Page 97 of Against All Odds

“Yeah.” I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I’ve always had a fantasy about fucking you in a boat.”

She tilted her head slightly, looking up at me with a cheeky smile. “Is that why you brought me here?”

“Obviously,” I teased and then added soberly, “I wanted to be alone with you outside.”

“Are we together again?”

I gave her waist a gentle squeeze. “I fucking hope so…no, wait,yes,Bambi, we’re together again, and this time, I’m not letting you go.”

She let out a soft laugh, her fingers flicking water into tiny droplets that sparkled in the sun. “Do I make you happy?”

“Immensely,” I admitted, resting my chin lightly on her shoulder.

“Will we…will we be okay?”

“Yes, Sable. I’ll be the guy rowing the boat. You’re the one who’ll keep everything afloat.”

She turned her head slightly, just enough for me to see her expression shift into something soft and vulnerable. She believed me. I could see it in her eyes.

I stopped rowing for a moment, letting the boat drift in the middle of the lake. The quiet settled over us again, wrapping us in a cocoon that felt like it was just ours.

“You good, Bambi?” I asked quietly after a while.

She nodded, and then spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. “So, so good.”

I let the oar rest across the side of the boat and tightened my hold around her with both arms, pulling her closer. She didn’t resist, settling against me like she’d found her home—as I knew I had.

CHAPTER 34

sable

Ibalanced my to-go coffee cup in one hand and my purse in the other as I looked for my phone in my purse, making sure I hadn’t left it somewhere.

“Sable!”

The voice caught me by surprise. I looked up from my search. “Jack?”

I knew from the grapevine that since Molly left, Jack was a bit of a mess. He’d been drinking a lot, thankfully, not at the Wildflower, and his business was hurting.

He stumbled toward me from the sidewalk, looking worse for wear. His shirt was wrinkled, his hair was unkempt, and his eyes were glassy. Even from ten feet away, I could smell the alcohol on him.

“I have something to say to you, Sa…ble,” he slurred, waving an arm in the air like that would make his words more coherent.

“Jack, you’re drunk as a skunk. Go home.” I tried to sidestep him, but he blocked my path.

“You think you’re better than me now?” he sneered, his voice low and bitter. “You always thought you were better.”

“Hey, Jack, you need a ride somewhere, bud,” someone called out.

“Stay the fuck out of it. I’m talking to…my…wife.”

“Ex-wife,” someone else called out.

“Jack,” I said softly, trying to keep the situation from escalating. “You’re drunk. Go home.”

“Home?” he barked out a laugh. “I don’t even have a home. Molly’s gone. Took the kid and left me with nothing. And you’re laughing at me, aren’t you? You and that new man of yours.”

Had I loved this man? Seriously? What was wrong with me?

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