“Absolutely.Whenever I see you, whenever I think of you, I'm off to the races.I can’t believe I almost lost you due to my own stupidity, Emma.”
I turn and look up at him.“It’s behind us.Let’s forget all about it.We’re together now.”
Finn shakes his head.“I will always remember how empty my life was before you came, how badly it hurt when I thought I’d lost you, and how content I am now that you’re with me, in this moment.”
“I’m content, too.Happier than I’ve ever been in my life.”
He glances down at me.I see my reflection in his sunglasses, and his lips curl in a half smile.
“You know what the best part is?”
“Hmm.”
“All the good shit in my life is better when you’re with me.I have more fun.I laugh more.I feel more connected to what’s real and important.It’s like you walked in and threw open the drapes, and the light’s poured in on me.”
A rush of desire and gratitude fills me.I can’t believe how fortunate I am to have found this man, to have been welcomed into his world.Standing on my tiptoes, I kiss him ferociously, and he returns the kiss.One of his hands slides up into my hair.
The other unbuttons my shorts.
And before I know it, he’s inside me, and I’m flying.We’reflying.
The sea and salty air carry us.Together.
CHAPTER 76
Emma
“Not much of a house?”I have to laugh at how Finn described this paradise.
We anchored the boat at a marina in a quiet, sparsely populated area of Catalina.We took a dinghy onto shore.Finn let me drive it after I showed some interest, and I have to admit that I loved the feeling.It’s the last thing I expected to ever hear myself say, but I think I could really get used to sailing.Once the dinghy was secured on shore, we walked up a sandy path to the house.
The beautiful beach cottage is all white with flower boxes under the gigantic windows.The sand path ends at a stone walkway that leads to a wide planked porch holding two cushioned Adirondak chairs and a side table.
The inside is just as charming.It’s casual with comfy furniture and the most shockingly perfect view I’ve ever seen.An entire wardrobe in my size—shorts, shirts, sundresses, pants, and blouses—is waiting for me in the master bedroom.I guess this is what Finn meant when he told me I didn’t need to pack anything.The bathroom is piled with clean towels and fine French toiletries.The kitchen is stocked.
Laid out on the fluffy king-sized bed is something I’ve never seen in person.It’s a stunning transparent negligee made of silk and lace in a soft peach hue.I pick it up and let the exquisitely soft fabric slide on my hands.“Oh.”
“You like?”Finn is right behind me.
“It’s gorgeous.It’s all gorgeous.Thank you.”
We make it through the house and out to the terrace with a vine-covered pergola and a long table for meals with a view.The sound of waves crashing on shore reaches us and puts me in a meditative state.
I never want to leave.
“It’s not all that big, but it’s a nice getaway,” Finn says.“I’ve hit my head on the doorframes more than a few times.”
I wrap my arms around him, looking up into his face.“Don’t blame the house for that.You’re freakishly tall, remember.”
“I’m a full inch shorter than Special K.”
“And that means what exactly?That you’re a slightly shorter giant?”
He shrugs.“I stopped measuring after I got to six-foot-four.I don’t like to brag.”
I slide my hand between us and try to wrap my fingers around the huge bulge in his khaki shorts.“Did you stop measuring here, too?”
He moans and pushes against my hand.“That little bugger has been growing since I met you.”
