And when he smiled at her, he set off a chain reaction inside her body that was all butterflies, and flushed cheeks and …
And good Lord, what the hell was happening to her?
"You okay?"
It was after dinner and the sun was starting to set. They'd had barbecued ribs and chicken, pasta salad and homemade apple pie. The kids had lit a few leftover sparklers from the holiday and Sabrina had just agreed to let Harry spend the night with Caleb. It was an easy decision-David was off to his mother's place so he and his father were long gone.
Sabrina glanced at Allie. Paul and Teague were near the far end of the property where the boys were still fooling around with the sparklers.
"Sabrina?" Allie prompted.
"I'm good," she answered slowly, her eyes finding their way back to the boys. Teague was bent low, listening to whatever it was Harry was saying and the sight of that little head next to Teague's, his face upturned and listening with rapt attention, made her throat knot. Yet again.
She really needed to deal with whatever this was and move on.
"I'm glad," Allie said with a slow grin. "It's nice to see you smiling and enjoying yourself."
Fireflies began to flicker along the property line eliciting a round of squeals from the boys. As the sun completely disappeared from view, the solar lights around the pool glowed, and Sabrina was content to just sit and watch her son. Morgan was still at her friend's house and wouldn't be home until the following afternoon, and her mother-in-law was off to the movies with her girlfriends.
"So," Allie began, leaning closer to Sabrina. "What's Teague's story? I mean, I know what I read in the papers and saw on TV, but he's not at all what I imagined."
"No? What did you think he'd be like?"
Allie shrugged. "I'm not sure. I guess I thought he'd more … closed off and aloof. I can see that he's an intense guy, but he's so good with the kids. I'm surprised he's single."
"He's complicated."
"Is he?" Allie grinned, the candlelight from the table throwing shadows across her face. "How complicated?"
Sabrina shook her head. She knew where this was headed. "There's nothing going on between us, Al."
"Because you're not ready or because you're not letting it happen?"
"Because … " Sabrina paused, thinking of the dark glances she'd shared with the man in question. Of the night dancing in the parking lot of a country bar. Of the way his fingers had sparked something hot inside her when he'd touched her earlier.
"There's nothing going on between us because it would never work. We would never work. He's here to get his head together after what happened in Syria and then he's leaving. And I'm … I'm not looking for a relationship."
"Jesus, Sabrina. I'm not talking about something permanent. I'm talking about some down and dirty and hot sex. You need a release." She giggled. "A hot release."
"Allie-"
"And don't you dare tell me that you haven't thought about it, because I have eyes. I see the way you look at him when you think no one's watching. Especially when he doffed his shirt to jump in the pool."
"Allie-"
"And I could tell he wanted to punch Greg Champion in the throat for getting too close to you at dinner and spilling his beer down the front of your dress. His eyes were saying, ‘mine'. Hell, if he were a gorilla, he would have pounded his chest with his fists and then flattened the guy. Actually too bad he didn't. Greg's a tool."
Thank goodness the darkness hid her cheeks because the whole blushing thing was starting to become a problem.
"Allie I don't … " she stammered. Flustered, Sabrina blew out a long breath. Was it that obvious that she found Teague attractive?
"Hey, I don't want to upset you. I'm just saying that you're a young woman who's still very much alive."
Suddenly serious, Allie clasped her hands over Sabrina's. "I have no idea what it feels like to lose a husband. I can't even imagine what you've been through since Brent passed and the many months he was sick before that. I have no idea when the right time is for you to move on. But what I do know is that there's nothing wrong with wanting another man and there sure as hell isn't anything wrong with taking that jump into his bed. The only way to feel truly alive again is connect with someone and he could be that for you."
"Be what?" Sabrina found herself asking.
"Your connection. Your conduit. Your path back to the living."
Teague laughed just then and both women watched the men as they slowly made their way back to the deck. The moment of quiet with Allie was over, but Allie, being the cheeky lady she was, had one last parting shot before the men joined them.
"You owe it to me to at least have one hot night of sex with that man."
"I owe it to you?" Incredulous Sabrina's eyebrows shot up.
"Damn right you do. Remember the time when Paul and I had sex behind the stage at the Summer Festival of Friends a few years ago?"
Sabrina couldn't help but giggle. "Of course I do. We could hear you. In fact I'm pretty sure that all of Gravenhurst could hear you."
"Well, you made me give you a play-by-play because you and Brent weren't getting busy at the time on account of you being pregnant and sick to your stomach."
"And?"
"Payback's a bitch," Allie said with a wink. "I want my own play-by-play." She paused. "On account that I'm having another baby and I need something to get me through the nights when I'm as big as a house."
Sabrina squealed and enfolded her friend in a hug.
"It's about time you told her," Paul said with a smile, sliding up to his wife and kissing her on the cheek.
After a round of congratulations and a kiss pressed to her son's face-one he tried to wriggle out of with all his might-Sabrina decided it was time to head home.
Teague had followed her to Allie's in his truck and he pulled in behind her on the road back to the lake. The music was on low and she drove home under a star-sprinkled night sky.
Everything out here was so big and on a night like tonight it made her feel small. Insignificant. She thought of Allie and the growing life inside her.
She'd wanted one more child, but then Brent had gotten sick and the dream was lost. Would she ever feel the thrill of a miracle inside her again? Allie was right. She was young. There were still possibilities out there. She just had to be brave enough to find them.
Or rather, she had to be brave enough to take them when she did.
Sabrina pulled into her driveway and cut the engine. She watched Teague's truck until it came to a stop at his place. The headlights went out and she waited until he exited his vehicle before sliding from her own.
The crickets were loud tonight and in the distance, an owl hooted.
They looked at each other across the open space between them and Sabrina didn't even know she'd stopped breathing until Teague slowly raised his hand and she heard a quiet, ‘goodnight'.
She exhaled, gasping a little to draw in another breath and turned toward her own place.
Maybe Allie was wrong and maybe Sabrina was plain old crazy.
Or maybe doing nothing about what was there between them was for the best, because the one thing that Sabrina was sure of was the fact that a connection with Teague Simon wouldn't be easy. It would be complicated. It would be messy. Wasn't her life complicated enough?
Or was Teague Simon worth the complication?
Chapter Thirteen
Teague Simon was restless. It had been a full day-out in the sun for more hours than he could count, and then a couple rounds of water volleyball. Add to that a basket of ribs and enough homemade pie that he should have been face down on his bed asleep.
Should have being the operative words. He closed his eyes and all he could think about was silky brown hair and blue eyes. He'd been staring at the ceiling for at least two hours and by now it was well past midnight.
"Screw it," he said, rolling out of bed wearing nothing but his boxers. He strode out of his room and headed to the deck. He needed to clear his head and maybe some fresh air would help.
Or one of his Cuban cigars.
A thousand stars shone down on him and the full moon lit the deck as he searched for the damn cigars. He'd just located them when a splash turned his head toward the water. There was a shadow down there.
Someone was at the boathouse.
More intrigued than anything, Teague tossed his cigars back into the compartment where he'd stowed them and on silent feet, moved across the deck and down the stairs.
It was so bright that it didn't take much for his eyes to adjust and even before he hit the dock, he knew who it was out there.
Sabrina.
She was sitting at the end of the dock, dangling her feet in the water as the soft breeze of the lake lifted her hair into a cloud around her shoulders. She turned slightly and dragged some of that hair off her face. She was so damn small. So delicate.
A powerful need erupted inside him, and yet wasn't it was a need that had been there for days? A need he'd been trying to push back.