Wildest Dreams (Thunder Point #9)(63)

Getting out of the race area was a challenge. There were going to be runners coming in for hours and hours and the foot traffic was thick. Lin Su and Mikhail took turns pushing Winnie’s chair. Then, once they made it to the van, the traffic on the road was heavy; the triathlon had drawn thousands of spectators. If they’d had more energy, they might’ve gone out to dinner. Winnie was especially worn-out. It was seven before they were back at the condo, eating a light meal on the patio, going over and over every aspect of the race.

Little by little, the condo quieted. Winnie went to bed early. Mikhail found a comfortable chair and ottoman in her room and an extra blanket—even here, he would not relax his vigil. If Winnie awoke in the night, he wanted to be the one to assist her. Charlie sat on the sofa, the TV on and turned low, his laptop on his lap. Within an hour he was slumped on the couch and she closed his laptop and woke him, steering him to bed.

There were people out on the beach, of course, but the patio had a couple of dividing walls separating it from the unit next door and the tiki-lit sidewalk was on the other side of the pool, which was now quiet. She could hear revelers, perhaps celebrating the race, perhaps vacationers. Apparently she was the only one in the house still abuzz with excitement from the astonishing experience of the day. At nine, everyone quiet in the condo, sliding doors ajar so she could hear if Winnie called for her, she fixed herself a rare glass of wine and sat on the chaise, feet up.

Her cell phone rang in the pocket of her capris and it startled her, then shocked her. She was always obsessive about charging it, but it had been in her pocket all day with no worry about that. Other than taking a few pictures of Blake at the finish, she had virtually ignored it. No one ever called her but Winnie or Charlie, on the rare occasion Grace. She pulled it out and looked at the screen. Blake?

“Hi,” she said, expecting to find no one there, a butt dial.

“Hi,” he said. “I’m just getting to bed but I wanted to call.”

“Oh, Blake, did you try Charlie’s phone and get no answer? For someone who didn’t compete in the race, he sure passed out early.”

“I didn’t try his phone,” Blake said with a slight laugh. “I’m calling you. It was so nice you were there, Lin Su.”

“We were all there,” she said.

“Yes, and you were there. I think I’m growing on you.”

“Oh, Blake, you can’t still think I don’t like you! Not now!”

“I think you’re coming around. But you’re a hard sell. I’ve had to pull out and dust off all my old guy skills and charm you to pieces. Before I fell asleep, I wanted to thank you. You were there, you were excited, you were proud. It meant a lot to me.”

“Stop,” she said, laughing at him. “You were completely mobbed by people! A lot of people were there, excited and proud!”

“I’m not ungrateful,” he said. He yawned. “I’m lucky to have sponsors, friends and acquaintances. But I want us to be better friends. To get to know each other.”

Her heart started to pound. What was he saying? That he liked her as more than a friend? The way a man likes a girlfriend, someone he has deeper feelings for? What a frightening idea! What if she took that chance and it went badly? Everyone would suffer!

In the end, the only response she could come up with was, “Why?”

Blake laughed. “You are so out of practice,” he said. “Worse than I am and I haven’t had a woman in my life in quite a while. But at least I remember. Why? Because I think, once we know more about each other, we’re going to understand each other. We’re going to see we’re a lot alike. And I bet we want many of the same things.”

“Wait,” she said. “You haven’t had a woman in your life? What about your trainer? Coach?”

“No,” he said. “And I’ve asked her to stop that proprietary touching and behavior. It gives entirely the wrong impression. I have to sleep, Lin Su. I ate, I had a beer and I’m only awake now because I was too wired to slow down. I have about thirty seconds of consciousness left. That should be enough time for you to tell me you’d like a chance to know me better, too.”

“I, ah...”

“Twenty-five seconds. Please, don’t jump to negative conclusions. I’m a very polite and considerate guy.”

“Well, of course, getting to know you better would be good,” she said. “I think. Forgive me, I’m surprised.”

“You shouldn’t be. And it’ll be good.” He yawned deeply. “Talk to you later.”

“Later,” she said. The phone went blank as he signed off and she added, “Sweet dreams...”

* * *

Seth said he dreaded his parents’ return from their Alaskan cruise, but Iris was more excited than a little kid. She was planning a nice dinner for the whole family for Saturday night so that Seth’s two brothers and their wives could help welcome Norm and Gwen home from their first real vacation ever.

“It’ll be fun,” Iris said. “Your folks get home Friday afternoon and I bet they have pictures and tall tales.”

“You do realize Gwen may come home alone,” Seth said. “I bet she threw him overboard.”

“He seemed to have a very good attitude about the cruise before they left. Gwen said he even packed a couple of the new things she bought for him.”