I wasn’t sure what time it was now, but I guessed maybe after three. “Traffic, trailer problems, you know. Normal road trip delays.”
He leaned up on his elbow, his eyebrows arched.
“I was going to send out the highway patrol.”
God, I hadn’t seen enough of this body. My fingertips traced over the lines on his chest. “I was fine. I had a phone on me.” I cleared my throat. “Unlike some people.”
“Yeah, I lost my phone tonight.” He looked down at my neck.
“What’s this?” He had just noticed the welt protruding from the side of my neck.
“Horsefly.” I tried not to worry about how big it had gotten. “What do you mean you lost your phone?”
He scratched his head. “Somewhere between here and the Palm I misplaced it. It’s not in twenty-four, the office, or here. I called Marin from the land line at the office and told her to let me know if you ran into any trouble.”
“Speaking of here.” I took in the vacant room, filled with candlelight. “What is this place?”
A smile spread across his lips. “This is our new home.”
“We’re not staying at the Palm?” I thought it was possible I was drunk off our lovemaking. I was prepared for cozy motel living. Grey had never mentioned anything about a cottage.
“You don’t like it? You’re pissed?” His grin vanished. “I shouldn’t have tried to make it a surprise.”
“No, no, that’s not it.” I reached forward, brushing my lips against his. I could kiss him all night. I pulled back to read his expression. “I’m just surprised. That’s all. Tell me about it.”
“It kind of fell into my lap last minute. I heard through one of Mac’s friends that it was up for lease.”
“Really? That’s amazing.” I sat up, straining to see into the kitchen.
“It’s only two bedrooms, one bathroom, but I thought for now it would be fine. Better than trying to live in a motel room. I didn’t feel good about you moving down here for that.”
I turned his chin toward me. “I would live anywhere with you. I didn’t need a beach cottage, but it’s amazing.” I chewed on my lip, worried about my next question. “Can we afford it?” I wasn’t sure about Padre real estate, but back home, anything oceanfront cost a fortune. The only income I had would be from what business I could bring into the Palm.
“I bartered some work for a lower rate. The guy who owns the place has five other units. As long as I keep those in good shape, I only owe three hundred a month here.”
My jaw must have dropped. “Three hundred? That’s all?” That was cheaper than my part of the rent in Chapel Hill with Taylor.
He nodded. “So, I thought we could swing that for a few months and then…” His words trailed off.
I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t put a timetable on how long our cohabitation would last. I took a deep breath. After the greeting we just shared, I knew I didn’t have anything to worry about. I wasn’t going to let myself worry.
I closed my eyes, listening to the waves on the shore and Grey’s heart pounding against my chest. This was worth a two-day drive. This was worth uprooting my life. Some time during the night, I drifted to sleep, wrapped in Grey’s arms while the surf pounded on the beach outside.
“Oh, God.” I rolled to the side, stretching my legs in the opposite direction of my hands. My body had taken a beating from the trip. I rubbed my back, careful not to press into the rug burn I knew would be there.
“Good morning, darlin’.” Grey appeared with two cups of coffee and sat on the floor next to me.
He must have had a stash of blankets somewhere in the cottage, because there was a white quilt draped over half my naked body. I rubbed my eyes before reaching for the coffee.
“Good morning.” I sat up, careful to keep the quilt tucked under my arms.
“I thought I’d drive the truck over this morning and start unloading.” He leaned forward to kiss me on my cheek. “You didn’t tell me you were bringing that much stuff.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “You told me to pack what I couldn’t live without.”
“I guess it was good I got the beach house.”
I laughed. “Yes, I think it was fate.” I hadn’t even made it off the floor last night. I wanted to explore the rest of the house. I pushed myself off the floor, without spilling my coffee. “Do you want to give me the tour?”
He grinned. “Right this way.”
The living space for the cottage was all on one level. The living room looked out onto the beach. The kitchen window faced the road, and there was a hallway off the living room. There was a bedroom on each end of the hall with a full bathroom in the middle. It wasn’t much, but it was ours.
Grey had moved his clothes into the smaller closet and his tools were stored in the bedroom that bordered the street.
“I thought we should have the oceanfront room, and we could use the other one as an office, storage, guest room space.” He waited for my approval.