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I snorted. “In what?”
Killian touched his lips to mine and pinned my wrists down. I wriggled against him and sighed, desire waking me up, and heat washing over me. When he drew back, it took a while for me to remember where I was, or why I didn’t think it was a good idea for us to be so affectionate. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a group of bikini clad women strut past, their gazes lingering on Killian. He draped himself onto the beach chair next to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. I snuggled into his side and threw one leg over him, giving them a bright smile as I did. Several of them scowled, but a few stared right back, wondering what a man like that was doing with me.
I wasn’t blind to reality.
And it wasn’t the first time I’d received looks like that.
In the past three years alone, I’d fielded off more rumors and shrugged off plenty of curious looks thrown my way. Not only was everyone still curious about how Killian and I, who had always been at each other’s throats, wound up engaged without any kind of warning, but they also didn’t understand how it happened underneath their noses. It had taken the entire company by storm, especially the board of directors. While I knew that they weren’t thrilled with the optics, I was also thankful that Killian had put his foot down and refused to budge.
Because of him, we wound up announcing our engagement within weeks and giving me another title, removing Killian from my direct chain of command. Initially, I’d had my doubts regarding how I was going to be treated, particularly when news of my pregnancy came to light, but everyone was surprisingly welcome and warm.
Or at least they were to my face.
I had no idea what went on behind closed doors, and I didn’t care.
As long as Killian and I knew the truth.
Serena, on the other hand, took every opportunity she got to come to our defense, including planning a lavish wedding and inviting the press to quell the rumors once and for all. While Killian and Serena had both gone out of their way to protect me from the vultures that circled, eager to pick apart our love story, even they weren’t that powerful, and they couldn’t be everywhere at once.
Many people still believed I’d gotten pregnant on purpose to entrap Killian.
A part of me didn’t blame them for going there.
Three years ago, I never would’ve believed that Killian and I would be together, much less that we would be sunbathing in the new resort, which had been up and running for the past two years. Not only was it a huge success, as predicted, but McIntyre had long since disappeared, given the amount of pressure and scrutiny he put himself under by coming up after me.
Although he wouldn’t admit it, I knew Killian was behind it.
He was the kind of man who took care of his own, and I’d known that he was going to do whatever it took to make sure I was safe. The moment he decided to move to Miami to be with me, I’d known things were going to be different, but I hadn’t anticipated how much.
Now, I couldn’t imagine my life without him.
Nor did I want to.
“Where’s your head at, Meg?”
I blinked and came back to the present with a start. Then I tilted my head back to look up, his sharp jaw peppered with days’ old stubble. “I was just thinking of everything we’ve been through in the past three years.”
Killian’s eyes flew open, and he tilted his head to look at me. “Wondering how you managed to snag a man like me?”
I sat up and rolled my eyes at him. “More like how I got stuck with a man like you.”
Killian brought his arms up over his head, and his eyes moved over my body, on full display in a string bikini. “You’re the one who agreed to marry me.”
“Yeah, I had no idea how annoying you were.”
Killian chuckled. “Yes, you did. You knew what you were getting into, and you know who you married, Meg.”
I crawled to the front of the chair and swung my legs over the edge, letting my feet fall onto the warm sand. Then I held up a bottle of sunscreen and waited. Once Killian took it out of my hand, I wriggled my toes and looked out at the water, the crystal blue glistening underneath the light of the sun.
Uniformed staff in blue and white clothes walked past in either direction, sporting tans and bright smiles. Further ahead, I spotted a few of our other staff out on the water, leading our guests through a slew of activities including jet skiing and parasailing.
Killian stretched his legs out on either side of me and pressed his mouth to the back of my neck. “You know, I can think of a few things we can do with this lotion, Meg.”
“What did you have in mind, Mr. Holt?”
Killian squeezed a generous amount of lotion into my back and began to spread it out evenly, his fingers smooth and warm against my skin. I shivered and leaned into his touch. He pressed a kiss to my shoulders, and his hot breath did strange things to my insides.
“I’d start with removing your bikini,” Killian whispered, into my ear. “And then there’s the can of whipped cream you have in the fridge.”
