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“Kids aren’t in my near future and over the years, I’ve seen so many of Corbin’s teammates cheat on their girlfriends.”

Oakley jumps in. “John would never cheat. He knows it would be the end of his relationship with you and Corbin.”

“I don’t think he would, but his dad is a class-A jerk. Having a sexual relationship with your son’s girlfriend is on a whole other level. He’s been calling and texting John non-stop. John seems worried. Last night, when we… you know. Afterward, John’s phone buzzed. He picked it up and looked at the preview while I lay on his chest. It said, ‘I’ll ruin you if you don’t do exactly…’”

Gasping, they sit up on their chairs—all eyes on me.

“What?”

“You’re kidding?”

“What did it mean? Did John say anything?”

When I turn and put my feet in the sand, Roscoe climbs up on the lounger and lays both front paws and his head in my lap. I inhale deeply and blow out a breath. “No. He said it’s just his dad being his dad.”

Brooke’s lips flatline, her expression somewhere between sympathy and frustration. “My dad and Reed’s dad think he’s a pompous asshole.”

Reed’s dad is the NHL Commissioner, and Brooke’s dad is a coach, but they knew John’s dad when they played in the league.

Oakley agrees, “Corbin believes John’s dad is in the mafia. I know you all called him Godfather, and Corbin doesn’t think it was a coincidence.”

“Being a butthole doesn’t make you a criminal, Oakley.”

“Just sayin’. What if you get caught up in a mafia war? The other crime family kidnaps you and holds you for ransom, then John swoops in and saves you?” Oakley narrates like it’s from a mafia romance book.

Brooke, an avid romance reader who goes to the extent ofhighlighting and annotating her paperbacks, joins in on the fun. “Or what if his dad is a perv, has a hidden camera in the villa, and is going to use John’s fear of tropical lizards against him.”

Everyone bursts out laughing. I’ll remember this vacation/reunion forever. I’ve laughed so hard.

That first night on the island seems like months ago, but it’s only been a little over a week. So much has happened in a short period of time. When I showed up, Stella was with John but gone by the end of the day. Now he says he loves me. I know he does; I can feel it.

But now that we leave tomorrow, fear is creeping up my spine. I’ve given my heart and body to John, a hockey player. My brain is working overtime trying to figure out how in the world we’ll be able to see each other except when he plays Corbin. I just took a week off and rarely have time to use my vacation days anyway. In the corporate world, they pay you what seems like a dream salary. What they don’t tell you is you’ll work eighty hours a week.

Someone taps on my shoulder, knocking me from my thoughts. “Hey, beautiful. A shell for your thoughts?” He hands me a large conch shell and covers my ear with his hands as he whispers, “Shiny and slick like your pussy. Pink like your face right now.”

“You live to embarrass me.”

“No one heard me.” He kisses me on the cheek, while he absently rubs my thigh. “You looked miles away. Your lips were corkscrewed.”

“I just hate for this to end.”

He sighs like he’s about to convince me that it will be fine. Instead, he picks me up, honeymoon style, and takes off running over the hot white sand and into the gentle rolling waves of the ocean, throwing me into the clear-blue water.

I come up from the chest-deep water, laughing, causing me to spit water. “Game on, Basilio.” Jumping on his back, I try to kick the water but when he stands fully, only my toes can kick thewater. A few drops spray up on his legs. I try to wiggle off, but he holds my legs. I ask him to bend down. When he does, I lean back and flip off his back.

Scampering through the water toward the water trampoline, we pass Bryce and Emmaline in the water hammock. Screaming, I do my best to get to the platform first. We get there at the same time, and John hoists me up, then himself. We hold hands, soaring into the air together.

“Is this what it feels like to be free?” My voice travels into the air.

When the spring in our jump slows down and lands back on the tight black mesh, he says, “No, this is what it feels like to be in love.”

Hanging on his words with only the salty air between us, my heart beats uncontrollably, and I’m not used to being out of control. Nerves blossom in my stomach, the type that make me smile and hide all at once. My legs are wet like noodles, but my world feels bright with promise. Even the nagging thoughts of “after vacay” penetrate my thoughts.

He seems to feel my worry and kisses me slowly like he doesn’t care who sees. It’s deep and carnal like he could devour me at any moment. When we come out of the kiss, he mumbles promises of forever.

I thought we were out on the water all alone, but a roar of applause comes from behind us. “Woo,” they yell, happy that John and I found our way together.

I twist my body to see the Stallion gang grinning from ear to ear. Whistles shoot sharply through the air until half are on the trampoline with us, while the other half holds their drinks in the waist-deep water.