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I flush. Maybe he doesn’t remember asking me. “Sorry, I—”

“Thank you. I like having you here in the morning.”

Oh, my heart! “You want to get some breakfast?”

He grimaces. “How about I make you breakfast?”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Yeah. I do. After last night, I owe you at least a hundred breakfasts.”

OK, yeah. Now I’m wondering what it would be like to spend a hundred nights and mornings with this gorgeous guy. “Well, if you insist.”

“Let me shower first and I’ll get right on that.” He drains the rest of the water, flings back the covers to reveal the rest of his body, and stands while my brain is still rearranging itself. Every time.

Every single time.

I’m about to join him in the bathroom when my phone buzzes on the nightstand and I pick it up.

As soon as I do, I regret it.

Jen: Hey, just checking on you cause you’ve gone radio silent. I hope you’re OK.

When I check, I see that her last message from a week ago went unanswered. I guess I opened it and got distracted and never replied. A little twisty jab of guilt hits me, and I nearly dismiss this message, only I can’t do that.

Gritting my teeth, I compose an answer.

Olivia: Hey. I’m sorry. Time difference and all that. I’m OK. How are things with you?

It’s a crap excuse and I know she sees right through it when her reply comes in the next moment.

Jen: You sure? When are you coming home?

I pause. I still haven’t really decided. I keep putting it off and there’s one great big reason why which has nothing to do with the way I feel about what happened between me and Justin.

“You coming?” Noah calls from the shower. The water is already running, steam gently wafting from the ensuite.

“Yeah.”

I set down the phone and Jen’s message, resolving to look at some flights today and pick one. I can’t hide forever, and my airline credit won’t last forever either. Maybe Jen’s message is the reality check I need.

It’s the reality check I don’t want, though, because as soon as I get into the bathroom, I spot Noah lathering his hands with soap and rubbing them down his green skin. He strokes a soapy hand over his cock, and as he does it lengthens and thickens and he grins at me. “I thought you were gonna be forever.”

I snatch a towel from the closet in the hall and rush back, joining him in the shower and letting him wash away allthoughts of home and flights and responsibilities I don’t want to face.

I haven’t even posted anything on my page this week. I have a half-written book to finish and submit to my editor, and when I get home I’ll have to start house hunting and move all my stuff out of the place I shared with Justin.

I forget about all that as Noah’s soapy hands work over my body, kneading my shoulders and neck, drawing away tension. He lathers them and slides them over my belly and breasts, over my hips and butt. Teasing but never demanding, making me wish he would.

We spend the whole morning together until it’s time for him to leave for work. When he drops me at my bed and breakfast on the way, he calls me back for a long, lingering kiss that leaves me weak in the knees and seriously questioning if this is really just a casual thing anymore. Now we’re kissing? And staying over?

I’m so confused.

I’m also afraid to ask him about it in case he changes his mind or gets defensive. I’ve seen Noah defensive, and I don’t think I’m ready to be on the other end of that firing line. I’m sad about the way things went between Noah and his brother last night. His brother didn’t seem to be a bad guy. He was just looking out for Noah after all.

I kinda wish I had an older brother to look out for me, but I’m an only child.

Unable to sit still in the bed and breakfast, I head out for a walk as afternoon drifts toward evening. The blue of the sky is fading to a pinky orange, and the water is flat and still. The views out beyond the golf club are beautiful. The rough, rocky cliffs give way to the deep blue ocean that stretches on as far as the eye can see.