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“What? Who told you about that?”

She laughs in that adorable way of hers. “The knitting club ladies. Apparently, you made quite the impression on them. Not only today, but when you were still wearing diapers as well.”

I shake my head and grin. “Unbelievable.”

She catches my eye and I know there’s something she doesn’t want to say. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s silly,” she says.

“You can tell me.”

She sighs. “I don’t mind swimming in my underwear, but I don’t exactly have a dream body. I don’t want you to laugh when you see me.”

I put my hand on her cheeks and caress her lips with my thumb before kissing her. “Stop it. You’re beautiful. I would never laugh at the way you look.”

“I guess, but I’m not sure you’ve noticed the fat that—”

I silence her with another kiss. “Shh. I don’t want you to finish that sentence, okay? You’re the most beautiful woman in every room and in every pool.”

She kisses me back, long and hard. At this rate, we’ll never even make it into the water. Not that it matters. A pool, a dumpster, a sandy beach, or a construction site… As long as I can be with Elle, I don’t care where we are.

“Will you show me the dressing rooms?” she asks.

I point her in the right direction. While she disappears into a dressing room, I pick out some songs on my phone and stream the playlist to my portable music player. It’s waterproof so if the device gets wet, it won’t be a problem. I strip down to my boxershorts, then lower myself into the warm water and turn my body to face the ceiling. I love how silent it is in here. Nothing but the soft music playing and the gentle splashing of my feet in the water.

A few minutes later, Elle joins me in the pool. I wrap her in my arms, and we bob up and down without speaking.

“I wish we could freeze time and stay here forever,” I whisper in her ear, breaking the silence between us.

Her breath tickles my earlobe as she replies. “Same. I don’t know how I got to be so lucky.”

All I want is to kiss her repeatedly, only coming up for air to catch a breath. Since no one else is around, that’s exactly what we do.

As soon as our lips lock together, it’s like time and space warp and no longer make sense to me. The way she kisses and touches me lets me know she feels the same way. The moon casts a gorgeous shadow over the water. For this moment to be even more perfect is impossible. It already is perfect, giving me the kind of oxytocin high that will carry me through whatever life throws my way. I don’t want to think of the future, though. All that matters is right now. Us. Together.

My head is spinning. I’m so in love with her that I might explode.

“This feels so great,” she murmurs. “I don’t ever want to stop kissing you.”

“Then don’t,” I say with a laugh. “Please don’t.”

She bites her lip. “But you might leave soon.”

I shrug and grin at her while wiping a wet strand of hair from her face. “I think I’m going to stay right here with you, Elle. You’re way too important to me to jeopardize our future.”

We kiss and swim and chat in the moonlit pool. I can’t remember the last time I felt this good and at ease. It’s been years, that’s for sure.

Right when I pull Elle close again for another kiss, a door slams. My heart skips a beat. No one knows we’re here, except for Frank, who took off hours ago. What’s going on?

Elle and I turn around as the door to the pool opens. Dread fills my veins. At the edge of the pool, the intruder comes to a standstill.

“Maggie, this is not what it seems,” I mumble. “I mean, it is, but…”

She’s fuming so bad, I’m afraid she’s going to go up in flames any moment. “What the actual heck, Colton? Is this why you were being held up, huh?”

“Maggie, please, it’s not your brother’s fault,” Elle interjects.

She harrumphs. “Yeah, nothing ever is.”