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Brooke pressed her lips together at that, looking for a possible perk to it.

“I imagine he has had lots of practice in the way of loving. Which you can enjoy the benefits of. After a comprehensive STI panel.”

Caught off guard, I threw my head back and laughed.

“See why I can’t be trusted around men? I can turn any bad into a good. But I still think this one is one of the rare good ones. Just something to keep in mind,” she said, moving into my room to put the box on the bench.

“Thanks, Brooke.”

“Anytime. Once all that head ick cleans up, we want to see you down at the pool again.”

“We will be there,” I assured her, moving into our room.

“Ooh,” Lainey hooted as I put her in her beloved new swing that I’d wanted since she was born but could never afford.

“Swanky, right?” I asked as she started to swing side to side.

While she was occupied, I quickly cleaned up the room, making a mental note to add a vacuum to my list of non-essentials to buy. Sure, there was housekeeping at the motel. But they tended not to clean the rooms of the people living there as well as the rooms with high turnover.

Once I had some water in my giant new tumbler and had forced myself to eat some of the leftovers in the fridge—cold, since we didn’t have a microwave—I changed Lainey and gave her the final bottle of the night before putting her down in her playard. Then turned on her white noise machine Coast had bought her.

Finally, I took myself into the bathroom, spending a glorious half hour using all the new bath products Coast bought me—scrubbing, exfoliating, shaving, and slathering on some yummy-smelling lotion, then climbed into one of the new pajama sets.

As I walked back into the bedroom, I felt spoiled and luxurious.

And it was right then that there was a knock on the door.

I expected Brooke—back to sing Coast’s praises and offer to babysit while I took Coast for a ride—so I didn’t even stop to look out the peephole, just slid the lock and pulled the door open.

Then there he was.

Coast.

“Hey—” I started.

“Is Lainey sleeping?” he asked.

“Yeah, she—”

Coast stepped forward, grabbing me, turning me. Swinging the door shut, he pressed me back against it, making my stomach flip-flop.

“Thank God,” he said, reaching to slide the lock beside me.

Then his lips were on mine.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Zoe

Coast’s hands went to either side of my face as his lips pressed harder, sending little shockwaves of need through me.

Suddenly, every little fantasy I’d had about that very moment fell woefully short.

Coast kissed how he lived: hard, deep, with everything within him.

As for me? I melted into it, into him.

My hands rose to his sides, gathering up his tee, then sliding underneath, needing to feel his skin on mine.