Page 25 of Searching for Sunshine (Crestbrook Cove #1)

WYATT

It’s been just over a month since the video of the Hideaway went viral, and I still can’t believe how quickly everything changed around here.

As soon as word got out that we needed help, Miss Clara came through with a list of ladies from her knitting club who were willing to volunteer a few days a week to make sure we could take care of all the guests.

It’s not the most conventional, but the ladies seem to enjoy interacting with everyone and Stella claims it’s added an extra layer of local flair to the stay.

As I look at my wife, I try to ignore the feeling of unease I feel with how fast this year is flying by.

We’ve already been married for over two months, and each day I worry a little more about how I’m going to walk away at the end of the year like I promised.

We spend all our time together outside of work, eating dinner with our friends at The Sand Bar and walking Duke at night around the hotel before we head to bed where we spend hours fucking and whispering into the night.

Neither of us has acknowledged the shift in the relationship, but I know I can’t keep pretending that there’s nothing between us anymore. There’s nothing friendly about the way I feel about Stella, and the idea of losing her next year makes me feel a lot more lost than I’d like to admit.

The older ladies smile at Stella before heading over to the elevators, and I take advantage of the lull in customers to head over to Stella and wrap her from behind with a hug. “Hey there, what are you doing here?” she asks with a laugh. “I thought you had a tour this afternoon.”

“I do. Trent had a booking earlier this afternoon and he needed me to drive the van,” I say, making a face.

When all the hotel guests started booking booze cruises, we realized we needed a safe way to transport people between the docks and the Hideaway thanks to the lack of Uber in Crestbrook.

Trent found an old fifteen-passenger van to run back and forth for cheap on Marketplace and it’s worked out pretty well for us.

But since he knows I despise driving the damn thing, he usually takes care of it.

Stella laughs at my expression, and I take advantage of the empty lobby and pull her into the small office behind the counter to kiss her hard.

“Wyatt, I can’t leave the counter for more than a second. We have a party that should be getting here any minute,” she objects at the same time she leans against the wall and wraps her leg around my waist to pull me closer to her.

“Just for a second,” I promise, devouring her mouth and running my fingers through her hair to hold her to me.

She moans slightly as our tongues tangle in the dark office space before she finally pulls back. “Okay, we’ve gotta stop. We need to be professionals here, Wyatt.”

Instead of pulling away, she drops one more kiss on my mouth and leans in to hug me close for another moment before slipping out the door.

“Come on, hubby,” she teases, waiting for me to follow her out of the office. “We need to get back to work, but we can finish this after the party on the beach for Avery’s birthday tonight.”

I groan at the reminder. “Damn it, is that tonight? I was looking forward to coming straight home and spending the night with those pretty legs wrapped around me.”

“Yes, well, as fun as that sounds…” she says, “you and I both know there’s no way we’re missing Avery’s party. And even if we tried, she would one million percent hunt us down and drag us out of the cottage, dressed and ready or not.”

I shudder. “Actually, now that I think about it, you’re right. I know she’s your best friend and all, but she still scares me.”

Stella laughs loudly just as the front door opens and over twenty guests pile in, heading toward the check-in counter. “Oh, she knows,” she teases. “I’ll see you at the cottage tonight.”

“Hey, Stels, are you almost ready to go?” I call through the house. I just got back from taking Duke for a walk, and I’m anxious to get this party over with so I can have Stella to myself.

“Almost,” she yells, and Duke takes off to search for her. I follow him into the bathroom, and my breath catches when I see how fucking gorgeous she looks.

Her pink swimsuit accentuates every inch of her toned body, and the white open-front skirt she’s wearing with it makes her look fucking incredible.

“Damn, Stels,” I mutter, and she turns to smile at me.

“Oh, hi. Sorry, I’m almost ready. Does this look okay?” she asks, spinning to let me see her from several different angles.

“Stella, you look fucking incredible. Are you sure we have to go to this party? I’d much rather keep you here.”

She laughs and rolls her eyes. “Yeah, that would go so well for me. You know Avery would freak if we didn’t show up. Plus, she told me it’s supposed to be a super small event. I think she just invited your brothers, Bennett, and Chloe.”

“Oh, that’s it?” I ask, slightly surprised. “She did all this work just for the seven of us?”

