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He considered the contents of his bag and realized that he’d packed perfectly. Cora had told him to pack as if he intended to spend some time outdoors. He’d thrown in swim trunks just in case. He was sincerely hoping the water would be warm enough to use them.
As they walked up the sidewalk to the front door, Cora asked, “Are you hungry?”
“Yeah, baby. Starved. Did you wanna drop this stuff off and go get something to eat? This may be a bad time to grocery shop.”
Cora laughed as she set her bag down and fished the keys out of her pocket. “No worries there,” she said. “I went shopping earlier and stocked everything. I’ve got the fixings for seafood linguine tonight and I picked up steaks for tomorrow night. Sound good?”
“God, yeah,” he said. He had passed hungry about two hours ago and was bordering on starving.
She gave him a little push once the door was open, then said, “Go have a look around. I’m going to start dinner. I’m starved and I skipped out on lunch to stock the fridge.”
He watched as she walked toward the back of the house. Following the sway of her hips, he found himself in a large kitchen that overlooked the beach. Butted up against the house was a Jacuzzi, grill, some outdoor seating, and a few deck chairs.
He glanced at the Jacuzzi and then back at Cora. An idea already forming in his mind, he asked, “So what are the odds that I could convince you to get into that after dinner?”
When Cora looked up at him, he gestured toward the hot tub.
“Really good,” she said, as she salted the large pot of water on the stove. “Really, really good.”
“Excellent,” he said, a grin on his face. “I’ll go put our stuff in the bedroom.”
“There’s a small one downstairs. The master is upstairs,” Cora said, as she started to pull ingredients from the refrigerator.
He watched her for a moment as she competently moved around the kitchen. God, she was amazing. She hadn’t even asked him what he’d wanted for his birthday. She’d just told him to free up this weekend and given him a general idea of what to pack.
She’d gotten really good at taking care of him lately. She could tell when he’d been working for too long and she’d move the laptop from his hands and crawl into his lap. However sexy the whole school teacher thing had been for both of them, he realized that it was just one of the many tactics that she’d used to get him to disconnect.
He left the kitchen and explored the lower part of the house. As she’d told him, the guest bedroom was small. He had no intention of inviting anyone else along. He would absolutely take this time to tune the world out and spend some time relaxing with Cora.
For the past few weeks he had been incredibly focused on work. She had been more than understanding. She’d taken care of him when he’d needed it. He wanted to return the favor, but she had a damned difficult time letting herself be vulnerable.
When Taryn had dropped her off at his place the night she’d gone out drinking, she seemed almost confused when he made her eat something and take some aspirin. She thanked him in the morning but had seemed almost embarrassed by it.
Cora had appointed herself as a caretaker for those who she valued. Jamie hoped one he’d be able to return the favor. God knows, she’d fight him.
He wandered upstairs and realized that Cora hadn’t been kidding when she said the master bedroom was upstairs. It was the entire upstairs of the house.
There was a small sitting area off to the side of the stairs that led into the sleeping area. The whole room was decorated in a wash of sea-colored hues. A pair of French doors led out to what looked like a balcony.
He set the bags down on the small couch and took in the whole space. There was a huge garden tub in the master bath and a shower stall that could easily fit five people. By his count there had to be at least three showerheads and a few wall-mounted sprayers.
The bed was gigantic, too. The headboard was wrought iron and curled itself into intricate shapes. Jamie sank down on to the bed and then stretched out, testing it. He let out a pleased sigh when it conformed to the arch in his back.
“Soft,” he said.
He forced himself back up off of the bed, and moved to the French doors. He fiddled with the locks until they gave way, then moved a couple of small statues to prop the doors open.
When the sea breeze whispered into the room, he took another deep breath. God, he had missed the ocean. New York had been on the Atlantic, but nothing could replace this. He watched as the waves crashed against the rocky shore.
“Wow,” Cora said. “I didn’t get a chance to come up here when I dropped everything off earlier. This is amazing.”
Jamie turned around to face her, and saw her poking her head into the bathroom. When she turned back around her eyes were wide.
“Jesus,” she said. “You could fit a football team in that shower!”
He peered at her suspiciously and then asked, “Is there more to this present that I’m unaware of, Cora?”
She waved him off, laughing, and said, “Hardly. You’re mine and I’m not sharing.”
