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I stood up and felt the alcohol immediately and swayed.
Dad steadied me and I said, “Thanks.”
Saylor watched me walking over, her eyes on me every step I took.
Her smile was soft when I finally arrived at the edge of the group.
“Ladies,” I said. “Mind if I steal Saylor for a second?”
Saylor didn’t give them a chance to object.
Only walked to me and threw her arms around my middle.
I turned us so that we were heading in the opposite direction of all the people.
She guided me to a small pond, and before long, I was sitting on the edge of the dock right next to her.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I…I’m just sorry that you had to do that for me.”
I threw my arm around her shoulders and dropped a kiss to her hair.
“I’m not sorry that I did it,” I told her. “I’m just sorry that he made me do it.”
She pressed her forehead to my bicep and sighed.
“I still don’t like that I put you into that situation. Whether you feel it or not, it was my fault,” she pushed.
I snorted. “You’re saying that you wouldn’t want our own kids to tell us that something was happening like that?”
She stayed stubbornly silent.
“I hope that when we have kids, they never experience anything bad,” I said softly. “But if they do, they’re comfortable telling us things like you were with your father.”
She grumbled under her breath, making me smile.
“What was that?” I teased.
I was drunk…but not so overly drunk that I couldn’t feel her softness pressing against me.
It was turning me on.
“I said that you’re right,” she grumbled. “And…just sayin’…but we’re leaving tomorrow. I can’t do this another night.”
I frowned. “Do what?”
“The no touching thing.” She sighed. “I want you.”
A smile broke out over my face.
“We’ll get plenty of that when we get home,” I told her. “For now, let’s just not put your dad into the situation where he has to use his gun. He so obviously proved this morning that he wasn’t kidding.”
I closed my eyes as I let her laughter, her happiness, filter through me.
And realized that this was my life now.
Saylor and I would be married.
We’d have kids.
And we’d be happy until the rest of our days.
“Love you, baby.” I squeezed her.
“Love you, too, whiskey breath.”
I snorted with laughter. Then tickled her until she fell into the pond.
She came up gasping.
“You…” She pulled me in with her.
I let her, of course.
But in the end, it was worth it.
Even if we did smell like swamp rats afterward.EpilogueOh, sweetie. That high horse makes your ass look huge.
-Saylor’s secret thoughts
Saylor
Eleven years later
The phone rang, blaring through the Bluetooth speakers, momentarily startling me enough to let off of the boat’s accelerator.
My boys—who were being pulled on the tube—let out audible groans that I could hear over the engine.
I grinned and brought the boat to a halt in the middle of the lake, holding up a finger for my boys to chill out while I answered the phone.
“Hello?” I answered, seeing on the screen it said, ‘Josh Calling.’
“Hey, is Lock there?” Josh asked.
I tried to place this Josh but found that I couldn’t.
Lock, on his jet ski riding it like he was twenty and not the forty years he was barreling down on, changed direction at hearing his phone ring.
“Sure, hold on,” I said. “He’s riding over now.”
Josh graciously agreed to wait, and I smiled at Lock when he finally arrived.
“Lock, Josh is on the phone,” I said, holding it out to him.
“Which Josh?” he asked.
I frowned. “I don’t know. It literally says ‘Josh,’ Lock. And I don’t make it a habit to know other male’s voices by sound.”
Lock winked at me, still having the power to make me weak in the knees.
He took it, then placed it to his ear.
“Oh, that’s pretty shitty,” Lock said to whatever Josh was saying. “Sure, what time?”
I frowned.
“I can be there by six. We can hit a few balls, and then we can play,” Lock said. “See you then.”
Lock handed me back the phone.
“What was that about?” I asked.
Our kids squealed and complained, and Lock turned around to yell at them.
“Give her two minutes, boys!” Lock bellowed.
There was a chorus of groans.
Lock turned back to me smiling.
“It’s your fault, you know,” I teased. “Now what was that call about?”
“Josh from the gym wanting me to play golf with him Saturday,” he said. “I agreed and told him I would. I told him a couple of days ago if he had anybody drop out, I’d play.”
I felt my heart sink.
“Okay.” I smiled at him. “I better take these boys riding again before they cause anarchy.”
Lock frowned and reached for me, but I’d already put the motor back into gear and started out.
He didn’t do it on purpose.
He didn’t do it on purpose.
I kept repeating those words, over and over again.
