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They were carrying their shoes, even though it was still chilly out, but she had to admit that it felt good. “I don’t think I ever really paid attention to how nice it feels to walk in the sand, but a girl could get used to this.” Realizing what she said, Sienna inwardly groaned. “I’ll have to mark my calendar to check out the North Carolina beaches.”

Mick didn’t comment, and they made the rest of the walk in companionable silence.

They came to a set of stairs that led up to the street, and from there, she spotted the coffee shop right across the way. There was a line practically out the door, but neither seemed to mind the wait. It moved quickly, and before she knew it, they each had their coffees in their hands and Mick had the bag with two chocolate chip muffins, a blueberry muffin, and a slice of red velvet pound cake.

It was safe to say their cake needs were being met.

“Do you want to sit out here and eat or wait until we get back to the house?” he asked, even as they started crossing the street.

“Back at the house. I want to run in and put my jammies back on, and then get back on that chaise with you and the blanket and enjoy our breakfast. How does that sound?”

Beside her, he chuckled. “Like a perfect way to start the day.” Then he laughed again.

“What? What’s so funny?”

“Part of me wishes we could run back so we’d get there sooner, but I don’t think running and hot coffee really go together.”

That had her laughing, too. “Definitely not. Besides, I’m not that athletic. Between all the walking we’ve done on our vacation stops, and all the sex, my body is rebelling. That’s why I need the muffin and the chaise.”

“And me?” he teased, playfully nudging her shoulder.

“Oh, yeah,” she replied. “You’re the best part of it all.”

Carefully, Mick put his arm around her and gave her a gentle hug before they headed down the steps to the beach.

Sienna wasn’t lying when she said her body was sore, but she was more than willing to suck it up and deal with it, because everything she was experiencing with Mick was like a dream.

And all too soon, it would be back to reality.

They hadn’t talked about what would happen when the time came, but she was a realist and knew she’d go back to Durham and back to work, and Mick probably had some clients that needed his attention. Of course, they’d keep in touch and would say they would make the whole long-distance thing work, but, again, she was a realist. It was rare that any long-distance relationship lasted. Eventually, one—or both—parties would grow tired of the constant travel and the overall disruption to their lives. In their case, however, she imagined they’d just slowly phase one another out, because they’d end up being too engrossed in their work.

Sad but true...

The thing was, that given the opportunity, Sienna truly believed she’d be open to finding a way to either move closer to Mick or...

“Hey,” he said, interrupting her thoughts again. “You’ve gone quiet on me. What are you thinking right now?”

Dangerous territory, she mused.

Now wasn’t the time to get into this particular topic. Besides, they still had another week, and there was always the chance that they’d be bored with one another by then.

She highly doubted it, but it was still a possibility.

“Sienna?”

Pushing her thoughts aside, she turned her head and smiled at him. “I was thinking how much I’m loving the smell of the ocean air, and how much more I’ll love it from your deck.”

Now it was his turn to smile. “I’ll admit that I rarely give it that much thought, but it is a great smell.” Then he moved in closer. “But you smell even better.”

“I don’t know about that. All this fresh air, the coffee, and the freshly baked muffins are the stars of the show right now.”

“I disagree.” He squeezed her hand, and she noticed they were almost back at the house. She had to stop herself from sighing with relief.

They kept their leisurely pace, but once they hit the stairs that led up to the deck, Sienna walked a little faster. Mick set up their breakfast before following her inside, where they changed.

“You know, technically, we didn’t sleep in any jammies. You were naked under your robe and I only threw on the sweats because the neighbors would probably frown on me walking around outside with no clothes.”

She stood next to the bed and, with nothing but a pair of panties on, slid her arms back into her robe. “I promise we’ll get naked later. First, breakfast.”