Page 76 of Yours and Mine (Friends with Benefits)

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

“Good. I wouldn’t want our baby born when I’m away.”

Our baby.Wow, that sounded so wrong and so right. There was no one else in the world whose baby I’d want to carry, other than Nick’s, but he was right. The timing was completely off. Nick had to go back to the navy, and I wanted to start the online bakery business as soon as he left. I lowered my dress and smoothed my hands over it when my gaze found the lake.

“Unzip me, please.” I turned around.

He didn’t ask why, but pulled the zipper on my back down and I stepped out of my dress.

“You’re the sexiest woman I ever met.” His eyes glowed with hunger, and I bet that if I let him, he’d take me again. But with the sun so hot today and me still sweaty, all I could think about was that cool lake.

“Feel like taking a dip?” I asked.

Amused by the idea, he lowered his pants to the ground and removed his running shoes. I reached to the back and unclasped my bra. He sucked in a sharp breath and I proceeded to lower my panties. His cock twitched and started getting hard again.

“You better get in that water before I catch you.”

I ran to the shore. The water felt cold at first, but as I dove in, the temperature of my skin dropped and adjusted. It was perfect. Nick swam up behind me.

“Carter tells me you planted some flowers at his house.”

“I did. I thought it would help him to deal with Daisy’s passing. He didn’t talk to anyone for months.”

“He seems better now.”

Nick took me in his arms and I wrapped my legs around his torso and my arms around his neck. The trapezius muscles extended from his shoulder blades all the way up his neck. They made him look so strong. I smoothed my fingers over the area. Every time I touched Nick, it felt like I was touching him for the first time.

“He is, but sometimes I think he’s putting on a show for everyone.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. It’s a gut feeling, you know. I mean, when you were gone, I got him. I knew what it felt like when you didn’t have your loved one, but he lost Daisy permanently. It was hard.”

“Well, I’m glad he’s got a good friend in you.”

“He’s been good to me too. He always reassured me that you’d be back. He made time fly by quicker.”

“Speaking of time…”

I heard a slight vibration in his voice, and I didn’t like it.

“I returned home ahead of schedule because they need me back a bit earlier as well.”

“How much earlier? I thought you said in your letter that we’d have the whole summer.”

“That was before I agreed to take on a special mission. I have to go back at the end of July.”

“But that gives us only four weeks.”

A feeling of impending anger was blossoming in my chest, but Nick was not done with the bad news just yet. I shook my head, my intuition slowly kicking in.

“For how long, Nick?”

“Twenty-four months.”

“Two years! You’ll be gone for two years?”

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