Turn Over(149)
“It’s not going to be difficult. I am happy for Eden and Grey. I am going to dance with the most gorgeous woman there. I am going to give one hell of a toast. And then you and I are going on our mooncation.”
“You don’t have to pretend for me.”
“Darlin’, I’m not pretending.” I looked at my watch. “I think we better head back to the house before the car service beats us.”
She stood on her toes, tugging my neck with her hands. “Ok, but kiss me on the beach. We’re not coming back for awhile.”
I dipped my head, taking her lips, pulling her into my arms. My mouth covered hers hot and urgent. My lust and love for her fired through my body. God, this girl could drive my crazy. My fingers snaked up the back of her shirt, eager to feel the softness of her skin.
“I love you, Syd.”
“Don’t stop,” she whispered.
“Never.” I pecked her check. “Now come on. I don’t want to be late.”
She rolled her eyes. “We have a private car and a chartered plane. Don’t they run on your schedule?”
Her fingers threaded through mine as we walked along the beach.
“So, you don’t have any pre-wedding jitters about you’re ex?”
I stopped, my feet dragging in the sand. “Who said anything to you about Taylor?”
Sydney’s hands went to her hips. “Eden might have mentioned it. It slipped when we were talking about the wedding party lineup.”
My eyes narrowed. “She’s the maid of honor. I’m the best man. I can’t do much about it.”
“I know that. What about seeing her? Have you thought about it?”
“Once or twice, but not like what you’re implying. Our relationship never became serious.” I tried to think of how to phrase it so she would understand. “But it wouldn’t matter if I dated her for five years or five minutes.” I squeezed Sydney’s hand. “There’s only you. You are the girl flying to North Carolina with me. You are the girl I’m taking to the wedding. And you are the only girl I’m going to spend two weeks with in France on an aptly named mooncation.”
She grinned and suddenly I realized she hadn’t been jealous. “I like it when you say things like that.”
“You do, don’t you?”
She nodded. “I like words.”
“I’ll try to remember that.”
I looked up at the condo windows as we crossed over the Palm boardwalk and passed Eden and Grey’s blue beach shack.
“Do you think our mooncation trend is going to catch on?” She turned slightly as she pressed on the latch, unlocking the gate to our boardwalk.
The wooden slats were chipped and the decking needed a coat of stain, but Sydney wouldn’t let me touch it.
“It’s perfect like this.” She eyed me the day we moved into the house when she caught me making a list of improvements.
She grabbed the pad from my hand. “Old and dated is ok. This place has character. I thought that’s why you bought it.”
I shoved the pen in my pocket. “I bought it because the final condo sold at the Palm, leaving us homeless.” I saw the look in her eye. “And because you fell in love with it the instant the realtor unlocked the door.”
I had given in to the beach house, its crooked shutters, and the steps that creaked every time I climbed them. I chuckled to myself following Sydney up the stairs now.
“Let’s see. We are taking a honeymoon without getting married, but vacation is way too understated for what we’re going to be doing. I think more people will be mooncationing all over the place.” My hands immediately cupped her bottom as she bounded to the last step on the deck.
“I think I hear the doorbell.” She ran into the house before I could I could get my hands around her waist.
I walked inside, surprised when I saw we had guests.
“Mason,” Lindy squealed before tackling my knees.
“Hey, tiger.” I wrestled her free then tossed her in the air.
“We’re going to sit on your house.”
I looked at her quizzically and laughed.
Shawna walked toward us. “Lindy, it’s called house-sitting.”
“Oh.” The little girl giggled.
Sydney handed Shawna a pair of keys. “Thanks for looking after the house for us.”
“Not a problem. We’ll come by every day after school and collect the mail.”
I listened while Sydney doled out the instructions for the alarm and told Shawna the watering rotation for the tropical plants on the deck.
I crouched to the floor. “Lindy, what do you want us to bring you from France?”
She scrunched her face together. “A purple kite. A big one.” Her hands spread wide, demonstrating she didn’t want anything small.