I was finally getting comfortable with the idea that I could live like a rich man. I turned the car on the winding road that led up to the home site. I hadn't had time to check in on the progress and during our dinner date, I'd decided to show Jane.
"I'm excited to see your place, but it's dark out. I'm assuming there won't be any electricity."
"No, they've only got the framing done. I brought a flashlight."
She gazed out the window at the houses in my future neighborhood. "All the houses are so beautiful. Why didn't you just buy one that was already built?"
"I looked at a few but when you're my size, regular houses are just too small. I need higher door jambs and space in the kitchen and bathroom. Along with counters and vanities that are taller."
"So you're building a house for a giant."
"Actually, I'm building a place where I won't feel like a freaky giant because everything will be my size."
She sat back against the seat and straightened her dress. "What if you marry a petite little woman?" She stretched to sit up a little higher. "Someone like me? Not that I'm suggesting you marry me, but hypothetically speaking."
"Well, I suppose I'll have to find a tall woman to marry so she fits the house."
"Oh." The disappointment in her voice made me laugh.
"Or I could marry a short woman and just buy some step stools."
She nodded once. "I like that idea better. Tall women are—well, they are just so darn tall."
"You haven't talked about the second audition for the movie part. How did it go?"
Jane fidgeted with the fabric on her dress. "I don't want to say because I worry that if I talk about it, I will jinx myself."
"Gotcha. I won't bring it up again until you do." I pulled up to the building site. The tall frames of the house looked like naked trees standing straight up from the ground.
Jane leaned forward to see better through the front windshield. "It's darker up here than I expected, but it looks big."
"It's a little smaller than the surrounding houses. In square footage, anyhow." The next neighbors were a good acre away, so any light from the other houses was minimal. I reached behind the seat for the flashlight.
We climbed out of the car. Jane pulled the sweater she was wearing closed around her.
"A fresh breeze floats up the hillside every evening, so I'm having big windows built across the front of the house both for the view and to keep the house cool in summer."
Jane stopped and looked back down the hill. "It’s a fantastic view." She worked hard to keep the skirt of her dress from floating up. "And there's definitely a breeze."
I watched her push one corner of her dress down only to have another one puff up. "I think I've just found another thing I like about that breeze. No one can see you except me, Jane. I say let those panties show. In fact, I'm kind of wishing you hadn't worn any." I pointed the flashlight into the house. "Leave the dress alone, Marilyn Monroe, and follow me."
We walked through the future double door entrance.
"It doesn't look like much now, but if you use a heavy dose of imagination—" I flashed the light into a corner. "That's the kitchen and the dining room. The living room is here along with a game room, because I never actually grew up."
Jane followed close at my heels. "Yes, a big imagination is needed. But I can see that the walls and doors look taller than average."
I headed down the plywood floor that would eventually be a hallway. I stood in the center of a framed room and waved my arms around. "And this is the master bedroom where I will eventually have a big bed and you will be stretched out in the middle of it. Naked, of course."
I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her, long and hard.
She was breathless by the time I lifted my mouth away.
"Damn, I wish this thing was farther along." I ran my finger along the top of her bodice, tracing the curves of her breasts. "There's not even a wall to push you up against."
"No, but the last time I checked your car had a spacious backseat. I haven't made out in the backseat of a car since—"
She bit her lip as I lifted a curious brow at her.
"Well, since never. I was just not the backseat kind of girl." She blinked innocently up at me.
"Right." I took hold of her hand. "Then I say we make you a backseat kind of girl right now."
We walked out of the house and frame. I stopped midway back to the car. "Wait, I just remembered something. I don't fit in the backseat of my car."
She laughed as she swung around to hug me. "You poor freakishly big man, you really weren't meant to live with mortals, were you? I guess that means we'll just have to go back to our crummy old apartment building and drown out the televisions on our floor with our cries of passion."
We continued toward the car. "That works."
