“You make me feel like you’re completely enamored with me.”
I feel a loss the moment he slides out of me to drag his shorts back up. “Solid observation.”
I roll my eyes as I wiggle to retie my bikini. Ford is quick to help me with the strings around my neck.
Now covered, I move to sit between his legs, with my back to his stomach and his arms finding a home around me.
“I hope you put on sunscreen; the sun is strong today.”
He kisses the top of my head. “Remember that time we came out here and we forgot? You looked like a lobster for days.”
I laugh at the memory. “Yeah, and I was red everywhere, not one inch spared; bikini lines gone, which meant everyone knew I had been naked.”
“With me.” He grins with pride.
“Exactly.”
“Do you know what I think is amazing?”
I kiss his upper arm that rests across my shoulder. “What?”
“Even when we weren’t together, I’m the lucky guy who knew you from the beginning. We have a history. I’m your first, and I know every little thing about you. We share a child, connected for life. Nobody could come close to that; I get to be the one who sees you in a different light.”
My tongue runs a line inside my mouth. “I know the feeling. You are my rock, even when I chose not to admit it.”
“I promise I won’t sink you down.” He squeezes me tighter.
“Nah, it’s okay, you can. Everything inside of me felt weighted down before. Every time I thought any chance of us would go out the window, I couldn’t move on. Now, I know I felt that way because you’re worth the wait. We were always going to find our way back, I believe that now.”
“Is it possible to feel so incredibly happy that you know it makes up for lost time?”
My shoulders come up to my ears in doubt. “I guess we’ll find out.”
“Yeah, we will.”
Over the next hour or two, we swim and have some drinks from the cooler. As I watch Ford load the boat, I can’t seem to shake this feeling that, as much as we trust our change in relationship, we are currently in our own world and bubble.
What happens when the outside world sticks a pin in it?
14
FORD
Connor drops his bag by the door to the garage and starts to run in the direction of the den off the main living room that houses the game system. Today was the end of camp.
“Hey, cutie, how about we pick up the bag you left on the floor?” Brielle suggests with a sweet smile as she walks from the kitchen, drying her hands with a towel.
I was on pick-up duty, as I wanted to check a few things in my office, and Brielle stayed home to study in quiet.
Our son groans and mopes back on the trail he took until he picks up the backpack, then hangs it on the hook. “Happy now?”
“Very,” Brielle answers dryly.
Connor starts his trek, but I grab him by the back of his shirt. “Whoa there, cowboy, how about a hug for your mom?”
“Ugh, fine.” Connor walks to his mom and gives her a lazy hug.
“How about I get you a snack?” Brielle ignores his behavior and coddles him.
