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He nods solemnly, though his eyes dance. “It means you want to shower with me.”
I sniff. “I already showered today, and we have to be at the Lodge for this year’s first welcome in”—I glance at my watch—“an hour. I thought we could rehearse.”
He chuckles. “Rehearse a speech we’ve been giving for eleven years?”
I somehow manage not to smile. “It’s the first time the twins are here for overnight camp, and I’m nervous. Did they settle in okay this morning? Do they like their counselors? Are they making friends? What if I’m distracted looking for them and mess up my lines?”
“Celeste,” he says softly, eyes full of compassion. “Jack and Ava basically grew up at Wild Lake. They’ve been waiting for this day since they could talk. And Daphne and Damien are both there, remember?”
I nod as I move casually toward the door. “I’m really grateful they came back this summer to work for us. I feel better knowing they’ll keep an eye on the twins.”
“Me, too. Especially since they’re menaces like their mother.”
“Pfft.” I pause and glance back, glad to see he’s still standing by the chaise. Poor, clueless man. “Okay.”
His lips quirk. “Okay, what?”
I open the door and edge inside. “First one in the shower gets to say the line!”
Surprise widens his eyes—even after all these years.
By the time he gets his wits back, I’m at the base of the stairs and running full tilt. I take them two at a time, squealing when I hear his heavier tread on the wood below me.
“I can’t believe I fell for that shit!”
I laugh manically and book it down the short hallway and into our bedroom. Three more strides and my hand touches the frame of the bathroom door.
That’s as far as I get.
An arm around my waist hauls me into the air. The breath leaves my lungs with an undignified, “Oomph,” as my back hits our bed. Lucas crouches over me on all fours, looking annoyingly triumphant. Above our heads is the painting I made all those years ago.
“I won,” I pant. “I totally won. I touched the door.”
I’m still in competition mode, braced to octopus myself around him if he tries for the bathroom, so I’m unprepared when his lips seize mine in a searing kiss.
“Fine,” he says, punctuating the word with a gentle bite to my bottom lip. “You win.”
I jerk my head back as far as the mattress will allow and grin. “Really?”
He laughs. “Yes, really. I’m the real winner, anyway.”
Before I can ask what he means, his body lowers onto mine and I forget all about winning. He was right, after all: this is what I really wanted when I watched him come back from his swim.
The skin of his waist is taut and warm under my fingers. He makes a little, satisfied grunt when I tug his swim trunks over his hips and grab his bare ass. Thanks to his daily swims—lake in spring and summer, private pools in winter—he’s just as fit as he was at thirty-four. The touch of gray at his temples, the smile lines around his eyes… they’re just the icing on the cake. I’m even more attracted to him now than I was when I was young.
Squirming commences as he helps me remove my shorts and T-shirt. I didn’t bother with underwear or a bra.
“Hallelujah,” he whispers, eyes alight as they take me in.
Even though time and two more kids have left their marks on my body, Lucas never seems to notice.
He still loves my breasts most of all.
I smack his head when he bites around my nipple hard enough to leave a mark. “Easy, tiger.”
“Just claiming my territory,” he says, smirking as he shifts forward, as my legs lift naturally around his hips.
He sinks inside me slowly, watching me accept him with an avidness that time hasn’t dented. Quite the opposite, in fact. Our obsession with each other has only grown as years have passed, as we’ve weathered every storm. Withstood heartaches and embraced joys.
