Page 102 of Beached Wedding

“Shane’s asking his parents to join us for breakfast,” Fox said when he returned and found me on the lanai.

“‘Us’ as in...”

“You, me, him….”

“You two are okay?”

“Okay,” he confirmed, but I heard it as ‘just okay.’ Not great, but okay was better than blood feud so I’d take it.

He stripped naked right here on the lanai.

“Decorum,” I reminded, waving at the handful of tourists out for an early morning stroll to the point below us.

“They can’t see anything. I tried really hard to see up your robe from down on the beach. I was not satisfied.”

“No? Want to try again?” I flicked the robe to expose my knee.

“No,” he said firmly. “I mean, yes. Always. But I said we’d be right down because Sandy and Eddie have to check out and catch their cruise back to Oz.” He bent to grip one arm rest of my chair. His other hand, cool and damp from the surf, ran beneath the fall of the robe up my thigh while he planted a kiss on my gasping mouth.

“Your hand is cold.”

“You’re nice and warm.” He tried to explore my belly, but ran into the constriction of the robe’s belt. We kissed again, lingering over it. Just when the tips of his fingers grazed into the notch of my thighs, sending a sharp tingle shooting between my legs, he pulled away. He was notably hard, gaze tempted as he studied me.

“If I promise to be quick?” I coaxed.

“Get in there.” He jerked his head.

Ten minutes later, I was brushing my teeth, bumping into Fox as he shaved, both of us wearing silly, stupefied grins.

The euphoria of climax dissipated when I threw on my sundress and sandals, though.

He pulled on the shirt and shorts he’d worn yesterday.

“I’m nervous,” I admitted as I picked up my bag and he pocketed his wallet.

“You can wait the rest of your life for a better day to face your problems, but they won’t change until you do. Vicky says that all the time.” He held the door for me.

“Is that why you always push in and sort things?”

“Do I really do that? Shane accused me of it this morning.”

“You kind of do, yeah.” As the door closed behind us, I slid under the arm he raised in invitation. We walked down the hall with arms around each other. “It isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If you hadn’t offered me a job, I wouldn’t be here right now.”

We arrived at the elevators and shared a look that held all the emotions. Amusement at our own expense. Remorse at how rough this week had been. Something deep that made my heart leap because this felt so inevitable and right.

“I don’t expect you to save me, you know. I can figure things out on my own,” I said.

“I don’t want to save you. I want to keep you.” He seemed to hear how possessive that sounded and smirked, rueful. “In my life, I mean. I think I knew that pretty much from the first hourwe met. It didn’t compute that I wanted to build my life around you until this week.”

“I don’t really understand why,” I confessed. “I know why I want to be with you. You’re amazing. Thoughtful and confident and funny and generous. I don’t know what you see in me, though, to put yourself through all of this.”

“Ash. You’re tougher than you look, braver than you think. And, damn it, we puteach otherthrough the wringer this week. But we came out stronger. No?”

“Yeah.” It seemed impossible and I was still a tiny bit boggled at having such an unwritten future, but I felt like I could handle whatever might come along. Maybe Iwastougher than I knew.

FOX

What I didn’t say was that it meant the world to me that Ash was taking a chance on me when my life was on such shaky ground. I knew I would always find a way to survive. I would always have an ancillary place with my foster families. Hopefully, I would repair things enough with the Holloways that I’d remain a part of their lives, too.

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