’s called Illumination Night. It’s an annual event put on by the Camp Meeting Association. They don’t publicize it to try to keep crowds to a minimum.” He watched her as she turned slowly around, taking in the interesting architecture of the two-story cottages. “Back in the 1800s, when the Tabernacle was first built, Methodists gathered here and held their annual meetings. They camped back then, and over the years they replaced the campsites with these cottages.”
“Why are the roads so narrow?”
“Because they were made to fit horse-drawn buggies.”
The crowd sang “Yankee Doodle,” and then the din of the crowd quieted, calling Jenna’s attention back to the Tabernacle. The band silenced, and all eyes were drawn to the stage, where two men, one older and one about Pete’s age, lit a paper lantern. As if the lighting of the lantern controlled the electricity in the entire neighborhood, as soon as the lantern was lit, all of the lights in the neighborhood went off. A collective gasp rose from the crowd as the paper lanterns bloomed to life, illuminating the Tabernacle, cottages, and streets in bubbles of color and magic.
Jenna inhaled loudly, her eyes opened wide as she tugged on Pete’s shirt. “Petey, take a picture. Quick, before the lights go back on.”
He already had his cell phone in hand, clicked a picture, and captured Jenna’s excitement. He bent down so their cheeks were pressed together and snapped another picture; then he kissed her lips. Joey crawled up their legs and they crouched beside her, getting her in the shot. Jenna laughed and made faces as he snapped a few more; then her eyes grew serious and she pressed her small, soft hands to his cheeks.
“It’s not this place that’s magical, Pete. It’s you. It’s always been you.”