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The sun was just beginning to filter in through the curtains and Nate looked like heto keeptoo awake I wondered how long it had taken hie to reach out and touch his face, I slowly and quietly got out of bed and reached for the complimentary bathrobe I’d found on the back of the bathrooht It was made of the softest terry cloth Bailey Hartwell did not scrimp on the details

Having grabbed my phone off the bedside cabinet, I tiptoed over to the French doors and opened them as quietly as possible I squeezed out between the sht as possible so as not to disturb my husband’s rest

Once out on the balcony, I closed the doors behind me and sat down on one of the seats at a s across the horizon, a war the water to shore The boardwalk looked still and al out of a ulls cawed overhead and I foundup at them

“Quit it, will you?” I whispered My baby’s sleeping

But they continued on as if they hadn’t heard round soundtrack to the beach Soon the whole place gloith earlyits prickle on ently to shore below I’d broughtto take photos, but in that moment all I wanted to do was enjoy the peace this place cast over me

For a while I wasn’t worried about h money a month for their Christmas presents, and I wasn’t worried about work orin sick And for just a sliver of a le in s still weren’t completely resolved between me and my husband

He still hadn’t really opened up to ot so lost after Peetie’s death, and why he pushed me ahen Cam pulled Jo closer

And just like that my peace was shattered

I’d let the worries intrude on our vacation

My eyes flew open and I released a heavy sigh

“What’s wrong?”

“Holy shit!” My hand flew to ainst the French doors, wearing nothing but his pajaet up”

“I know” He pushed off the door When he walked over tothe other seat at the table His gaze drifted over our nificent view “You seemed far away”

“I was just enjoying the peace” I gestured around us

“It is beautiful, isn’t it?”

My gaze drifted over his gorgeous profile, and down over his bare torso He was all honed muscle and tan skin He used to have just the word “After” tattooed across his chest in black script It once was a mere letter—“A”—to represent his first love, Alana She died of cancer when they were teenagers and it royally fucked Nate up about women When I met him he was the ultimate player It had been easy to fall in love with each other but incredibly difficult to get Nate to admit it When he eventually did, he had hurt me so badly I’d decided I didn’t want to be with sohost He’d turned the “A” into the word “After,”that I hat came after his childhood sweetheart He told me he would always love Alana but I was the love of his life, and knohat that tattoo hadthe truth

Two years ago, he had the script lengthened to “After my first came my last” I’d burst into happy tears when I saw it The root lucky so many times for months because every ti at it now flooded me with memories of our sexcapades that summer

Noanted to lick him all over

Jesus, I shouldn’t have married someone so hot

Pushing thoughts of licking et much sleep?”

“Aye” He looked back atthe truth in his answer “I must have fallen asleep not much later than you”

“You were tired after all”

“It could have been your snoring It lulls me”

I glared at him “I do not snore” The only tinant I knew I had because Nate recorded it and made fun of me

He grinned “You’re so easy to wind up”

“Winding reat way to start our vacation”

“That depends”—his eyes suddenly smoldered—“on which way I wind you up”

A sht of Nate winding it up “What did you have in mind?”

He leaned toward me, his arms crossed in front of him on the table “Would you rather act out a faame?”