Searching for Beautiful(9)
He assessed her under heavily lidded eyes but his tone was casual. “Spoke with Kate. Told her we were going to lie low for a few days. She’s going to take care of things on that end until you’re ready.”
“Has David contacted you?”
“Not yet.”
She pondered his answer for a while and chewed on her lip. Still raw, her insides twisted from fear and confusion, as if she’d stepped into Oz and didn’t know how to figure things out yet. “You haven’t asked why.”
“Don’t need to.”
Gen studied him, trying to dig beneath his calm surface. He must be dying of curiosity, but he’d never questioned her once. “Don’t you want to know?”
He surprised her with a half grin. “Hell, yes. You’re my best friend and I had no idea you were struggling. But you’re not ready. When you want to talk, I’ll be here. For now, you need some alcohol and a distraction. Come on, let’s get out of here.”
He grabbed her hand and pulled her up. “Where? We can’t get in a car drinking.”
“There’s a trail in the back of the cabin that leads to a lake.” He scooped up the beers and two towels, and headed out the door. The sun stung her skin, but as they made their way back into the cluster of trees, shadows cloaked them from the burn. The musky scent of earth and rotted wood drifted to her nostrils, and she picked her way over the moss and rocks in her flip-flops until the path opened up.
They walked in silence. The birds sang, the trees watched, and the bugs hovered, occasionally landing for a quick bite. Wood snapped under her feet and a strange lightness flooded her body. How could she feel like this when a few hours ago she was in the church, about to marry David? Why did this moment strike her as more real than the past six months? She needed to figure it out, because the answer was the reason she’d run.
Unfortunately, the truth seemed more dangerous than denial right now.
“Here it is.”
The lake was more of a pool that looked as if it emptied at the end of its journey, with a crooked dock that seemed about to fall apart and tall marsh grass surrounding it. Gen stared at it and wondered if the monster alligators would get her like in Lake Placid if she put a toe in. She put her hands on her hips. “You want to try to kill me or something? You couldn’t pay me to go in there.”
He snorted. “Chicken. It’s safe. I caught Sawyer and Julietta out here skinny-dipping. I felt blind for a week.”
She laughed. “I remember catching Nick and Alexa fooling around in my parents’ walk-in closet one visit. I couldn’t even look at them, let alone eat Sunday dinner. Ruined my appetite.”
Wolfe dropped the beer, kicked off his sandals, and walked onto the crumbling dock. “Saratoga Lake is about eight miles long, but narrows down to Fish Creek. We’re at the tail end. Sawyer wanted privacy more than recreation. This is an isolated paradise and you’re complaining. Much better than a fancy chlorinated pool.”
“Speak for yourself, dude,” Gen said.
Wolfe peeled off his T-shirt and revealed perfectly defined pecs and abs of steel. The elaborate serpent tattoo curled like smoke and started at the right side of his belly, moved up his chest, wrapped around the upper arm, and landed just below the ear. She rarely saw him unclothed, unless it was in some designer advertisement, but the breadth and detail of the tat was a living, breathing thing. He kept his wristbands on. Gen knew he never took them off. Ever. She bet he even showered and slept with them, too. At first she’d thought it was some weird fashion thing, but over the years, Gen became used to them, as if they were part of his body. And she still didn’t ask questions.
She remembered the first time she met him, when she was twenty years old. A family dinner at Alexa’s. Max and Michael—husbands of Alexa’s closest friends, Carina and Maggie—had brought Wolfe and introduced him to everyone.
She’d been instantly fascinated. From his ink, to his shaven head, various piercings, and massive muscles, his entire aura sucked out the air in the room and left it silent. He appeared obviously uncomfortable, his mouth turned down in a gorgeous sneer, as if ready to give everyone a big fuck you. But he remained politely still, scanning the crowd, until their gazes met and locked.
A weird connection fired between them. As if they’d met before. Recognized each other. And were being reintroduced.
She had no idea why. Izzy had been the hell-raiser and scoped him out like a hungry she-wolf. Her father frowned and seemed ready for battle. Alexa chattered nonstop and tried to ease the tension, while Maggie, Alexa’s best friend and honorary aunt, spoke proudly of his modeling career and smarts.