Page 78 of Yours to Keep

Lunch turned into a long, lazy sprawl beneath a shaded cabana, plates of grilled prawns, seared scallops, and fish arriving in steady waves. Bree attacked everything like she hadn’t eaten a proper meal in weeks, occasionally closing her eyes and making soft, satisfied sounds that were wildly distracting.

“This is the best food I’ve ever had,” she declared around a bite of lobster.

“You say that about every plate.”

“Because every plate deserves it.” She nudged a forkful toward me. “Try this one.”

“I ordered it.”

“And I’m feeding it to you,” she said patiently.

I leaned forward and took the bite, loving the way she grinned when I let out a sound of my own as I chewed. “Okay. That’s excellent.”

“See?” she said. “Best food ever.”

“That’s a bold claim.”

“You flew me to another freaking country. I think bold claims are allowed.”

We lingered there for hours, talking about everything except the hospital. She told me about growing up with a father who never sat still, always building or fixing something around the house, and how she’d learned early that helping people felt like breathing to her, automatic and necessary.

“You know,” she said, tracing patterns in the condensation on her glass. “I used to think my life would be smaller. Not bad. Just quieter than this.”

“What do you think now?”

She glanced at the ocean, then back at me. “Now I’m having a drink with an umbrella in it on a private beach with a man who owns a plane.”

“I told you, I prefer the term⁠—”

“Access to a plane.” She rolled her eyes. “Semantics, but what about you? Did you picture this when you were younger?”

“No,” I admitted. “I pictured winning. I didn’t really care what that looked like.”

She studied me for a moment, her expression softening. “You’re different here. Whenever we’re not at work actually, but even more so here.”

“So are you.”

“Maybe this is who we are without pressure,” she said finally. “Do you think that means we stand a chance?”

“I hope so,” I replied quietly, reaching for her hand and squeezing it. “We could, Bree. I really do believe that. It just might not be as easy once we get back.”

CHAPTER 29

BREE

Istared into his incredibly blue eyes, my heart racing and my soul desperately hoping that he was right. When we weren’t on opposite sides, being with him felt so natural that I couldn’t imagine going back to constantly having distance between us.

Acting on that same instinct that had been nagging at me ever since we’d arrived, I left my lounger and lay down with him on his instead. Sullivan shifted to make space for me, his arm draping around my waist. I settled on my back while he lay on his side, fitted against mine.

A lock of that sandy hair fell across his forehead, his skin already a little bit more golden after the day spent in the sunshine. He stared down at me, his eyes sparkling as he smiled. “You’re gorgeous. I feel like I haven’t stopped staring at you all day.”

A tingle shot through me. “Same. You’re a real treat to look at with your shirt off, Mr. Crowne. Maybe you’re right and we should take more vacations. Preferably to places like this, where the minimum amount of clothes is acceptable.”

He grinned, but it was more thoughtful than I’d expected. “Are you actually volunteering to accompany me, then?”

I hesitated before nodding. “Strictly for quality assurance, but yes.”

“Of course.”