Caroline

Chapter 15

Caroline's eyes fluttered open. The room was dark and still, but something felt off. A rustling noise beside her jolted her mind awake, and she remembered.

"Hey, sleepy head," Derek's voice said softly in her ear. "Are you feeling better now?"

Was she? She couldn't say that she was feeling anything at that moment, other than an acute sense of unreality. Slowly, she shifted to face him. The lamp that had been on when she'd arrived was off now, but there was just enough glow from a light ouside the room, barely visible through gaps between the curtains, that she could see his shadowy outline.

"What time is it?" she asked, her voice still raspy from crying and sleep.

"Nearly seven. You were out for about four hours."

"Four... you let me sleep for four hours?"

"You looked like you needed it," he chuckled. Then, softly again, "So did I. It felt good to have you beside me again. I haven't been sleeping well since you left."

"You don't take naps," she accused.

"Didn't," he corrected. "Apparently, that's one more thing about me that's changed."

She shook her head, then felt his fingers search for her lips, and lightly press them closed. "You haven't had enough time with the new me to form an opinion yet. And I haven't had enough time to properly convince you. What do you say I take you out to dinner and we can talk some more? Only, we'd better get a move on, 'cause I think this town rolls up the sidewalks at night."

"More like dusk," she muttered through his fingers, then pushed them away from her mouth. He took the opportunity to twine their fingers together. "But I think at least one of the restaurants stays open later for the tourists."

"Mind your eyes." He switched the lamp on. Caroline turned her face away from the light and blinked. When she turned back, Derek was looking at her with a half smile. "You're always beautiful in the morning."

She huffed and pulled her hand away from his to help herself sit up. "It isn't morning."

"After sleeping, then. There's a softness..." He reached for her face, but she pulled away.

"Do you mind if I take the bathroom first?" she asked with a false brightness as she rose from the bed. "Girl bladder."

He smiled at the reference to a long-standing joke between them. "Go right ahead, m'lady," he responded, with a flourish of his hand. "As always, you have priority."

She couldn't stop the small snort that escaped her as she ducked past the door, then closed it. As she had in the car, she took ten slow breaths. Feeling a bit steadier, she fumbled for the light switch and flicked it on. The harsh fluorescent light caused her to wince, and then the sight of herself in the mirror caused her to groan. Derek had thought this was beautiful? The man's lying had clearly reached the point of being pathological.

After tending to her "girl bladder," she attempted to make herself presentable again. Makeup had become less of a priority over the past few months, and she had worn none since moving to the mountains. Her biggest concern was a pillow crease on one cheek. She gave it a brisk rub with a damp washcloth, then wiped the rest of her face. A few finger strokes through her hair, and she was as "done" as she was going to be. Derek's opinion of her appearance mattered considerably less to her now than it once had. She opened the door to find him sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at his phone.

"Your turn," she said. Then, nodding toward his phone, asked, "Everything ok?"

"Checking up on work," he said, still scanning the display. "I left in kind of a hurry. Need to make sure things are still moving forward while I'm gone."

"Ah..."

He lowered the phone then, and looked at her. "You don't believe me". It wasn't a question.

She shrugged. "It's really none of my business any more."

Solemnly, he held the phone out to her.

"You don't..." She began, waving him off. But he took one of her hands and placed the phone in it.

"You do. How can I prove anything to you if you won't look?"

Surprised by how adamant he was, she took the phone and reluctantly glanced at it. The displayed text was very much work related.

"Go ahead. Search through it all." Judging by the tone of his voice, he knew one brief look wasn't enough to convince her.

"Derek, no..."

"I'll just take care of things in here, so you don't have to be self conscious. " He stepped into the bathroom and closed the door.

Giving in, Caroline scrolled through a few text messages, then checked his call log. All she learned, she realized, was that Derek had no record of an affair on his phone. That, by itself, proved nothing.

He emerged, drying his hands with a thin, white towel, and wearing a grin. "Satisfied?"

With a faint smile, she nodded, but kept her true thoughts to herself.

"All right, then." He dropped the towel, clapped his hands, then rubbed them together briskly. "Let's go see if this town has anything more edible than that poor excuse of a pizza."

What was she doing? Were they going on a date? She couldn't deny the attraction she still felt, or the moments of comfortable familiarity she could forsee playing out between them. Perhaps if she made sure to keep some space...

"I'll lead the way out. I'm pretty sure The Dogwood is still open."

He looked puzzled. "You don't want to ride together?"

Quickly, she shook her head. "I'll want to go straight home after, I'm sure. Better to have my car right there."

Moving to just a few inches away from her, and sliding a hand from her elbow to her shoulder, in a voice that was soft, low, and full of promise, he said, "I can take you home, Cara."

Avoiding his eyes, she looked at his throat instead. "And strand me up there without transportation? I don't think so." She pulled away to find her shoes, then sat on the bed to put them on.

"You know exactly what I meant," he said in the same tone as before.

"Just put your shoes on. It isn't getting any earlier."

She looked up when he hadn't moved or said anything for a few seconds, only to find him looking at her in a way she could only call... proprietary. He must have seen his point had registered, because only then did he rummage in an overnight bag for a pair of socks, then sit beside her to put them on.

Once she'd finished tying her shoes, she tried to stand, but Derek stopped her with a gently-placed arm around her shoulders. His other hand went to her chin and lifted it, bringing her eyes to look directly into his. So slowly, she was nearly unaware of the motion, he brought his face closer to hers. She felt the warmth of his breath, then the feather-soft brush of a kiss on her lips. She didn't pull away, so he took another kiss, slightly deeper, and then another still. As he cupped her cheek and teased her lips with his tongue, it took everything inside her not to throw her arms around him. But she couldn't stop herself from responding. Just as she was about to give in completely, Derek moved his kisses from her lips to her throat, and then her ear.

"I'm hungry," he whispered, then pulled away to look into her eyes. The predatory gleam she saw in his gave her a chill. But then he bent his forehead to hers, let out a long breath, and said, "Let's go have our dinner, Cara."