Chapter Nineteen
Jane
It couldn't have been a more beautiful day. A crisp blue sky dotted with puffy white clouds and sunlight glittering off the water in such a way that it looked like a rippling carpet of diamonds. To top off the fantasy, I was sitting on a glistening white yacht with a man who was turning out to be everything I ever dreamed of in a perfect mate. And I had even grown instantly fond of his friends.
While I never considered men to be proficient at describing people, Aidan had done an accurate job when he'd told me about his friends and their significant others. Trey was extraordinarily handsome, the type of man who was just made to wear a tailored business suit. He looked dashing in his captain's hat as well. And he had that serious charm that made him seem very much the gentleman. And his girlfriend, Georgie, was the type of woman who just shouted sex appeal. And her brainy worldliness showed in the way she spoke. I had expected Chase to be gorgeous, but he surpassed even the image I'd had of him. And yet he was down to earth and funny and not the least bit conceited. His girlfriend, Macy, was as cute as she was nice. She was the type of girl who everyone in high school wanted as a friend. And she'd brought along spectacular strawberry tarts that melted in my mouth as if they were made of pure butter.
It seemed, though, that I wasn't going to get to meet Zane this round, which was disappointing.
Trey had driven us to a quiet cove, where the only other signs of life were seagulls and the occasional jumping fish. Aidan and I were sitting on the circular couch snacking on chips and dip. Chase and Macy had joined us. Georgie came out with a tray of strawberry daiquiris.
She lowered the drinks onto the table. "I'd hang on to these. That wind is picking up and last time Trey and I anchored here, I ended up with my drink in my lap"
Chase handed Macy and me a drink. "Where's Trey?"
Georgie looked at the cabin entrance. "He was on the phone with Zane."
Aidan took hold of his drink. "I'm thinking of lowering the canoe into the water and paddling to shore."
"I'm up for it," Chase said enthusiastically.
Aidan tilted his head. "I was talking to the lovely woman at my side. If I wanted a romantic shore excursion with you, I would have asked you specifically."
Macy giggled behind her glass, but Chase didn't look the least bit embarrassed. He didn't seem like the type of guy who even knew what embarrassmentt felt like.
Chase put his arm around Macy. "Fine then. Take the lovely woman, just don't expect me to ever say yes to your invite again."
"I'll try to power through that disappointment."
Trey walked out pushing his phone into his pocket. "Get this. Zane and Raini are flying to Tuscany for the weekend on the Bonneville private jet." He grabbed his drink and shook his head in disgust. "Must be nice."
I leaned my head closer to Aidan and lowered my voice. "He does realize that he's standing on a luxury yacht, right?"
"Just proves that even if you're standing on a grassy knoll in the middle of Ireland, the grass is always greener somewhere else."
I turned and looked up at him. "Well put. I might just take you up on that shore excursion since you're in such a philosophical mood today."
He tightened his arm around me. "You like that, eh? Well, let's go ashore, and I'll see what other nuggets I can come up with."
We got up from the table.
"Where are you going?" Trey asked.
"They're going for some beach exploration," Chase piped up.
"I see." Trey sat next to Georgie and pulled her closer. "Georgie and I left our exploration prints on the beach right behind that giant palm last month."
Georgie elbowed him. "Not everyone needs to know that."
"What? Just letting them know where the best spots are. Actually, don't use that spot. It's ours." Trey winked at us. Georgie popped up from under his arm. "I think I need another daiquiri."
"Have a good time," Chase called to us as I followed Aidan to side of the boat where the canoe was stored.
Chapter Twenty
Jane
It helped to have a boyfriend with giant propeller strength arms when in a canoe. Even rowing against the tide, as it bounced off the shore, Aidan managed to make a speedy trip to land.
He hopped out to drag the canoe onto the sand. I rested my arms on the oar as I watched him. A few hours out on the water, and he'd already gotten a golden tan, which went nicely with his dark blond hair. He was quite a sight in his swim trunks, with his stomach and arm muscles rippling in the sunlight.