Sweet Hearts (The Lindstroms Book 3) Read online

  She closed her eyes and shook her head gently to clear it, then looked back up at Erik.

  “Glad we got that settled,” he said softly, opening his door.

  ***

  Erik swung his body out of the car, shutting the door behind him. For all of his well-laid plans, his impromptu speech had shocked the hell out of him just as much as he had shocked her. Two weeks’ worth of pent-up lust wasn’t about to be ignored, and the words came from a starving place deep inside.

  He was shaken from the intensity of his longing for her, and for how it had all tumbled out of his mouth in such a passionate, direct offer, which outlined nothing of his original “Rebound” plan.

  He ran his hands through his hair and walked behind the car to open her door for her. Katrin shifted her body so her legs dangled out of the car and then looked up at him, eyes still wide.

  “Was that for real?” she asked.

  “Did it seem real?”

  “Yeah. Yeah, it did.”

  “So, I guess you can assume it was real.”

  “So, essentially, you just told me you want…”

  “Seriously, Kat? You want me to say it all again?”

  “I want to understand. You aren’t interested in commitment. I get that. But, you know I’m not the sort of girl to sleep with someone without one. And, to be clear, I’m not asking for anything. I’ve never asked for anything. But, I don’t understand how your plan and my virtue can mesh. Aren’t we deadlocked?”

  Erik put his hands on his hips, looking away for a moment. She wasn’t going to make this easy for him, was she?

  “Maybe this could be an exception for you. I was sort of thinking that maybe what you need is a—a rebound fling.”

  She stared at him, her face shutting closed before him as her eyes narrowed into furious slits. “A…rebound fling?”

  She said it like it was totally and completely repulsive.

  Crap, she did not look happy.

  She was probably assessing the cons of the plan and not giving the pros a chance.

  “You know,” he said, “to help you get over Wade.”

  She shifted her legs back into the car, staring straight ahead. Her voice was low and controlled and utterly livid. “Take me home.”

  Craaaaaaaaap.

  “Kat. No. Wait.” He squatted down beside her, putting his hand on her knee. She twisted her neck, her wide eyes catching his in a scathing look, and he winced, removing his hand carefully. She turned her head back toward the windshield, stone-faced.

  Crap. Crap. Crap. This wasn’t going well at all.

  “Take me home now, Erik. Right now. I mean it.”

  His heart raced with the full understanding of how grossly he had misjudged the situation. “Kat, just let me explain—”

  “Erik,” she interrupted him, but still refused to look at him. “There is nothing to explain. I get it. Your offer is one hundred percent crystal clear to me.” She breathed in, her shoulders bunching around her ears for a moment before she turned to him, her face a picture in fury. “You know what? There is something between us. There just is, and we both know it. But, that is not how it’s going to play out, in some cheap, tawdry rebound fling—and furthermore, I am not some charity case. Not some…some pathetic shell of a person who needs you to screw her out of the disappointment of her failed engagement, out of her—”

  “Katrin—” he started.

  “No! You shut your mouth, Erik. You shut it. A rebound fling? Do you have any idea how insulting that is?”

  Her eyes were filled with tears, and she turned away, swiping at them with the back of her hand.

  At that precise moment, something happened inside of Erik that had never happened to him before with any other girl: his heart ached. Not figuratively. His heart actually, physically hurt, as he watched her swipe at her eyes. He had hurt her, cheapened her with his garish proposal.

  How do I fix this? God, how do I fix this?

  “Okay, okay. Listen. Um…forget that rebound crap. That was bull. Just an excuse. But the rest? Kat, I meant every word I said in the car,” he admitted in a frustrated whisper. “I—I can’t stop thinking about you. I think about you all the time. Being with you, kissing you. I couldn’t—I couldn’t think of another way to…to…”

  “To stop thinking about me?” She turned to him and he could see the rigidity of her angry body soften then. Her voice lost its edge as she searched his eyes, like it was important to her to understand. “Are you saying that sleeping with me would help you stop thinking about me?”

