The sky was a deep-blue canopy with hardly any clouds overhead. The sunny summer day was predicted to be a hot one, soaring into the nineties, and she was dressed for it in a pair of white crop pants, a peach sleeveless cotton top, and sandals.
She’d brought along some pages from her manuscript, intending to edit on the road, but had found it difficult to concentrate with Erik this close to her. She peered at him from the corner of her eyes. He was dressed in linen knee-length shorts and a short sleeve shirt that showed off his muscular arms and legs. He was truly a beautiful man, and each time she saw him, was near him, her heart raced and her throat dried up.#p#分页标题#e#
“Had enough?”
Michelle startled at the gruff voice.
He turned his head and gazed at her through his Louis Vuitton sunglasses, his lips twisting into a subtle smile.
“No. But, it’ll have to do for now.”
His smile turned into a wide grin. He cast a cautious glance in the back. “How’s everything back there, Muffin?”
“Good, Daddy. I want to finish this book before we get to Grandpa’s. Ms. Clements is giving a prize to the person who reads the most books over the summer. I want to win.”
“Okay then, baby. I’ll leave you to your reading.”
Michelle giggled. “She’s such an avid reader. Two whole grades ahead.”
Erik slowed down as he approached the tollbooth for the machine to read the speed pass on his windshield. When the light turned green, he fed the gas pedal. “She’s been reading since she was two and a half,” he said proudly.
“She has good genes, and big shoes to fit into. Her father did graduate head of his class from Harvard,” she said.
“How do you know?”
“I saw the diplomas and numerous certificates in your office on the several occasions I’ve been to the hospital.”
“You know quite a bit about me, Michelle, yet I know nothing about you.” He paused. “That night on the patio, before Bridget interrupted us, I feel that you were about to open your past to me. For some reason, we never got back around to that conversation. Want to fill me in now?”
Since his eyes were sheltered behind the dark shades, Michelle couldn’t read his expression. One thing she knew, she was not ready to talk about her past, specifically her father. Erik had no idea how grateful she was that Bridget had interrupted them. That was her one moment of weakness. She wasn’t having a second. “I hardly think this is the time to bring up that subject,” she said between clenched teeth as she thumbed toward the back seat.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. But we will finish. I do want to know you, Michelle Carter. All of you.”
That’s exactly what Michelle feared most. They rode in silence for a while, and when Michelle couldn’t stand it anymore, she asked, “Do you mind if I turn on the radio?”
“Go ahead. It’s on XM. Heart and Soul channel, I think.”
She pressed a button on the dashboard then immediately pulled back when Jennifer Hudson’s voice belting out ‘Spotlight’ filled the air. “Oh, I love that song.”
“Me, too.”
She chuckled. “I would never have guessed.”
“What?”
“That you listen to this kind of music. I thought you’d have it set to classical or—”
“Something excruciatingly boring.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“I’m eclectic. I enjoy a variety of music, depending on my mood.”
She wasn’t going to ask what his mood was with love songs floating around them. She laid her head against the headrest, stretched her legs out, and closed her eyes, as a sweet calmness settled in her heart. This feeling of happiness was so new to her. She liked it.
Close to one o’clock, Erik pulled off the highway and headed toward a picnic area. He was pleased that the only other people there were a middle-aged woman and a boy about ten years old.
Michelle and Precious helped unload the car and they spread a quilt on a patch of green grass under the shade of a willow tree, a good distance from the woman and child.
Precious dropped down next to her father on the quilt. “I’m so hungry, I could eat a whole horse and a pony, too.”#p#分页标题#e#
“Thought you didn’t like horses,” Erik said playfully, as he leaned back, supporting his weight on one elbow.
“Daddy, I don’t like riding them. It’s just an expression.” She spread her hands in impatience. “People don’t eat horses.”
Well, not in this country. “Sorry. My bad.”
“You are bad,” Michelle murmured, opening up the picnic basket.