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“Later, toots.” He reached around to cup her bottom. “You’ve nearly worn me down to a nub as it is.”

“Fine,” she said. “If you can’t keep up, I’ll take pity on you.” She lowered herself to the blanket with a dramatic sigh. She shouldn’t tease him. She needed a break, too. Muscles she didn’t know she had were aching.

He slid his sunglasses from his nose to his head and then closed his eyes. She took a moment to admire how handsome he was with his beach-tousled hair and a few days’ worth of growth on his face. He’d shaved for vacation. Too hot for a beard, he’d told her.

They had grown closer since he’d won his award—and had broken her ex-boyfriend’s nose. Marcus kept her in his bed as much as she allowed, though she’d been sure to spend at least a few nights a week at home so that Bubba wouldn’t miss her.

She’d been thinking about moving her goldfish to Marcus’s house. He’d offered, saying that Bubba would appreciate the poster of Hawaii on his bedroom wall as a backdrop. But she’d argued that Bubba might also be traumatized by the things they did in that bedroom, so it wasn’t the best idea. He’d countered that goldfish were known for their short-term memories, so she had nothing to worry about.

That conversation had ended in a stalemate.

Little by little, she’d been moving into his place. A toothbrush here and a pair of shoes there. Last week he’d cleared out the guest bedroom closet for her clothes. “Just so you have what you need when you’re here,” he’d told her.

She suspected, once they returned from this trip, that they would broach the topic of cohabitation. Not only for her goldfish, but for her, too. She had decided a change of address would be welcome.

“Macadamia nut for your thoughts,” he said.

Lily, a novel open on her stomach, blinked over at him. How long had she been zoning out? A while, she guessed—her drink was more liquid than slush.

She reached for the nut he was holding between his thumb and index finger.

“Ah, ah.” He pulled his hand back. “You have to tell me what you were thinking about first.”

Oh, just me moving in and us sharing a fish and every morning and evening together for the rest of our lives.

“Nothing.” But her cheeks warmed, betraying her. Damn her fair skin.

His eyebrows jumped. “Again? You filthy girl.”

In a flash, he rolled out of the hammock and yanked her to her feet. Her book fell into the sand, and she stumbled to keep up with him.

His hands landed on her butt, and he squeezed her cheeks in his palms. “Let’s go play in the waves.” He stole a kiss. “Deep, dark waves where no one can see what my hands are doing.”

She reached for the drawstring on his shorts. “Or mine?”

He grinned down at her, his thick hair blowing in the breeze. “Especially yours.”

When his arm banded around her thighs, she squealed. He tossed her over his shoulder and walked her to the shore while she held onto the waistband of his shorts for dear life. He carried her until they were knee-deep in the ocean and then put her down, scooping handfuls of cool water onto her arms and shoulders.

She shrieked as chills skated along her sun-warmed skin. She held her hands up to stop him, but the water kept coming. “W-what are y-you doing?”

He dropped another handful onto her midriff. “Acclimating you to the temperature of the water.”

“Copping a feel is more like it.”

“Yeah, that, too.” He poured water over her shoulder and then trailed his hand down her arm. His smile faded. “I was thinking about the mansion.”

“And how you’d like to go back?” she teased.

“No.” But he didn’t smile. “I was thinking if you hadn’t made that bet…”

“We wouldn’t be here now,” she finished for him. “And if you hadn’t tried to scare me out of the house…”

“You might never have kissed me.” He gave her a wicked smile. “And if you hadn’t thrown yourself at me on that air mattress and begged for me to make love to you…”

She splashed his face. He squinted, saltwater dripping from his eyebrows and rolling off the tip of his nose.

He grabbed her waist and gave her a long, deep, slow, wet kiss. One she might not recover from any time soon. When they parted, she said, “I still love you.”