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Striker laughed. “I’m pretty sure I said those very same words earlier today.”
“We’ll be by after we’re done eating. Let her sleep in the meantime.”
“Thanks, Raze.”
“Take good care of her, you hear me?”
“Always.”
When he came back to bed, Aine sat up and rubbed her eyes. “Who was that?”
“Your brother-in-law. He wanted me to tell you that they’re bringing dinner here.”
“Wait. What? What time is it?”
“A little after three.”
“Oh, no! Dinner is in an hour.” She tried to push him out of her way, but he wouldn’t budge. “What are you doing? We have to leave.”
“We aren’t going anywhere.”
“But…”
Striker raised an eyebrow, and Aine fell back against the pillow.
“Last year this is all I wanted to do,” he told her.
“What’s that?”
“Fall into bed with you instead of spending the next several hours on a flight back to the middle ages.”
He’d had such plans for them last Thanksgiving. They’d celebrated in Cambria like they were this year. He’d planned to whisk Aine away that night and drive up the coast to Big Sur where they’d spend a couple of nights at the Post Ranch Inn. Staying at the ultra-private resort would ensure that if they didn’t want to see another human being, they wouldn’t have had to. From there, he planned to take his time driving along the coast as far as Yachats, where he’d hoped they’d spend Christmas together.
This year, he hadn’t even planned to see her, yet here they were, where it all began for them. So much had happened in the last three hundred and sixty-five days. Mainly, he’d pushed her away and broken her heart.
What now, though? Everything he wanted to protect her from still lurked in the background.
“You’re thinking too hard.”
Striker smiled and looked down at Aine, who was studying him. “You’re right. I am.”
“What about?”
“Things I don’t want to have on my mind, let alone talk about.”
“The test?”
Striker nodded. “And more.”
“Me?”
He kissed her forehead. “No matter what else is on my mind, you’re there too. Twenty-four hours a day.”
“Even when you sleep?”
“I dream about you every night.”
“I dream of you too.”
