Page 78 of The Summer Plans

“We need to soak it for about an hour or so.”

“How did you know what to do? Is this something they teach you in firefighter training?”

I shake my head. “Believe it or not, it was Logan and all those sea creature facts he was spouting. We were talking about poisonous fish on our fishing trip and he mentioned a stargazer, and then I saw it in the sand behind you. They can feel like an electric shock at the same time they inject poison into you.”

Her eyes go wide. “Poison? Should we go to a hospital?”

“I’ll keep an eye on it, but the hot water will break down the venom. I’ve already cleaned your wound, and I didn’t see any spines in your foot. As long as you’re not showing any signs of an infection and you aren’t experiencing any dizziness, nausea, vomiting, or trouble breathing, you should be fine, but we can get you checked out just in case.”

“It’s already feeling better. You don’t need to make a fuss over me.”

“I’ll always make a fuss over you, darlin’.” I wrap my arms around her shoulders as she leans back against me, still perched on the lip of the tub.

“Okay, maybe having my own personal firefighter isn’t so bad.”

“I got you.”

CHAPTER 26

SUMMER

“Is there anything else you want me to pack for you?” RJ moves around the room, throwing things in his suitcase.

I scoot down the bed. “It’s okay, I’ll do it tomorrow morning before we leave. I don’t have much. And I can do it myself.”

He stalks over, slowly crawling up the bed as he hovers over me. “You’re not moving from this spot.”

“I’m fine, I promise. My foot barely hurts anymore. You took good care of me.” I tug on his shirt and pull him down on top of me. His lips press against mine, and a rush of goosebumps erupt on my skin.

“I’ll always take care of you,” he says between kisses. When he looks in my eyes, I’m overwhelmed by the love I see there. “Stay with me.”

“But—”

He cuts me off. “We can figure things out once your kids get back. And my house is big enough that Sophie would have plenty of space when she’s there. I know you said you need to think about it with the kids and you don’t want to uproot them again, but that doesn’t mean we have to be apart while they’re with their grandparents. I can’t stand the thought of not curling up with you each night now that we’ve done this for two weeks.”

“Maybe.”

His dimple pops, a huge grin on his face. I want to see this face every night when I go to bed, and every morning when I wake up. Raven will have to be fine with this. There’s no way I’m giving this up.

His hands tangle in my hair, and I fight the urge to bring up his sister. The light dims in his eyes each time I do. I know he loves her, but after what he told me about choosing her back then, I don’t want history repeating itself. But doubt slowly creeps in, and I break the kiss.

“What if she gets mad and kicks you out?”

“Then we’ll figure it out.”

“Do you think she’d do that?” I slide out from under him and sit up on the bed.

“I doubt it. Raven has always looked out for me. She hated me living so far away for all those years. I think she likes that she can take care of me now that I’m back in town.”

“She’s like that with our mom group too. If I’m the mom of the group, the nurturer, she’s the dad that loves to provide for everyone.”

“I can see that.” He reaches across the bed to grab our Kindles. Once he hands me mine, I crawl under the covers and prop it up on my legs. When I look over at RJ, he’s grabbing his glasses off the nightstand. He brings the tip to his mouth, biting on it as he taps the screen. I love the look of concentration on his face as his brow furrows while his eyes scan the screen.

We’ve done this every night before bed, him reading his book while I read mine. The routine feels natural, like this is what we’ve been doing for years instead of days. I sink into my pillow, pulling up my current romance read. I’d left off at a particularly steamy scene, and I squirm under the sheets as I squeeze my thighs together to relieve the ache building there.

“What are you reading over there that has you blushing like that?”

I hug my Kindle to my chest. “Nothing.”