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“Is that any way to talk to the man you love?” Evan asked with a chuckle.
“It is when the man I love is blocking my sun.” I cracked one eye open and peered up at him. “Why are you in clothes? I thought I made it clear that this is a naked vacation.”
“You did. But I figured it would be best to not be nude when everyone showed up.”
“Everyone?” I sat up and pushed my sunglasses on top of my head. “Have you been out in the sun too long? It’s just us here.”
“Is it?” He held out a towel.
“Um, yeah. Didn’t you make a big deal about how this place is all about privacy and discretion?”
“I did, and it is.” He dropped the towel on my lap.
Evan and I had been at the resort for three days out of our ten-day vacation. Traveling with a rich boyfriend meant we didn’t just get a room at a hotel, we had an entire suite of rooms, two pools, an infinity pool, a private beach, and a staff of people to take care of our every whim or wish. All completely isolated from the other guests at the resort.
The last year had been a rollercoaster of events and massive changes for both of us.
Malcolm had been arrested and was currently awaiting trial for a litany of charges that would ensure he never saw the light of day again unless it was in a prison courtyard.
Once the truth about what he’d done came out, Grant terminated the stipulations in his retirement before Evan had a chance to confront him.
I kinda hated that he never got that bigfuck youmoment, but it was for the best. Grant was not only completely accepting of us, he’d also put real effort into rebuilding his relationships with both Evan and Emily.
It wasn’t going to happen overnight, and there were years of trauma and neglect to work through, but he was trying.
After the incident with Malcolm, I spent the next few months splitting my time between Evan’s place and my apartment. I had a warehouse of issues of my own to work through, and I spent months waiting for Evan to dump me or ghost me. Things hadn’t been perfect, or even easy, those first few months, but we got through them together.
Once I officially moved in with him, Paige moved into the apartment with Aiden, and a few months later, they announced they were getting a puppy together, which for them was the same as putting a ring on it.
I’d recently cut my hours at Crimson down to one weekend a month so I could be more present for Evan now that both of his companies were flourishing. Because of this, he spent more time traveling, and I got to tag along and shop and eat to my heart’s content while he was stuck in one boring meeting after another.
I loved dancing, and my friends had become my family. I knew I’d eventually quit, but it meant the world to me that Evan understood I wasn’t ready yet.
“How the fuck do I sign up for this?” a familiar voice asked from behind me.
I jumped up from the lounger.
River, Zane, Gray, and Quinn were walking toward us.
“Eeek!” I hurdled over my lounger and launched myself into Gray’s arms. “Hi, bestie!”
He caught me with a laugh, rocking on his feet from the impact. “Um, Nick.”
“What?”
“I think Evan is plotting my death.”
“No he isn’t.” I pecked a kiss against his cheek and threw myself at Quinn. “Hi!”
He laughed and hugged me tight. “Your man is definitely plotting my death right now.”
“You’re silly.” I squeezed him, then slid down his tall body.
“One of these days we’re going to start taking it personally that you hug us last,” Zane said as I jumped into River’s waiting arms.
“Why?” I squeezed River extra tight and looked at Zane. “Don’t you save the best for last?”
“Darling.” Evan cleared his throat.
