Page 95 of Parentmoon

His mouth comes to mine, kissing me a little longer than is publicly acceptable or necessary, especially since we are not the bride and groom. His words mingle with the kiss, as if he’s imprinting them on my lips, forcing me to swallow them down, and accept his vow. I’m reminded of him kneeling before me in the shower, swearing he’d never cheat, and another time he mentioned he’s loyal to a fault.

What would it feel like to have such dedication directed at me all the time?

Once he pulls away, I giggle like a teenager. “Oh, you’re good.” He certainly has my attention now and made a bold statement with that kiss.

He places a hand on the nape of my neck and lightly squeezes. “Just reminding you who I’m here with today.”

Today. For one more day, he’s still mine.

+ + +

Later, I’m standing before Dallas as he sits on a bench ledge around the enclosed portion of the catamaran. His nearly-bald head is gleaming from the sun.

“Did you put on sunscreen?” Going into mom-mode, I notice how pink his head is getting.

He shrugs. “I don’t remember.”

I reach into my bag and pull out a small tube of the highest strength lotion. Squirting some in my hand, I spread it around my palms and look up to see Dallas watching me.

“You worried about me, darlin’?”

I shrug as he did. Spreading my fingers, I rub my sunscreen-covered hands over his head, massaging along his nape and around his ears.

“Hmm . . . that feels nice, darlin’.”

“I don’t want you to burn.”

His head lifts while I’m rubbing the top of his scalp. “You saying you care about me?” His Southern drawl thickens while his voice lowers.

With my sticky fingers, I cup his bristly covered jaw and hold his face. “Of course, I care about you, Dallas.”

“Call me baby.”

“What?” I laugh at the term.

“Say I care about you, baby.”

“I care about you . . . baby.” I swipe a finger down his nose.

He hums again and catches my hips, tugging me closer to him. “I care about you, too, darlin’.”

I’m not certain I’ve spread the sunscreen evenly on his head but he’s covering my lips with the strength of his words.

He cares about me.

And come tomorrow, I’m going to miss him.

+ + +

In the early evening, we enjoy a delicious seafood dinner on the return trip back to town. A gorgeous sunset closes out the day marking the new beginning for Michael and Keli.

When we return to the resort, Dallas announces he has one more gift for Michael and Keli.

“What tops a house?” I snark and Dallas tugs me closer to his side, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.

“I’ve booked the condo for another night. The resort has set it up like a honeymoon suite.”

“Daddy, you didn’t have to do that,” Keli protests, arms around Michael, hanging onto him like she’s had too much champagne today when she replaced every glass poured with a flute full of water.