“Third grade. Buncha cute monsters.” She snuggled against Trip’s arm, a La Croix in one hand and a cookie in the other. “They’re about to head out on summer break and forget at least a quarter of what they’ve learned this year.”
“Oh!” Thea brightened. “My best friend, Faith, runs a tutoring program that could probably help. They work with kids over the summer to fight off brain drain. I’m sure she’d put together a packet you could send home with your students for summertime learning activities.”
“Yes please,” Ash said immediately and tilted her head toward the cabin where they’d stashed their phones. “Shall we go exchange some info? And when we do, can you also give me the recipe for those divine cookies?”
“Absolutely,” Thea said as they disappeared belowdecks. “Dark chocolate and dried mango’s a powerful combination.”
Once the women’s voices faded, the only sound was the slap of the water against the hull of the boat and the pounding of Aiden’s heart in his ears. Surely Thea was making light of her checkered work history and not obliquely warning him about the shelf life of their relationship.
“When’s the last time we were out on the water like this?”
At Trip’s question, he shook off the frisson of unease gripping him. “Gotta be at least two summers ago, right?”
“At least.” Trip ran his eyes over the grassy riverbank at the edge of the water. “We should make this a regular thing.”
“We should.”
“Oh, I checked out the website for that project-management software. Seems like not the worst idea. Thea’s, I assume?”
Aiden laughed. “How’d you know?”
“Because I’m starting to think sheonlyhas good ideas.” He lowered his voice. “Seriously, how can we get her to come work for us? She’s exactly who we need to replace Mom.”
“I’m not sure we can.” The unease returned, and it must’ve shown in his expression because Trip’s face darkened.
“Wait, you’re not thinking of dumping her or some bullshit?”
“No!” Aiden’s gaze zeroed in on his girl, laughing as she emerged from the cabin into the sunlight. “If anything, the opposite. But you heard her just now. I don’t know how to make her stay.”
“Be honest with her,” Trip said, reaching for another cookie. “Lock that shit down, man. These chocolate mango thingies are the bomb.”
Hours later, Trip docked the boat and they all piled off in a laughing group. Thea’s face glowed pink from the sun, and her hair was a gorgeous tangle around her shoulders. She’d never looked more beautiful.
“This was so much fun! Thank you both!” she shouted at Trip and Ashley as they went their separate ways in the marina parking lot. Once they were in his truck, she saluted. “Where to now, commodore?”
He responded with his list of priorities for the rest of the night: “Your place. A shower. Some solid food. Sex until neither of us can move. And tomorrow after Belly’s graduation party, I’ll tackle the roses in the front yard.”
Thea chirped, “Aye, aye,” and thatthis is so rightfeeling surged in his heart again. Lee Blackwell had taught him how to care for roses, and now he’d use those lessons to tame the bushes the man had planted at the house that now belonged to his daughter. Aiden could barely put the immensity of that into words.
When they reached her house and headed inside hand in hand, he took in all the work they’d accomplished since her move in March. Exterior grout redone. Gutters cleaned and resecured. Gleaming, refinished wooden floors and walls stripped of their ugly paper and painted with warm neutrals that embraced her cozy furniture. Gorgeous modern kitchen. Non-life-threatening balcony. He’d helped her make this house a home, and to his shock, the only thing in the world he wanted was to have a permanent place in it.
“Shower first or eat first?” She started to head toward the kitchen, but he snagged her wrist and pulled her back to him.
“Sex first.” He nipped her ear.
She shivered—fuck, he loved the way he could make her shiver—and lifted her arms to run her fingers through his hair. “I’m baked to a crisp.”
“Not a problem from where I’m standing.” He tilted his head, reveling in the scratch of her nails along his scalp.
Her fingers moved down the front of his shirt, undoing each button she encountered until she slid it off his shoulders. “You’re pretty crispy too.” She pressed a kiss just below his ear. “This isn’t a problem for me either.”
In the end, they didn’t make it out of the hallway, and he didn’t even manage to get her all the way out of the bikini top that had been tormenting him all afternoon. How could he even think about stopping when she shimmied out of her cutoffs, turned to brace her hands against the wall, and looked over her shoulder at him with such blatant invitation? He was pressed against her moments later, plunging a hand into the neckline of her shirt and plucking her nipple through the stretchy swimsuit material. His other hand moved between her thighs, and he hissed when he found her already wet for him. He stroked one finger into her, then two, and she groaned and slid her hand between their bodies to creep down the front of his shorts so she could grip his dick. She squeezed and stroked him while his fingers moved over her clit and her breast, and they breathed together until he made her come and she made him come right back.
When their heartbeats had slowed afterward, he brushed her hair aside to kiss up her neck to her ear. “It’s never been hotter than with you.”
She tossed a wicked little smile over his shoulder. “Ditto. But now I have to let Blueprint out, and you have to feed me.”
They straightened their clothes and headed into the kitchen, where she whistled for Blue to follow her into the backyard while he threw together a stack of sandwiches. They carried them upstairs to eat on the balcony after a quick trip through the shower. He stopped short when he saw that she’d added a second lounge chair.