  He shrugged and then nodded wordlessly. He was still squatting beside the car and he looked down, hanging his head in regret, in anger with himself, in fear for the changes happening right now between them. What had started as a no-strings-attached proposition in his head was now moving into unfamiliar territory, emotional territory, in a very real way. Erik was moving out of his depth, beyond his comfort zone.

  “You can’t stop thinking about me,” she murmured, and he could hear the pleased wonder in her soft voice.

  He swallowed, but nodded, keeping his head down.

  She tipped his chin up with her fingertips, but he kept his eyes downcast, worried about what he would see if he looked at her face. He longed to see tenderness, but it would terrify him to realize that the comfortable farce of calling themselves family-friends was over. It would terrify him to see that she cared for him as much as he was starting to care for her.

  “Erik,” she whispered, somehow reading his mind. “Close your eyes.”

  Her fingertips abandoned his chin just as her lips touched his, making him fall forward from a squatting position to his knees. She bent sideways toward him, and he felt her hands encircle the back of his neck, her fingers teasing the bristly hairs on his nape, sending shivers down his back.

  He knelt there beside her, in penitence or worship, motionless but for the soft kneading movements of their lips against each other, the amplified rustle of the hairs on his neck competing with the sound of his heartbeat racing in his ears.

  She pulled back from him and he opened his eyes. The bright sun streaming in through his window made a halo for her blonde head but blinded him from reading her eyes. He squinted through the light, shielding his eyes with his hand until she came into focus.

  She smiled at him, hesitantly at first, then teasingly, all traces of tears and anger long gone. “Now I’m ready for that boat ride.”

  ***

  As they headed to the boat, neither of them noticed the man in the back of the Flathead Lake parking lot watching them through his windshield in shock and disbelief, fury turning his face red and making his bloodshot eyes water with indignation and betrayal.

  Goddamn whore.

  She would pay for this.

  Chapter 8

  Katrin stood next to Erik, leaning on the railing of the Qwataqnuk Wind, looking out toward Wild Horse Island up ahead. The captain announced that they’d circle the island once for viewing then the vessel would dock for ten minutes so that any passengers interested and willing could spend three hours on the island before the boat returned at three p.m. to take the passengers back to the landing at Polson.

  According to Erik, who—Katrin was impressed to observe—had done some thorough research on their destination, there were still wild horses that lived on the island out in the middle of Flathead Lake. Not only horses, but big horned sheep, mule deer and various species of birds. He had delivered this information to her in a clear, authoritative voice as they stood side-by-side in the packed cabin, and gradually a small crowd of people had gathered around them, asking Erik for advice on how to best spend the afternoon.

  Katrin stood beside him, watching with a shy smile, enjoying the charade of being his girlfriend in the eyes of these strangers as he answered questions patiently, always insisting that he hadn’t visited the park yet, and didn’t know it personally, though his suggestions felt spot-on.

  A much older couple shared with Erik and Katrin
that they were on their honeymoon and the white-haired lady winked at Erik, eyes twinkling. “You’re an attractive, young couple. I know we’re on the same boat, but are we in the same boat?”

  Katrin bit her lip as she glanced up at Erik, trying not to giggle.

  “Are you asking if we’re on our honeymoon?” Erik asked, frowning.

  “Well,” she said, smiling at Katrin with kind eyes. “You could hardly do better than this lovely young thing.”

  Erik looked at Katrin thoughtfully, and it surprised her that he didn’t immediately recoil, screaming, Her? No! No way! Her and me? Yuck! NO PICKET FENCES! and jump off the boat to escape her company, swimming madly for the nearest patch of land.

  She tried desperately not to smile at him, but her cheeks hurt from the effort, since laughter for the sheer awkwardness of the situation was bubbling up inside of her. She knew her dimples were pronounced and deep as she held his eyes playfully, and she raised her eyebrows at him, waiting for him to respond.

