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Jill blushes. “I’m nothing if not efficient,” she replies a bit breathily, “so I’d say we have time for both.”

I shake my head, lowering my lips to her ear. “We can scheme later, Jill,” I tell her in a low voice. “For now I plan to focus all of my free time on you.” I press a kiss to the spot where her ear meets her neck. In response her lips part in a tempting gasp, and I capture the sound with my mouth, reveling in the newfound intimacy developing between us. I thought sharing my insecurities with her would make me feel vulnerable and exposed but in all actuality it makes me feel seen and understood by the person who matters most to me.

After almost twenty years of marriage we’re turning over a new leaf. I didn’t think such a thing was possible.

Jill’s hands slide up my back as we part and she murmurs, “Take me back to our cabin.”

I forget all about the new improvements to our marriage when she says that…I’ve got a cabin and a double bed to get my wife to.

Chapter 25

Jill

Iwakeuptoa loud knocking sound. Max’s arms are wrapped tightly around me, and it’s not just because the tightness of the space necessitates it. Nope. He pulled me right to him after we’d finished enjoying our marital rights, snuggled his nose into my neck, and said, “Let’s cuddle.”

I forgot how much I love cuddling with my husband. I love it so much that I—a person who has never been able to nap in the middle of the day—apparently drifted off to sleep in his arms. I did not foresee such an occurrence. It’s completely unprecedented.

“Go away, Liam!” Max says sleepily, tugging me closer in place. Liam? I stifle a laugh.

“We’re in Montana, you goof,” I say, nudging him lightly in the side.

“What? Oh yeah.” I turn to see awareness settling over him. A contented smile spreads wide across his face. “Hello, my lovely wife.” He kisses me softly. The knocking intensifies. Max groans. “Who the heck is knocking on our door?”

“It’s probably my sisters,” I say with a sigh.

“Can you get rid of them?” he asks, pressing a kiss to my shoulder. “Tell them I’m groping you again if you have to.”

“Max!” A laugh slips out of me as he gives me a rakish grin. Gosh I’ve missed flirting with him. I ease out of my bed, pulling my messy hair up into a ponytail as I go.

“Dang, you’re pretty,” he says, watching me. Heated pleasure sweeps through me, and I bite my lip against the smile threatening to break free.

“I know what you’re doing,” I say warningly.

“Oh yeah, and what am I doing?” he asks innocently.

“Trying to get me to crawl back into bed with you.”

“Wrong,” he says.

“Oh real–” I begin, but he cuts me off.

“I have no preference about your method of returning to this bed with me. Sure you can crawl if you want, but you could also slide or twirl…heck you could take a running leap–I’ll catch you.”

More knocking drowns out my answering laughter. “I’d better go answer that,” I say regretfully.

“I’ll be here waiting.”

I’m smiling as I make my way out of the bedroom and toward the cabin’s front door, but my smile falters as I open it to see not my sisters, but Dorothy standing on the other side.

“D-dorothy?” I stammer. “What are you doing here?”

“What amIdoing here?” she echos. “What areyoudoing here? You missed my afternoon session.”

“What? I–we–I did?” I stumble over my words as my brain starts to debate putting my earlier schemes into action. I could easily act like Max and I had a fight. I know Max didn’t technically agree with the plan, but since nobody else is around to hear me talk about our fake problems, his worries about whatTucker would think aren’t a concern. I’m sure he’d agree to the scheme if he were here.

“You did,” she repeats, looking extremely affronted. “I was worried the two of you really did get lost in the wilderness, but now I see that you’re fine and just skipped out.” She shakes her head. “For someone who said their marriage needed help, I must say I can’t understand the choice. We talked about cultivating an attitude of gratitude in our marriages, and I think the talk really could’ve blessed you. You know I had a couple I was seeing regularly for counseling who revitalized their marriage simply by incorporating gratitude into their everyday routine with each other. I wrote about it in my last book. Do you take time to thank Max for things, Jill?”

Her words prick at my skin. Once again it’s as if she’s inside my head. I was just thinking earlier about how hard it is to thank Max for things. How did she know that? And why is she so determined to help me and Max?