“I wish karma would hurry the hell up.”
He laughed and kissed the top of my head.
Much too soon, our ride came to an end, and we pulled back into the City Market. The ladder reappeared next to the cart and Tucker climbed down, holding out his arms for me. He grabbed me by the waist and slowly lowered me to the ground in front of him.
“Thank you.” I was breathless, staring into his blue eyes, which sparkled in the streetlights. He leaned closer and placed a soft kiss against my forehead.
“Anytime.” His fingers looped in mine and we made our way farther down the Market. “Hungry?”
The smell of pizza was heavy in the air, and I realized I couldn’t remember the last meal I had eaten. I nodded and he pulled me into a corner pizza parlor called Vinnie Van Go-Go’s. The hostess led us to a little bistro table outside and left us with a couple of menus.
“This place is amazing. I had no idea it even existed.”
“Sometimes we don’t know what we’re missing until we find it.” Tucker smiled over his menu.
My cheeks flushed and I looked down at the menu, trying to calm my rapid heartbeat. “What are you hungry for?” Everything on the menu looked amazing.
Tucker sighed. “I guess pizza will do for now.”
The waitress approached us with a bright smile. “Can I start ya’ll with something to drink?” Her eyes darted between us and came to rest on Tucker as they narrowed. She looked as if she recognized his face but couldn’t quite place him.
“Beer?” He didn’t even glance in the server’s direction.
I smiled and nodded.
“Two Buds would be good.” He flashed her a quick smile.
She beamed from ear to ear as she took off to fill our orders.
“When do you leave for Florida?” I asked, addressing the huge elephant in the room.
“Can we just not talk about that tonight?”
The waitress returned with our drinks and placed the bottles in front of us. I picked up my bottle and took a long swig.
“Have you decided on what you want?” She was batting her eyelashes at Tucker, but his eyes stay fixed on mine.
“I know exactly what I want.” He grinned and shot me a wink, sending the butterflies in my belly into a frenzy. “Medium cheese.”
“I’ll get that to you in a few minutes.” She disappeared inside the building.
Tucker and I stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, pausing only to sip our drinks. Finally, Tucker broke the silence, digging in his pocket and taking out a small, black square and holding it out for me. “I picked this up for you today.”
I took the small phone from his hand and pulled my eyebrows together in confusion.
“I want you to be able to get ahold of me whenever you . . . want to.” He cleared his throat. “It has my cell programmed into it.”
“You didn’t have to—”
“I had to,” he said, ending the conversation, just as the pizza arrived.
I smiled and slipped the phone into the back pocket of my shorts. “Thank you.”
The waitress set a metal contraption in the center of the small table to put the pizza on, raising it off the surface. She placed two metal plates in front of us and asked if we needed anything else. Her question was directed to Tucker and held more than an offer of food service. He smiled politely and told her no. She left us alone.
Tucker slid an oversize slice of New York–style pizza onto my plate before taking one for himself.
It was quite possibly the best pizza I had ever eaten in my life. It could have had something to do with the company I was keeping. I watched his jaw flex as he chewed and licked the sauce off his fingers, sending my thoughts into overdrive.
“You could be here with any girl you wanted. Why me?” I suddenly needed something solid to cling to.
“I don’t want to be with just any girl. I want to be here with you.” He smiled as if it were a silly question. “You understand what it’s like not to have everything handed to you on a platter. You know what it is to work hard, to struggle. No one else out there cares about that side of my life.”
“I want to be here with you, too,” I said quietly, then resumed eating. A comfortable silence—but a silence nonetheless—settled over us.
“What is your greatest memory?” I asked after a few minutes, trying to lighten the mood.
The waitress returned to check our progress, and we ordered two more beers to go as Tucker settled the bill.
“The day I went home with Dorris.”
The waitress returned quickly with our drinks and Tucker’s change, along with a slip of paper containing her phone number. I glowered at the back of her head as she left our table. Tucker smirked and crumpled the paper into a tiny ball, leaving it on top of a tip in the center of the table.
“It was just days before the holidays. All I wanted for Christmas was to be wanted. Dorris had been coming in to visit me, but she always left alone. I was beginning to think that she didn’t want me, I wasn’t good enough.”
“Tucker.” My heart was breaking for the child in him that I never knew.
He smiled and reached across the table, slipping his hand over mine. “I was too young to understand that adoption is a long process.” He shrugged.
“What was it like, getting a new family and being able to start your life over?”
“It was one of the scariest things I had ever gone through. I had all of these new toys, new clothes . . . everything was different. It was like I stepped inside someone else’s shoes. I sort of did, actually. Dorris had a son who was killed in a car accident when he was six years old. She left his room untouched for four years before she decided to adopt a child.”
“Oh my God.”
“Yeah . . .” He blew out a long breath and picked up his beer to take a sip. “She’s the one who named me Tucker. That’s what my birth certificate says now. I got a new name with my new toys and clothing.” He shook his head. “I became a new person.”
“What was your name? Your birth name?”
“Nathaniel, after my father.”
“I like it.”
“What about you, Cass?” He leaned forward in his seat, his eyes locked on mine. “What’s your greatest memory?”
I grabbed my drink and took a long sip. I was too terrified to let him know exactly how much meeting him meant to me, so I searched my memories for a happier time.
“My father had given me a teddy bear for my birthday.”
“A teddy bear? That’s your greatest memory?” He grinned.
“It’s all I have to remember what life was like before it all went to hell.” I nodded and the smile left his lips.
“Well, we’ll have to make you some new memories then. Let’s get out of here.” He stood and held out his hand to me. I slipped my fingers in his and he pulled me from my seat back toward the busy street.
We made our way to the first block, where the band continued to play. The music slowed as they began “I Won’t Give Up.” Tucker pulled me into his arms in the middle of the street, and we began to dance slowly in the center of the crowd.