  “No, ma’am,” he replied, winking at Katrin. “I made her an offer just today, and she turned me down flat.”

  “Oh!” The older woman gasped. “She didn’t!”

  “She did,” he said, looking very pitiful. “And she got mad at me. Yelled at me and told me to take her home.”

  “Well! I never! And you, such a nice, young man.” The woman took a step to stand beside Erik, crossing her arms and looking at Katrin disapprovingly.

  Katrin’s jaw dropped with merry audacity and she regarded Erik with wide, amused eyes. Two can play at this game, Minste.

  “But, ma’am,” she started, adopting a pained expression, palms open in supplication. She gestured for the woman to step forward, then pointed at her ring finger and spoke in hushed, concerned tones. “There’s no ring on this finger and he wants my…my virtue. He wants to have the milk for free. Can you imagine?”

  The woman moved away from Erik to put her arm around Katrin’s shoulders, pulling her close, giving Erik a stern dressing-down with her eyes, while Katrin beamed at him. “Well! Well, young man? What’ll it be? I think you’d best buy this cow!”

  Erik’s eyes flew open and his shoulders shook with merriment as Katrin’s head whipped to the side, frowning at her unlikely, ineloquent defender with a look of shock. When she looked at Erik, though, her face morphed quickly from offense to humor, and her shoulders started shaking too, as she covered her mouth with her hand. Erik finally got a hold of himself, gently nodding his head at the nutty old woman.

  When he spoke, his voice was soft, almost dream-like, and he held Katrin’s eyes with his. “Big risk, ma’am. She might break my heart.”

  Katrin cleared her throat, stepping toward Erik with a small, gentle smile. She wouldn’t pass up this chance to reassure him. “No, Erik. I’d never do that to you.”

  The older woman clapped and stepped aside, pushing Katrin toward Erik, winking at him jauntily. “There, you see? Nothing to fear! Seal it with a kiss!”

  Katrin looked up at Erik, at his handsome face several inches above hers. He smiled at her, tilting his head to the side subtly in question. Whaddaya think? Give her a little show? Katrin smiled and gave him a small shrug. Sure, why not?

  It was the first time he had ever kissed her, instead of the other way around. Erik put his hands on her hips, and pulled her closer to him, gently crushing her breasts against his chest. She closed her eyes as he bent his head and brushed his lips against hers. He captured her top lip, tugging at it gently with his for a second before releasing it. It was so sweet, and she so badly wanted more, it took her a moment to realize it was over and open her eyes. When she did, he was smiling down at her, tenderly, maybe still a little amused too.

  Amidst a light applause from the older couple, he took her hand without a word, and led her out onto the windy outdoor boat deck where they were mostly alone. He stopped at the railing, letting her hand go.

  They stood side by side as the island got closer and closer.

  What was that? What’s happening here? And is it bad that I like it so much? Katrin sighed in frustration.

  “Awkward?” he asked, looking ahead at the island.

  She shook her head, lowering her sunglasses. “Nope.”

  “Why the sigh then?”

  “Sweet.” And she sighed again.

  “Hmm.” She felt his eyes on her. “Can I ask you something?”

  She shrugged and turned her body toward him, leaning one elbow on the railing. “Sure.”

  “You and um, Dr. Martin. Martinez. José.”

  “Mmm.”

  Erik took a deep breath and turned away from her, staring back out at the island. “I know he likes you. That first day when I dropped you off—I mean, it was obvious. And you’ve been working with him for a few weeks, and you look better and better every time I see you. Happier. And, um, I’m just wondering if…”

  Interesting, picket fences. Only one reason a man asks about another man. No way she was making this easier on him either. She stayed silent, waiting for him to ask his question, but shifted her body away, to rest her elbow back on the railing, cradling her cheek on the palm farthest from him, and moving one foot up to rest in the mesh that extended from the railing to the floor.

  He scoffed. “It’s none of my business.”

  “That’s true.”

  He faced her in a whip-fast movement, eyes searing. “Well, are you?”