“Yeah…you’ve met Avery, right? Does it seem like she does anything halfway to you?” Stella points out, and I shrug in agreement.

“Okay, fine, you may have a point,” I admit.

“Yeah, I know I do,” she teases. “But anyway, I’m ready now. You ready to walk?”

Duke’s head pokes up just as I say his favorite “w” word and his tail starts beating against the floor in excitement.

“Buddy, you can’t go with us to the party, but I promise we won’t be gone too long and then we’ll play,” Stella says to her dog, leaning over to pet him.

“I know, I’m sorry,” she says before straightening and looking at me. “All right, let’s get going.”

We walk back into the bedroom and I freeze when I see the new addition.

“Stella, what the fuck is that on the wall?” I ask, my eyes wide.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Look at what I finally got back from the frame shop,” she says, gesturing to the wall where the caricature of the two of us from the wedding sign that was attached to the boat the day after our wedding now hangs proudly over the bed.

She had them trim it down to just the drawing, and I’ll admit she looks pretty cute in the picture.

But me on the other hand? I have buck teeth and a nose that takes up half the page.

“Is this really necessary, Stels?” I ask, already knowing this is probably not an argument I’m going to win.

“Of course it is. Look how cute we are,” she says, looking up at it with a wide smile.

“How in the hell did you even find the damn thing?” I ask, and Stella laughs.

“Trent thought it was too good to pass up, so he saved it when he took it down and brought it to me,” Stella explains. All I can do is shake my head.

“Fucking traitor,” I mutter. “Anyway, can we go now?”

“Sure,” Stella agrees. “Just lead the way.”

We make the quick walk down to the beach, and my jaw drops when I see the crowd of people standing around and grabbing drinks across the beach.

“Okay, that’s definitely more than ten people,” I point out, and Stella stares ahead of me in shock.

“Yeah, it definitely is,” Stella agrees. “Do you think Miss Agatha put something in the paper again?”

“If someone told her about it, I think it’s a pretty good possibility,” I say in response, and Stella’s eyes widen.

“God, this town is really something. Let’s go find Aves,” she suggests. I follow her through the party, looking for her best friend. Finally, after what feels like forever, Stella spots her and runs over.

“Happy birthday, Aves,” Stella says, wrapping Avery in a hug and kissing her on the cheek. “This is some party, huh?”

“I’ll say. Where the hell did all of these people come from?” I ask, looking around at the still growing crowd.

“Well, Miss Clara heard me talking about it at work today, and I told her that she could come by if she wanted to. But apparently, tonight is the same night as her knitting club, so she told all the ladies to come, and then it grew from there. Honestly, they all brought their own alcohol, so I don’t really mind the extra guests. ”

Stella laughs and looks through the crowd. “Aves, it looks like the nursing home edition of Sports Illustrated in here. I’ve never seen this many elderly ladies in a bikini.”

“Same.” Avery laughs. “Honestly, I think it’s fucking fabulous. I stand by the fact that I hope I have that kind of confidence when I’m their age.”

“Wait,” I interject. “If Miss Clara invited all of her friends, does that mean Miss Eleanor is here?”

I look around panicked while Avery gives me a funny look. “I can’t keep up with all the older ladies in town, Wyatt. I’m sorry, but which one is she?”

“The one who objected at our wedding because she has a ginormous crush on my husband,” Stella says and she and Avery both break into a fit of giggles at that.

“Oh my god. I almost forgot about that. But yeah, I’m sure she’s here somewhere,” Avery answers.

“Fuck,” I curse just as Miss Clara and Miss Eleanor make their way over to us.

“Happy birthday, Avery,” Miss Clara says with a wide smile while Miss Eleanor just glares at Stella.

“Thank you, Miss Clara,” Avery says, trying not to laugh at the current encounter.

“Wyatt, are you planning to save a dance for me tonight?” Miss Eleanor asks, and I feel my eyes widen at her question.

“As fun as that sounds, I don’t think I’ll have time,” I tell her. trying desperately to get her to leave me alone.

“We’ll see about that,” she mutters under her breath, before turning to Avery. “Happy birthday, dear. Thank you so much for having us.”

“Of course, y’all enjoy,” Avery says, smiling widely at them as they meander further into the party. As soon as they’re gone, she turns to me with wide eyes.

“Oh my god, that was fucking hilarious. She’s like actually into you,” she says. Stella covers her mouth to keep her giggle from spilling out.

