Page 74 of Sack

He shook his head. “No, I don’t. If I do watch TV, it’s game footage but nine times out of ten, I come home, eat dinner, and crash after calling you. I told you when we started this, once the season began, I wouldn’t have a lot of time for you. I thought you understood that.”

“I did.” She took a deep breath. “I do,” she clarified. “I just miss spending time with you.”

He hated she was upset, but his hands were tied. He took the step that separated them. “I do, too. So let’s not spend the time wedohave together fighting.”

He took her hand, walked them around the couch, then sat down, pulling her into his lap. “I have the next three days off. What do you say we get out of town for the weekend.”

She pulled back to look at him. “Really?”

“Yeah. Anywhere you want to go.”

“Can we go to the beach?”

“It’s a little cold for the beach.”

“We can bundle up.” She moved her hands from his shoulders and wrapped her arms around his neck and lowered her voice to almost a purr. “And if it gets too cold, I’m sure we can find something indoors to keep us occupied.”

“I like the way you think.” He took a second to nuzzle her neck, then said, “I’ll pack a bag, and then we’ll swing by your place so you can do the same while I make arrangements.” He glanced at the time. “If we get a move on, we can get to Newport by two.”

Ivy didn’t waste any time climbing off his lap, but she did take the time to give him an excited peck on the lips before she did it.

Taking the stairs two at a time up to his bedroom, he realized not only was he pleased he’d made Ivy happy, but he was looking forward to a little time away, too. He’d been working nonstop the past six weeks. And while he didn’t want to tamper with their winning streak, he also didn’t want to burn-out either.

After all, in the words of Lincoln Scott, all work and no play…

“This room is amazing.” Ivy didn’t stop until she reached the glass door that led out to the deck. “How did you get the bottom floor on such short notice?”

Colt tossed their bags on the bed and made his way over to her. “I think it helped that it’s the offseason. Not too many people visiting the beach this weekend.” It had rained for most of their drive over, but now the sun was making a valiant effort to peek out from behind the clouds.

“Well, whatever the reason, I’m going to enjoy sipping coffee out there tomorrow morning.”

“And I’m going to enjoy watching you sip it.” He placed a hand on her nape and leaned down, kissing behind her ear.

She turned and hugged him around the waist. “What should we do first?” Her eyes danced with excitement.

“First, I say we hit Bayfront. I’ve been thinking about fresh crab the whole drive here.”

“And after, we can watch the sea lions.”

He eyed her zip-up sweatshirt. “Grab an extra jacket, it will be cold at the wharf.”

Colt went to his bag and pulled out a ball cap while Ivy dug into hers, coming out with a lightweight down jacket.

“Ready?” he asked, pulling the hat low over his forehead.

She eyed him. “Does that work for you?”

He grabbed her hand and walked them toward the door. “Not really, but once I add sunglasses, I’ll be nearly invisible.”

“Right, because being the only man walking around in sunglasses on a rainy day isn’t at all conspicuous.”

“Is that sarcasm I detect?” He closed the door to their room, and they started down the hall to the parking lot. “I’ll have you know this disguise works nine times out of ten. People might think they recognize me, but they’re not sure, and that keeps them from approaching.”

She nodded. “I can see that. I know I wouldn’t walk up to someone I thought was a celebrity unless I was one-hundred percent certain.”

Colt helped Ivy into the car just as it started to sprinkle. The sprinkle turned into rain by the time they reached the wharf.

He found the closest parking spot and pulled in. “I don’t have an umbrella.” He hit the button to turn off the car.

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