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“I have an idea.” His eyes fired.

“And what’s that?”

“Something we haven’t done in a while.” He clasped my hand behind his back and led me up the stairs to the kitchen.

Cole disappeared in the hallway, emerging with a blanket. He tugged on my hand, and kept walking until we were on the seaside deck and headed down the steps. It took me a minute to figure out his plan. I smiled. The alcove.

I ditched my shoes on the deck, thankful to have them off my feet, and followed him down the steps.

My eyes adjusted to the darkness of the beach. Cole tucked the corners of the blanket into the sand and handed me a water. I curled up under his arm and nestled against his chest. I could still smell hints of his cologne.

“This is perfect.” I sighed.

Cole tipped the bottle toward his lips. “Sure is. We haven’t had enough of this since you moved down here.”

The wind whipped around

the alcove, but in here, I felt safe. It was as if we were secluded from the rest of the world. The cyclone that was the wedding. The dirtiness of the lawsuit. The uncertainty of our future. In here, it was only Cole and me. And our baby.

We didn’t talk. We listened to the waves roll on the beach until our drinks were empty and I started to shiver from the chill of the wind.

Cole helped me up, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. “Let’s go get you warmed up.”

I followed him to the cottage, hoping this night never ended.

25

Kaitlyn

My phone was ringing, but I was in a tangled web of sheets and couldn’t get to it. I spun on my stomach to loosen the wrapping when Cole handed the phone to me. I couldn’t believe it. He was still in bed.

“Here you go.”

“Hello?”

“Kaitlyn, you aren’t going to believe this,” Mary Ellen shrieked in my ear.

“What’s going on?” I sank into my pillow.

“I’m on my way to South Padre.”

“What?” I looked at Cole, but he wasn’t paying attention to the call. His hand was sneaking over my hips.

“Aiden called me last night and said he wanted to fly me in for Sasha’s wedding.

she announced. “He bought me a ticket, and I’m headed to the airport right now.”

I had no idea what time it was, only that the light in the windows was light and airy. It couldn’t be very late. I gasped as Cole’s fingers moved against my skin.

“That’s great. I’m glad I’ll get to see you tonight.” I wasn’t sure what to say. I hoped we could avoid Aiden at the wedding, but that was going to be impossible if Mary Ellen was his date.

“I know. I’ll get to see you in that blue bridesmaid dress, and Sasha and Cal. I cannot wait. I haven’t gotten a gift yet. What should I send them?”

My mind was already in a haze, and I couldn’t even tell Mary Ellen where Sasha was registered. Cole’s fingers slid farther and slower.

“Um…I don’t know. Maybe we can talk about it when you get here.” I placed one hand over the receiver and tried to give Cole the death stare, but his head ducked under the sheet.

“Ok. I’ll text you when I land in Brownsville. Aiden’s going to pick me up. He said he can’t wait to see me. Can you believe all this? It’s going so fast, but it just feels right. You know?”