“I need a fucking drink,” I mutter, and both girls finally dissolve into laughter.

“I love this place a little more every day,” Stella admits. “Now, let’s grab a drink before Miss Eleanor comes by and scoops you up.”

“Come on, we’ve gotta get out of here,” I whisper to Stella a few hours later. I’ve spent more time avoiding Miss Eleanor over the last few hours than I’ve spent with Stella, and I’m more than ready to strip Stella down, and spend the next few hours giving her body the attention it deserves.

“Okay, yeah, let’s go. It’s been kind of a long day and Avery looks like she’s having a great time,” she says, gesturing to where her best friend is dancing on top of the makeshift stage, singing and dancing with a few of the locals I haven’t met yet.

“Let me just text her that we’re leaving and we’ll go. ”

“Perfect,” I tell her before lowering my voice. “I’ve spent all night looking at how fucking sexy you are and I’m gonna lose it if I don’t get my hands on you.”

Stella blushes and grabs my hand, leading me back through the woods to the cottage. Every few steps, she stops and pulls me down to kiss me hard before continuing on her way.

“Shit, Stels, I want you so damn bad,” I mutter, trying to hold her to me but since she’s still in her swimsuit, the slick fabric helps her slip out of my grip.

“Come on, Wyatt. If we start out here, I won’t want to stop and some of the guests could see us,” she argues. I grab her hand to let her lead us, knowing she’s right.

I follow her back to the cottage, where she guides me to the small alcove where there’s an outdoor shower we use to rinse the sand off from the beach. As soon as we step behind the wooden partition that shields us from the rest of the path, I pull her to me and kiss her hard.

“Fucking finally,” I murmur. “All I’ve thought about since we left the house is getting you out of this swimsuit, Stels.”

She smiles, turns on the water, and drags me under the cool stream of the shower. After spending the last few hours in the late evening heat, I groan at the feeling of the cool water against my overheated skin and Stella shivers in my arms.

“Cold?” I ask, and she shakes her head, dropping her hands down to tug on my swim trunks. As soon as I’m free of them, she runs her fingers across my already hard shaft, and I suck in a breath at the contact.

Unable to wait any longer, I tug her swimsuit top off and pop her pink nipple into my mouth.

She threads her fingers through my hair, and I smile as I feel her give herself over to me.

It turns out that once Stella’s comfortable, her anxiety doesn’t seem to be an issue anymore—at least when it comes to sex.

There’ve been times where she freezes, and we’ve worked through them, but for the most part, she seems to become more excited and carefree each time we’re together.

“Please fuck me, Wyatt,” Stella mutters after I’ve teased her for a few moments, and that’s all the encouragement I need to pull her swimsuit down and slide inside her.

When Stella and I started having sex, she insisted that I didn’t need to wear a condom thanks to her birth control, and every time I feel her hot pussy wrap around my cock, I’m convinced I’ll never feel anything this fucking incredible again in my life.

“Shit, Wyatt,” she moans as soon as I’m inside her. “You feel so fucking good.”

I murmur my agreement, leaning down to grab her legs and wrap them around my waist, pressing her back against the wooden wall of the shower. The water beats down around us, and the combination of the sensations of the water and her body have me ready to come already.

“You look so pretty when you take my cock, Stels,” I whisper in her ear and grunt when I feel her pussy spasm around my cock. “God, you’re so fucking tight. Were you thinking about this while we were down at the beach? Because you’re all I’ve thought about all fucking night.”

“Yes, I wanted you too,” she moans between thrusts, and I can tell she’s close. Reaching down, I play with her clit, and I feel her spasm with the first wave of her orgasm.

“Shit, Wyatt, don’t stop,” she begs. I use her words as encouragement to hold off until she’s finished.

As soon as I feel her orgasm start to wane, I let out a sigh of relief and start to fuck her harder, losing myself to my own orgasm.

I feel my cum spill into her tight pussy and I lean against the wall to support us both as we come down from the high of our orgasms.

“You did so good, Stels,” I tell her, pressing a kiss to her forehead and she smiles at my praise.

“I don’t think that’ll ever get old,” Stella says with a laugh. I try to hide my wince at the reminder that she’s right. It already feels like time’s running out on this arrangement, and I’m afraid I won’t ever get enough of her.