Page 46 of Between Two Shores

“Yes, I’ve been up since five. Gone for a jog. Did some journaling. This is lunch for me.” He bit a piece of his toast. “Yours is keeping warm in the oven. I didn’t know how long you’d be in the shower.”

“Thanks. What did you make me?”

“Bacon and scrambled eggs on toast.”

“Better than airplane food. Sounds delicious.” She pulled up a chair as he went to get her plate from the microwave.

He kissed her head before he placed her breakfast before her. “Enjoy.”

The salty bacon and buttery toast delighted her tastebuds. Beside the dining room, she caught sight of a small outdoor area with potted ferns and one lemon tree. Cute.

“How did you sleep?” Nick hugged a mug of coffee.

“Wonderful. Thank you so much for letting me have the bed.” She took another bite of egg with toast.

He grinned lop-sided. “I’m a true gentleman.”

She smirked. “So, what are we going to do about the sleeping arrangements?”

“It’s all taken care of.” He sat back in his chair. “I went to Target this morning and bought a single blow-up mattress. I’ll move the sofa to the wall and sleep in the living room.”

“Okay. Sounds good.” Beth took a sip of water Nick had set on the table next to the salt and pepper shakers.

Nick leaned forward and touched her arm. “Sorry, it wasn’t organized better. We thought we’d be married by now.”

She patted his hand. “It’s not your fault. If I’d made the time to volunteer at the charity, I would’ve come across the marriage license envelope before you left Australia. Dad doesn’t do admin. He left it all for me to handle, which I handed over to Sally, and she fell behind in processing the bills and mail while I was off swimming with whale sharks. Totally irresponsible. I feel terrible that I up and left everyone to take over my duties.”

“You served your dad for years. He supported your wish to leave and start a life with me.”

“True.” She gave a small smile. “I’m sorry for seeming ungrateful last night. Now that I’ve had a big sleep, I promise I’ll be in a better mood today.”

Nick wriggled his eyebrows. “You can make it up to me by coming to the marriage office today.”

Was there a rush to get married anymore? If she stayed with a host family, it wouldn’t be urgent.

She cut into her toast. “Any progress with the Israeli connections?”

“Yes. I had another zoom meeting last week.” He sat up taller. “I shared the dream I had. They’re open to forming a partnership of some kind.”

“That’s wonderful, Nick.” She touched his arm. “It’s all coming together.”

“Once we’re married, I want to book our flights.” He lifted one brow. “We could make it our honeymoon.”

“All right. As long as we know where we’ll stay before we leave.” She half-grinned.

“You need to trust me.” Nick waved a teasing finger.

“I like to make plans. This living-by-the-seat-of-our-pants deal is not my style.” She took another mouthful of food.

“Especially for a woman, I suppose. I’m used to the bachelor's life, so I’ve only been responsible for myself.”

She nodded and swallowed. “I’ve already asked you a million questions in the first two weeks from when we met in Fremantle . . .”

“That you did.” He chuckled.

“But I still feel I don’t know much about you, and we’re getting married so quickly.”

His brows furrowed. “What are you saying? We’ve got our whole lives to get to know each other.”

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