She’s right here.
Less than an inch away.
A high-pitched scream pierces through the night.
“CANNONBALL!”
We both jerk our heads toward the sound just in time to see one of the kids launch off the nearby rock ledge, straight toward our section of the pool.
“Oh, shit—” I manage, jumping down into the pool and grabbing Meadow by the shoulders, spinning her just as the tidal wave crashes into us.
The water slams into us with full force, drenching us both even though I took the brunt of it. The kid surfaces with a triumphant screech, completely oblivious to the fact that he just cost me my one shot.
“Mom! Did you see that?” he shouts toward the other end of the pool.
“Yeah, bud!” a feminine voice calls back. “Awesome job!”
Meadow is still blinking water out of her eyes, her dark hair plastered to her forehead and cheeks. I reach down and slide the hair out of her face while trying to hold back a smile at the ridiculousness of this situation.
“Are you okay?” I ask, fighting the urge to laugh and curse into the black sky at the same time.
She lets out a wet, breathless chuckle.
“Yeah,” she coughs, water dripping from her chin. “That just… came out of nowhere.”
“Damn kids,” I say through a grin. “Can you believe we were that annoying at one point in our lives?”
“At one point in our lives?” she scoffs. “You’re still that annoying, Owen. Can I have my phone now?”
Reality hits me just as hard as that obnoxious cannonball did. I clear my throat and release her shoulders, grabbing the phone from the ledge and handing it to her.
“Yeah,” I breathe. “Here you go.”
She studies me for a second, as if she’s trying to understand what the hell just happened between us. Then she stills, drawing in a slow breath as she pulls herself back together.
“Hey,” she finally mutters, nodding toward the far end of the pool. “Want to swim over there? Maybe we won’t get taken out again.”
My mouth lifts in a smile.
“Yeah,” I chuckle lightly. “I’ll grab our things and meet you on the other side.”
She nods and quietly checks her phone before setting it carefully on the ledge, and then pushes off, gliding through the water with an easy grace that forbids me to look away. I watch her swim away until she reaches the other end and pulls herself up, water streaming down her skin.
Good God.
My cock reacts, jerking behind the waistband of my trunks.
As I reach for our things, I silently pray that the kid didn’tstopanything between us.
If I’m lucky, that was nothing but a speed bump. The universe testing my patience one last time before finally giving us what we both desperately need.
NINE
Meadow
The sun is already high above the horizon when we step onto the dock for our first morning at the resort.
The ocean sits a few feet beneath us, reaching out into the distance in a blanket of turquoise, disappearing and blending seamlessly with the sky. The water is so clear that I can already see the reef below, scattered shadows of coral breaking through the blues.
