Fire In His Eyes (Secrets & Seduction #1)(39)
“I really care about you, Monica,” he said and pressed a kiss into the top of my head. I loved him, but I still couldn’t tell him that.
“I hope you know how much I feel for you, too, Victor,” I whispered into his chest.
His answer was, “Yes, I think I do. I do.”
We made love again that night, and he woke me early and we made love again. He left at six promising to call me every day at our usual time, and I began to get ready for my flight later that afternoon. I would have to hang on to the memory of this night for the next nine days. And, it was a good memory to have.
Maine was beautiful in the summer. Big trees, oak, and maple, scented the air. The conifers, green all year round, interspersed with the other hues of green. My father usually rented a cabin when we came for a few days, at least, as he had a very small apartment in town and it was pretty cramped. He also liked to take us camping and fishing like we did when we were little. My dad was an awesome father. He may not have been a great husband, but when it came to being a dad, I would not have traded him for the world. He and my mother had divorced twice, believe it or not. He was a cheater and a womanizer; my mother told us when we were old enough to understand. He was just not satisfied with one woman, and he had broken my mom’s heart twice. She had kept us in the dark, because she was a great mom, who knew how much we loved our father and how much we needed him in our life. The final divorce had happened when I was in my early twenties, and I was able to handle it. I was just glad both of my parents were happy now.
The first weekend in Maine dad took us shopping at the various outlets, and tried to buy us stuff like we were still children. Dad took Ana and me to visit with all our aunts, my dad’s six sisters, and some of our cousins. We also cleaned and scrubbed his small two bedroom apartment. He seriously needed a cleaning woman, and every year Ana and I would do a thorough spring cleaning in the summer for him.
By Monday, we were on our way to a little fishing village on the Canadian American border. The place was called St. Stephens. It was adorable and reminded me somewhat of my weekend with Victor in Ft. Lauderdale. The cabin was cute, and it had three rooms, so Ana and I did not have to share, like we did at my dad’s apartment. The woman was still a bed hog. We had shared a bed growing up, too. The best part about the cabin was that it was right on the water facing the St. John’s River, and we could fish sitting in hand-made Adirondacks right in the back yard. We did that the first night we got there catching up with the old man. I told him a bit about Victor. Just that I had met someone, and liked him, but did not know if it was going to be for the long term. Ana told him she had a couple of guys in the fire going, but I didn’t think it was true. She had been spending most of her free time with Teddy, aka bartender boy. Dad laughed and said she was too much like him, and his only hope for grandbabies was me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ana wince. She was hurt by that, but tried not to let it show. She couldn’t have kids, but our father did not know that. Her ex-husband had cheated on her, and given her a disease that had made her infertile. She had gotten treatment for it, but it had taken a severe toll on her. She had never told my father about it, she didn’t talk about it all. It was a shame because she loved kids, and dedicated her life to them in her work.
Dad told us about his new girlfriend, her name was Leandra. He liked her, but she was pushy and wanted to move in with him. He liked his space, and did not want all her lady things cluttering up the place. After being divorced for nearly ten years, he liked his space. He was fifty eight and did not see himself getting married again as my mom had done.
My mom had reconnected on the internet with an old flame four years ago and was blissfully happy with Tom, who took her out all the time, and loved to travel. My mom was actually sixty; she had retired early and both she and Tom spent more time away than at home reliving their youth.
The next day, my dad took us on a tour of the local Ganong chocolate factory in the morning and on a whale watching excursion in the afternoon. It was magnificent to see those mighty creatures. We were on a small commercial fishing boat, maybe a sixty footer, when a grey humpback came splashing out of the water. The thing was massive, twice the size of our craft, and rocked the boat. When we got back to the cabin, dad grilled us up some peppercorn steaks and made baked potatoes.
By Wednesday, we were on our way back to our dad’s place. Thursday, Ana and I spent the day visiting our friends from high school and college borrowing our father’s car. We spent the morning with Tammy, my dearest friend from college. In the afternoon we went to see Ana’s best friend, Louisa, and her daughter, Veronica.
Friday, we went for a hike in the woods with our dad, played cards in the afternoon, and then had dinner at a restaurant where we met my dad’s new girlfriend. Ana and I were both anxious to get home, so we packed our bags for the return flight early the next morning. All in all, it was a nice visit, and we enjoyed ourselves, but the highlight of each and every day for me was the phone call I got from Victor each night. On the night before my return, he had told me, “I really, really miss you. I didn’t think I would miss you this much.” His words were sweet. He did sound like he was missing me. That had to be a good sign, right? I was wrong.
Even though it was a five A.M. flight, I was happy about that. It just meant I would be seeing Victor soon. He had told me the night before that he would be able to pick me up at the Tampa International Airport at 11:00AM.