Rockies Retreat: Destination: Desire, Book 5 by Crystal Jordan Page A

while.”
    Laurel checked her watch. “We’re right on time, Vi. Don’t let your need to be early freak you out.”
    It wasn’t an answer to her question, but Mimi rushed up just then and interrupted. “All right, campers. The stock boy loaded everything in the van for me, and Gloria wants some of these supplies pronto. Let’s get back on the road. Did you guys get everything you needed?”
    “Definitely.” Neil gave her a mild smile, and Laurel elbowed him subtly as she climbed into the van before him.
    Mimi turned on the radio and got Vi and Laurel to sing bad country music with her. Off-key. Neil tried not to wince, but the noise was good cover. He leaned over to Laurel and commented quietly, “It’s going to be hard to hide what we’re up to. At best, it’ll soon be an open secret.”
    “I was thinking the same thing earlier.” She let her head fall back against the seat, then rolled it to face him. “Are you concerned about Violet knowing?”
    “She’s known when I was with other women before. I don’t hide things from her. You’d be the first who had a relationship with her, so that would be new.” He tapped his fingertips on his thigh. “I don’t have a problem with her knowing we’re…dating…if you don’t.”
    “Are we calling this dating?” Her wide eyes gave nothing away, so he had no way of guessing what she thought.
    “Not that I get to take you out to dinner or bring you flowers while we’re here, but I’d say yes. We’re dating.” He swallowed hard, suddenly nervous and sure he was going to get dumped by someone who wasn’t yet his girlfriend. “That’s my opinion. You might have a different take on things.”
    She ran her fingers down his forearm, the caress lighter than a whisper. “I’m okay with the dating label. For the summer. I can’t commit to anything beyond that.”
    “And you’re all right with people knowing we’re using the dating label?” he prompted. “Just for the summer.”
    While he hadn’t expected to deal with a relationship during this program, now that he was confronted with the possibility, he wanted the details nailed down. Not his usual MO, but nothing about his reaction to Laurel had been usual so far.
    “Yes, people can know. Including Violet.” Her gaze went dead serious. “But you need to actually talk to her about it, find out if she’s really okay with it.”
    It had never occurred to him not to talk to Vi. This wasn’t something he wanted his kid hearing about through the grapevine. As he’d said, it would be an open secret if they didn’t go public. Vi deserved to hear about it from him. “And if she’s not okay with this?”
    Laurel shrugged. “We keep this to the very occasional booty call, and try very hard not to get caught, so we don’t become fodder for the gossip mill. Which would mean no more of what we just did. It’d be too big a risk.”
    “Fair enough. I’ll speak to her.” His respect for her notched up a little more, liking that she understood his daughter’s feelings would have to take precedence over a short-term relationship that hadn’t even fully formed yet. Luckily, he was about ninety-eight percent certain Vi would be ecstatic to have Laurel around even more often.
    “Hey, you stopped singing!” Mimi glanced in the rearview mirror.
    Laurel waved back. “I didn’t like that song.”
    She rejoined the choir of caterwauling, and he tried not to whimper all the way back to the lodge.
    Thank God she was a better painter than singer.

Chapter Six
    They were starting to become experts in the quickie.
    It had been two weeks, and any time Vi was busy with something else, Laurel found herself in Neil’s arms. His daughter had definitely been okay with them dating, but Laurel wasn’t quite ready to stay the night with Vi there. So, they specialized in afternoon delights. And it was delightful. It was hot and amazing and got better every time. How was that even possible? Shouldn’t the passion be