  “Am I what?”

  “Are you—has he touched you?”

  “Many times.” She paused. “We work together.”

  “That’s not what I mean.”

  She turned and faced him, starting to feel annoyed. He wasn’t able to offer her, or any other woman, for that matter, any sort of respectable commitment, but he wanted to know if she was sleeping with someone else? It wasn’t fair. Not to mention, she felt a little insulted—again— that he actually thought she’d be kissing him if she was also kissing José.

  “Then why don’t you just say what you mean, Erik the Blond?”

  He was massaging the railing with his hands and she watched him, wondering again what in the world had happened that made it so difficult for him to open up, to be open to falling in love with someone, open to happiness.

  “Forget it.”

  “Oooo-kay.” She looked away from him, toward the heavily wooded island up ahead.

  “Are you seeing him?” Erik’s voice was low, intense with emotion and focused in its pursuit for an answer.

  Katrin considered how to respond. Take your time, she thought, and opened up a window to her thoughts. On one hand, she liked that the very thought that José made Erik jealous, but the honest truth was that aside from some pretty tame flirting, there was nothing to be jealous of. José’s eyes didn’t linger on Katrin. Aside from work, he didn’t seek her out for anything but friendly conversation. When his eyes lingered, they lingered on Gabrielle, and when he spoke to Gabrielle, it was in tauter, intense tones than he ever used with Katrin, regardless of the subject matter. Still…did Erik deserve reassurance?

  “You’re right. It’s none of your business, Erik. He’s cute. He’s nice. Neither of us is with someone else.” She watched his face, set like stone, staring straight ahead, his shoulders bunched uncomfortably high. His jaw flexed and his knuckles were white, clutching onto the railing, waiting for her answer. “But, to answer your question...no. I’m not seeing him.”

  He exhaled and his shoulders relaxed, but he still didn’t look over at her.

  “Not yet anyway,” she finished, and his head whipped to the side to look at her again. She met his eyes with raised eyebrows and smirked. “We’ll just have to see what happens, Minste.”

  ***

  The knuckle-dragging impulse to grab her and haul her up against his body was overwhelming. We’ll just have to see what happens. Like hell we will, Ӓlskling.

  An announcement alerted the passengers that the boat was preparing to dock, and Katrin smiled at him brightly, heading for the gangw
ay. He watched her walk away from him. The way her jeans hugged her backside made him groan.

  He caught up with her quickly, pulling her backpack off of her back, and swinging it up on top of his own.

  “I don’t mind carrying it,” she said.

  “Neither do I.”

  Katrin shrugged, gesturing to the large billboard-style map in front of them at the end of the dock where a small crowd was forming. “Do you want to figure out where—”

  Erik took her hand, leading her away from the others quickly, tapping his head with his index finger. “It’s all up here. Come on.”

  He pulled her along a short way until they came to a well-worn path that seemed to bend around the natural curves of Skeeko Bay. “Do you mind going off the trail?”

  “No. Not as long as you know where you’re going,” she teased. “Don’t really want to get lost in the woods.”

  “Kinda depends on who you’re lost with.” He smiled, lacing his fingers through hers and slowed their pace a little, confident they had put some distance between them and the other folks on the boat. “Haven’t you heard? I’m a really good tour guide.”

  “About that,” she asked, falling into step beside him. “Wasn’t it hard to leave the family business?”

  He shrugged. “I love my Pappa and my brothers. But, you know, I’m the youngest brother, and I think they all sorta thought I’d just follow along, you know? I mean, I love what I learned. I love being out here today, knowing what I’m doing. But I didn’t want to do it forever.”

  “I’ve never been to Yellowstone.”

  “What?” He stopped walking, turning to her in surprise. “What self-respecting Montana girl hasn’t visited Yellowstone?”

  “This one.” She smiled at him, shrugging good-naturedly.

  “Don’t like nature?” He started walking again.

  “I do. I think I just never had a good tour guide.”