Epilogue
Some crushes just never went away. They built,
instead, into something permanent, obsessive
and all-consuming.
—Maya Banks
“That’s right, Bianchi. Grip it tight,” instructed Teagan’s husband of just six days. Her body quivered when he wrapped his arms tightly around her, delivering a hot little kiss to her bare shoulder. “There you go. Let it slide through your fingers a little,oh yeah, just like that. Now lean back.”
“Like this?” she asked.
“Lower,” Colin said, and Teagan went lower.
“Lower?”
“Even lower,” he whispered in her ear. And when she went lower still, she gave a little twist of the hips, which had Colin groaning in approval.
“What was that?” he asked.
“Me, leading with my hips.” She pressed back farther into him, loving how his big body curled protectively around her. With him in nothing but low-slung board shorts and tanned skin, her body did some curling of its own. “The article I read about windsurfing suggested twisting the hips. The guy said it tells the board where to go with great authority.”
“This guy says if you want to remain upright, then you might want to hold off on that twisting for now.” Sliding his hands over hers, he leaned back. “You ready for this?”
“I’m not sure,” she admitted.
“Do you trust me?”
Teagan looked over her shoulder at the man who’d reminded her that honest, deep love wasn’t a gimmick sold by Hallmark. “With all my heart.”
“Then hold on.”
Teagan leaned all the way back into his body and watched as the wind caught the sail. It flapped, then pulled tight. For a brief moment, she thought they were going to tip over. Then Colin leaned all the way back and the board evened out and picked up speed—a lot of speed.
Teagan slammed her eyes tightly shut.
They were in the middle of the ocean—okay, maybe fifty yards from the shoreline, but it felt as if she were in the middle of the Gulf.
Knowing that she’d never made that trip to Disney World, Colin had booked them a two-week stay. One week on land at the parks with the girls and Maddison, who was heading off to NYU at the end of the summer, and the next week just the two of them on the water, where they were staying in a suite on the Disney cruise ship.
Right now, they wereonthe water, and she was pretty sure she was going to hyperventilate. Windsailing had been her idea, one of those face-your-fears efforts that had turned out to be the worst idea ever.
“Are we done yet?”
“Just rest against me,” he said, his voice calm and reassuring. “I’m not going to let you fall.”
“The article didn’t mention that windsurfing is like a roller coaster on the open ocean.”
“I think of it as foreplay,” he whispered in her ear. “Open your eyes for me, Bianchi. I know how much you like to watch.”
That had her laughing, and it was hard to be scared when laughing. It was impossible to be scared when wrapped in his arms.
Slowly she opened one eye, and when it wasn’t so terrifying, she opened the other. And just like that, her world opened up. The board skimmed the clear waters of the Bahamas. Beneath them, purple coral and neon fish dotted the crystal-blue ocean. And the wind kissing her face felt exhilarating.
“I’m doing it!” she said, giving herself over to the moment and just letting go.
“And you’re doing it in a white bikini,” he said.
That had been her present to him—a teeny-tiny white bikini. It wasn’t the one from high school, but it was pretty dang close. She’d worn it the first night of their honeymoon, and he didn’t seem to care that she came to bed dressed in swimwear. Funnily enough, his present to her had been a bouquet of thongs, each with a coordinating IOU about all the things he was going to do to her in them.
They’d blown through four just that morning and she was excited to get back and see what kind of gift mango lace brought.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
“I love it.” She looked over her shoulder and into the eyes of the man she was going to spend the rest of her life with. “And I love you.”
Being the master multitasker, he was able to kiss her silly while still maintaining control of the board. Instead of turning back toward the shore, she gave a little twist and turned the sail toward the golden and fuchsia horizon—and a future filled with laughter and love.
