“That it’ll end. That I’ll wake up and the beautiful love story will have been a dream.”
He pinched her backside and she laughed. “Not a dream. This is the real deal.” He dotted her forehead with tender kisses. “Let’s go grab something to eat.”
After a delicious meal at a five-star restaurant, they returned to the house. As they made their way to the front door, he pulled her to a stop. “I want this to be a birthday weekend you’ll always remember.”
He opened the door and waited for her to walk inside. After taking a few tentative steps, she said, “There aren’t twenty people waiting to jump out from the behind the sofa, are there?”
“No. But I do have a surprise.” They retreated to the screened porch in the back of the home, facing the ocean. He relaxed into the sofa and pulled her on his lap.
“Renting this house for the weekend is surprise enough,” she said. “Really, honey.” He handed her a key. “What’s this for?”
“Happy birthday, babe. I bought you your fairy tale home. This is our new vacation getaway.”
As she scrutinized his face, she laughed. “No, you did not.”
“Yes, I did. I can show you the deed. It’s got our names on it.”
She kissed him again and again, then hugged him. “I still think you’re joking,” she said, tears pooling in her eyes.
“Not joking.”
“You are so good to me.” She grinned. “This is amazing and…well, I’m kind of in shock. When did it go on the market?”
“It didn’t. I made the owners an offer they couldn’t refuse. I bought all the furniture, too. I had to. I’ve never seen anyone so enthusiastic about a house before.” He dipped down, kissed her.
As the rhythmic waves crashed against the shore, she made love to him. Strong and intense one minute, soft and tender the next. She took the lead, taking him to the edge and then, making him wait. But when she took him beyond the brink, the ecstasy washed over him, saturating him in absolute pleasure. Loving him was something she did with intensity and ferocity. Loving her both grounded him and freed him.
“I love that we get so lost in each other,” she murmured.
He kissed her forehead. “I love how fiercely you love me and how I couldn’t live without you.”
They lost track of time, falling asleep in each other’s arms. In the middle of the night, he carried her upstairs and laid her in the bed. He slept better with her by his side, but tonight didn’t appear to be the night they’d get much slumber.
He loved her again, before she fell asleep in his arms.
Despite their lack of sleep, he made sure she was up and dressed, because at ten, the doorbell rang. Over her coffee mug, she narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re up to something, Sinclair Develin.”
Together, they answered the door. Whiskey sat outside, his tail swishing back and forth on the ground. When Evangeline poked her head outside, she laughed.
“Come on in,” Evangeline said to Carly and Maverick.
“Whiskey, free,” Maverick said and the dog bounded into the house.
“Whiskey, come,” Sin said and Whiskey trotted over. He knelt and rubbed behind his ears.
“We heard there’s a birthday girl here,” Carly said.
Evangeline hugged them both, then turned to Sin. “Looks like someone has been busy planning a little get together.”
“Not me,” he said with a straight face. “I fix things. I don’t plan them.”
“You are totally lying,” she said with a grin.
Later that morning, Colton and Brigit, Crockett and Alexandra, and Jagger and Taylor arrived. “We heard you had room in your new digs,” Alexandra said, hugging her.
“Happy birthday!” Brigit said before hugging her, too.
While Evangeline continued greeting her guests, Warren Hott arrived with Sin’s sister, Desiree, and their brother, Hudson. When Tucker showed up with Dakota and Sammy, Sammy hurried over.