“ ‘Even if the skies get rough, I’m giving you all my love.’ ” He sang so quietly into my ear that no one else could hear. In the middle of this crowded place, we were sharing a moment that was just for us.
My heart completely melted. There was no turning back. There would be no forgetting him when he was gone. I would be hopelessly lost, chasing a fantasy for the rest of my existence. I slid my fingers into his messy hair and guided his lips to mine.
“Cass . . .”
“I trust you.” I mumbled against his lips. I kissed him softly at first, letting my lips brush lightly across his, but the need to be closer to him, to cherish this moment, took over. Without a care in the world, I parted my lips and ran my tongue over his mouth. He groaned quietly and deepened our kiss.
Without warning the crowd erupted into cheers; the song had ended and everyone’s attention had turned to us. Tucker laughed and I buried my face into his chest to avoid their stares.
“Come on.” Tucker looped his arm over my shoulders and pulled me in the direction of his bike. As we reached it, I grabbed for the helmet, but he stopped me.
“Let me see your phone.”
I shot him a confused look but slid the phone from my pocket and placed it in his hand.
He grinned and slid the things from his pockets and secured them, along with the phone, under the seat of his bike. He grabbed my hand and pulled me back the way we came. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?” The giant fountain came into view and I tried to unweave my fingers from his. He let go and wrapped his hands around my waist. “Oh, no, no, no!”
My pleas fell on deaf ears as he dragged me into the spraying shoots of water. I screamed and squealed as we made our way to the center. He wrapped his arms around my drenched waist and pulled my body against his, instantly warming me in the chilly water.
Time slowed as his hand pushed my sopping-wet hair from my cheek and he leaned closer, brushing his lips against mine. My eyes fell closed as I let my body relax into his, sliding my hands up his slick arms and over his shoulders. My lips fell open as I breathed in his warm breath and the scent of coconut that would make me think of him forever.
The sound of the music nearby filled my ears as I held on to Tucker as if he were the source of life.
“I take back everything I said before. You are my greatest memory.” His whisper could have been shouted from the mountaintops. It rang through my body and settled in my heart, where Tucker was now permanently lodged. He tightened his grip around me in a hug like none I had ever before experienced. I felt safe, complete, and genuinely happy for the first time I could remember in longer than I cared to admit.
“I don’t care about where you came from or who is waiting for you at home. Tonight is just you and me, Cass. No one else matters.”
“No one else.” I pushed my wet lips back against his, feeling more safe in his arms than anywhere else.
“Come on.” He pulled me from the slightly chilly water back to his motorcycle, holding out a helmet for me. I smiled and slid it on over my soaked hair.
He climbed onto the machine and started it. The bike roared to life like an angry monster. I slipped onto the back without hesitation, squeezing my body tight against his to keep myself warm as we weaved through the streets.
Luckily, we didn’t have far to go. We were only a few blocks from the Bohemian. The hotel spanned two levels, making it accessible from the riverfront but also from Bay Street. The hotel boasted a fine-dining restaurant where people could eat while taking in the river.
We pulled up to the upper level, and he parked the bike just off the main road. Tucker gathered our things from the seat compartment and we hurried inside, both still dripping wet.
Chapter Seventeen
WE SLIPPED INSIDE and made our way to Tucker’s room without any complaints about our condition, although the two receptionists gave us a stern look. We laughed as we stepped inside the room. It was magnificent. We were on the top floor, just below the rooftop bar. The entire hotel was reminiscent of a pirate ship, with reclaimed wood for the headboards, crimson velvet linings, and beach glass adorning the light fixtures. One wall was a massive window overlooking the sparkling river below, where ships were docked for tourists to climb aboard. The side tables even looked like old treasure chests. I ran my fingers over the fauxfur blanket that was draped over the bed as I made my way to the window.
“This is amazing.” I was shivering as I stared out at the boats below.
Tucker came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. “You are freezing.” He placed tiny kisses over my shoulder, sending bolts of heat everywhere he touched. “Come on.” He tugged at my arm to lead me to the master bathroom. Floor-to-ceiling tile made the space feel cavernous. Tucker grabbed a white, fluffy robe from the wall and held it out for me. “I can send our stuff out to be dried.” He grabbed a second robe from the wall for himself.
I took the robe and nodded as he left me alone. I closed the door and quickly began to peel the damp clothes from my body, leaving them in a heap on the floor as I slid on the oversize cotton robe. The floor was surprisingly warm under my feet, and I wondered if they did something special to make it that way.
I ran my fingers through my hair and gave myself a quick glance in the mirror before gathering my wet clothes to give to Tucker.
“Thanks,” I said as I entered the main bedroom area. Tucker was also donning a matching white robe. I could feel the heat already burning its way down my body all the way to my toes. His hair was even wilder than usual, but it suited him.
He made his way to me and took my clothes from my hand. He deposited them in a tiny dry-cleaning bag and called the front desk to have them picked up. Within a few minutes a man was at our door for them.
As Tucker made his way back to me, he stopped to turn on a radio on the dresser. “I’ll Take Care of You” began to play around the room from hidden speakers in the walls. He stopped a few feet short of me and held out his hand, inviting me to dance with him. I smiled and placed my fingers in his as he pulled my body flush against his. Our hips swayed to the music, and a touch of sadness was in the way he held me, as he was gripping me tighter than usual with his fingers desperately holding me in his grasp. I could feel another good-bye approaching, and it shattered my heart into a million pieces. I clung to him with just as much need. I didn’t want any of this to end. The skin of his neck was still damp and I buried my face into the crook of it, drowning myself in him.
“I love dancing with you.” His hands slid up and down my back as we slowly turned.