Page 57 of Give Me Forever Love

After I remind K who she belongs to, we freshen up with a shower and unpack our bags.

“What do you want to do?” I ask her as she hangs up shirts and everything else she’s got in that thing.

“I have no idea. You’re the one who planned this trip.”

I smile. “I was actually just being polite. We’ll go to IJ-Hallen, which is the biggest flea market in the Netherlands, and it only happens once a month, so we got lucky.”

“Lucky, huh?” she says, sliding her suitcase under the bed.

I smirk. “Maybe just a little luck and maybe a lot of planning,” I say. I stand up from lying on the bed and straighten out my shirt before grabbing my phone from the nightstand. I check the time and see a text that our private boat is waiting on us across the street. “Come on. Our ride is waiting.”

“Is that guy just sitting down there waiting on us?” She looks horrified.

“No,” I say. “But if I paid him to, he would be.”

“I’m glad you didn’t. I’d feel horrible for the guy.”

“I can see.” I shake my head and slide my phone into my pocket before grabbing my hat and placing it on my head. K slides on her shoes and grabs a cross body purse, opening it and putting her phone inside and we head out.

“So, if we’re not taking a car, how are we going to this biggest market in the Netherlands?”

“Boat,” I say.

“Boat?” she asks.

I point to the private boat just for us sitting in the water. “There.”

She gets the biggest smile on her face, and it makes my fucking heart explode. Sometimes, it takes my breath away. The fact I make her happy. Me, the Darrell Downer as my brother so cleverly called me.

His big brother, who’s always looked out for him. Little punk. We head across the street and the boat guy says hello. I nod and reach my hand out to shake his. “Bryce Grant. This is my girlfriend, Kathrine.”

“Good to meet you both,” he replies, smiling. He helps Kat on board, and she settles down onto the cushioned bench seat with orange and red throw pillows. “This is Amy,” the captain says. Amy smiles at us both. “Welcome to Amsterdam,” she greets. “Would you two like a drink?”

“Yes, please,” Kat says. We are both handed a glass of champagne as we start off. “Would you care to know any of the history as we go, or do you prefer to relax?” Amy asks.

“I’d love to know the history,” Kat says, looking at me.

“Whatever you want,” I tell her.

“Good.” Amy nods and then she begins. As we cross under bridges, Kat listens to everything Amy says, soaking it up like a sponge. I enjoy my drink and the fact that she’s really liking this.

After our boat tour, we take a ferry to the enormous IJ-Hallen flea market, which spills out of two industrial warehouses. We hold hands and Kat buys little odds and ends things to go in Mugs & Books. Once we’re done, we head back to eat Stroopwafels and have a beer.

The sun sets soon after, so we head back to the apartment and settle in for the night. The plane ride was long, and our day was full. Kat falls asleep without wanting to, and I carry her up to the room. Climbing in beside her, I pull her to me and I, too, fall asleep.

The next few days are filled with adventure. We rent a car and travel two hours away to Belgium to see Miranda Castle. Time and Mother Nature destroyed most of it, but the structure stands tall and strong. We step over crumbled stone, and K runs her fingers over the cracked walls.

“It was built in 1866,” I tell her. She looks back at me with a lifted brow. “What? I studied up a bit.”

She grins, looking sexy beautiful in a simple black dress and sandals. I grab her and kiss her crazy against old stone walls that have seen things I couldn’t imagine.

We eat out every night, checking off all the things you must try in Amsterdam. We watch the sun set, and when we’re not exhausted from the day, we make love before drifting off to sleep.

We visit old windmills and walk through Grote Market, and on the night before our last day, we climb into bed, tangled up in each other.

I explore her whole body, kissing and tasting. She slow rides me as sweet sweat drips down her back, and once we both fall and can’t go any longer, she lies on top of me and I whisper into the darkness.

“K?”

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