The picture appeared in his messages a second later. Jackson blinked.
It was a photo of him taken two summers ago, back before his last deployment. They were in the middle of the lake, paddle boarding. He could practically feel the heat again, the ripple of the water beneath him. And there, in the corner of the frame, was Zoe. She was laughing, hair loose, wearing that dark-green bikini top with the white bottoms that had nearly wrecked his concentration all summer.
Before he could stop himself, the fantasy took shape.
He pictured her now, not two years ago, but here, with him again, on a quiet stretch of the lake where the only sound was the water lapping at the shore. The ground beneath them was soft with moss, the air warm and smelling of sunlit water. She untied the back of her top, letting it fall forward, and his breath hitched at the sight of her bare breasts.
He moved toward her, unable to stop himself, pressing her back against a tree as his mouth claimed hers. One of his hands slid up, pinning her wrists above her head, while the other cupped her breast—thumb brushing over the peaked tip before rolling it between his fingers. She gasped into his mouth, arching toward him, and he bent his head to take her other nipple into his mouth, sucking and teasing until she whimpered.
Her legs parted for him, pulling him in closer.
Jackson cleared his throat as the vivid images flashed uninvited through his mind, how he could taste the sun on her skin. Her curves. The indent at her waist. The perfect valley between her breasts.
Jackson exhaled sharply, dragging himself back to the present. The phone screen still glowed in his hand, and he could feel the heat crawling up his neck.
“Well now,” he said, voice rougher than he intended. “Didn’t know you had that kind of photo of me saved on your phone.”
Zoe let out a mortified laugh. “Oh my gosh—sorry! I should’ve deleted it. I totally forgot it was in there, I swear.”
“I kid! I just wish I had one of you in that bikini.”
“My bikini. You remember it?”
“I remember,” he said, tone dipping low. “Green bikini, white bottoms. Don’t think anyone’s forgotten that.”
“Okay, that’s enough out of you, mister fake boyfriend,” she said, but he could hear her smiling. “You’re good if I post this?”
“Positive. Go for it.”
The line was quiet for a moment before Zoe said, “Okay…posted. I guess that makes it official.”
“Same here,” he said, already hitting upload. “Who knew we were laying the groundwork for this fake dating thing years ago?”
“I know. We couldn’t have planned it better if we tried.”
A soft beat of silence passed between them with just the sounds of her breathing.
“So…tomorrow morning,” Zoe said, her tone lifting in question. “Spring Market opens at nine. You still want to meet me there?”
“Wouldn’t miss it. Might even show up early and help you set up.”
“Oh wow, pulling out all the stops,” she teased. Then, after a pause, her voice warmed with that hint of excitement he loved hearing. “Actually, we could talk to Krista’s grandparents while we’re there. They’ve lived in Maple Falls forever—if anyone remembers something about the mystery bloom, it’d be them.”
“Good idea,” Jackson said. “And after that, we could grab brunch at Anita’s and maybe ask her about it too. Chances are she remembers the flower or at least a story about it.”
Zoe laughed softly. “True. If there’s gossip attached to it, she’ll know.”
“Then it’s settled,” Jackson said. “Spring Market, then Anita’s.”
She hesitated, and then her voice warmed. “Yeah. I’d like that.”
Jackson smiled. “Then it’s a date. A fake one. Obviously.”
“Obviously.”
A small laugh escaped her before the line went quiet, both of them lingering again in a silence that didn’t feel awkward at all.
“Night, Zoe,” he said.
