Rainier Drive (Cedar Cove #6)(96)

Teri wanted Bobby to like her cooking. When he’d taken her out for dinner, or—more frequently—ordered room service, they’d always had fancy food, lobster and such. She thought he’d enjoy some more basic fare. Her kind of food.

It seemed strange but they’d been apart longer than they’d been married. She needed her husband, missed being with him and, yes, sleeping with him. Although the truth was, neither of them seemed too interested in sleep. She smiled, recalling how much Bobby seemed to enjoy the marriage bed. Well, it’d mostly been hotel beds, but that wasn’t the point.

Peering out the window, she saw the stretch limo pull up in front of the house. Too excited to wait a second longer, Teri dashed out the door. Bobby hadn’t even taken two steps toward her when she hurled herself into his arms. The impact nearly knocked him off his feet. If not for the fact that the vehicle was directly behind him, Bobby would’ve keeled straight over.

Teri spread eager kisses across his face, setting his glasses askew. She quickly realized he wasn’t nearly as enthusiastic as he normally was.

“Bobby?” she asked, leaning back to get a good look at him. “What’s wrong?”

He didn’t answer right away. In fact, it was James who explained in hushed tones. “You didn’t hear?” he asked. “Bobby lost.”

Well, those things happened. He couldn’t possibly win every time. You win some and you lose some; that was her philosophy of life. In Bobby’s case, he won more often than he lost because he was so darned good at what he did.

“He doesn’t like to lose, Miss Teri,” James explained further.

“No one enjoys losing,” she said calmly. “Does this mean our entire visit is ruined?”

“He doesn’t lose often,” James continued.

Bobby didn’t even seem to be listening. James dragged his suitcase into the house and placed it just inside the living room.

“I’m afraid he’s taken the defeat hard,” James said in a low voice as he walked past her on his return to the limo. “He needs a bit of TLC, and he’ll be fine. I’ll be back to pick him up in two days.”

Pulling her husband gently by the hand, Teri led him into the house. “Let me give you a tour,” she said.

He seemed to be in some kind of trance. “Bobby, are you listening?” She waved her fingers in front of his face with no result. Instead he walked over to the chessboard she’d set up on a small oak table and sat down. She’d studied a diagram to position the pieces correctly. Without a word, he started moving them around.

Teri could see it would do no good to interrupt him with a little thing like…life. His concentration was so complete that he didn’t seem to be aware of where he was or that she was with him. Rather than pouting or making a fuss, Teri dished up a bowl of her specialty macaroni and cheese, squirted on some ketchup and sat cross-legged on the carpet beside him to wait.

An hour later, Bobby glanced up, apparently shocked to find her there. “Teri?”

“Hello, Bobby. Welcome home.”

“I lost.”

She sat down on the sofa next to him and brushed his hair aside. “I heard,” she said tenderly. “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t like to lose.”

No kidding. “Did you figure out what went wrong?” she asked, looking over the chessboard and the pieces he had scattered about.

He nodded.

“Are you hungry?”

Her question resulted in a furrowed brow, as if he wasn’t sure how to answer.

“Never mind, I’ll get you a dish.”

“I could wait,” he said, and his eyes held hers for the longest moment.

Teri might not have been married long but she knew that look. “Perhaps you’d like to see the rest of the house,” she suggested. “Shall we begin with the master bedroom?”

For the first time since he’d arrived, Bobby smiled. He trotted down the hallway behind her and into the bedroom. Then he shut the door.

An hour later, Teri lay next to him in bed, sighing with contentment. Bobby held her close. “Losing doesn’t seem so bad when I hold you,” he murmured.

“Good. I’m glad.”

“I’m hungry now,” he said and, as if to prove his point, his stomach growled.

“You should be,” she said, kissing his jaw. “That was quite a workout I gave you.”

Bobby smiled again, and Teri wondered how many people in this world had actually seen her husband do that. Not many, she suspected. She climbed out of bed and got her robe, slipping her arms into the sleeves.

“Do you like the house?” she asked, tying her sash. She’d felt a bit anxious about that, since she’d made the decision without Bobby.

He sat up and grinned. “Very much. Especially the bedroom.”

Teri swatted his shoulder playfully. “Come on, husband of mine, and I’ll serve you my specialty.”

He tilted his head to one side, and gazed up at her, his expression intense.

“Bobby?” She wasn’t sure what he was thinking when he stared at her like that.

A deep frown wrinkled his brow and the perplexed look gradually turned into one of pleasure—and wonderment. “I love you,” he said simply. “I really love you.”

She leaned over and kissed him softly on the lips. “I love you, too.”