Colton opens the door and I glance back, deciding to leave Ace sleeping for a moment while I admire the view. I get out of the car as Colton comes around the front, a knowing smile still on his lips, and love in his eyes.
“Do you know this place?” he asks, head angled, hands reaching out to pull me against him.
“What? Colton! This is just . . .” I’m shocked, curious, floored, and grateful as I look up at him with confusion in my eyes.
“I wanted to take a family vacation. We all deserve it after this year, don’t you think?” he asks. I know him well enough to know he’s holding something back. What it is though, I don’t know.
“This place is incredible.” I’m still in his arms but my head swivels from side to side to take it all in.
“And secluded,” he adds, causing my focus to turn back on him.
“I like secluded,” I murmur.
“And bathing suits are optional.”
The laugh comes freely. “I’m sure they are,” I respond as my mind fires again, but this time it all comes back to me. Knocks me flat on my ass. Takes hold of my heart and squeezes so damn tight my chest hurts from love.
My eyes flash up to his—violet to green—and the words fall from my mouth in a whisper. “This . . . this is from . . .” He nods his head, smile spreading, and waits as my words pause and mind recalls. “When I was sick. This is one of the memories you said you wanted to make with me.” Awe owns my voice as I try to comprehend that he did this for me.
“Yes,” he whispers and brushes his lips against mine in the most tender of kisses. The kind that owns your soul and completes your heart. “It’s the first of many of those memories I plan to make come true for you. We’re going to have to buy a lot more frames to put them in.”
“Colton . . .” Tears well in my eyes as I pull him closer, the moment so poignant I’m at a loss for words.
“And yes, there is a very skimpy bikini on the bed in there for you that is for my eyes only. Or you can skip it and just run around naked.”
“Run around naked?” I say as I look back toward the car where Ace sleeps.
“And that’s why our family is at a huge house about three miles down the road. Babysitters,” he says with a quirk of his eyebrows.
“You’ve thought of everything,” I murmur against his lips.
“Mm-hmm,” he says as he presses a kiss to my nose.
“I can’t wait to see you in that loincloth.”
He throws his head back and laughs, the vibrations of it echoing in my chest, and all I can do is stare at him. And then laugh with him. Because if we’ve learned one thing in our marriage it’s that we need to laugh as much as we breathe and love like we are the air that allows us to do both.
I stare at him—stubbled cheeks, emerald eyes, and dark hair—and all I see is happiness. All I feel is love. All I know is completeness. All I want is forever with him.
My husband.
My rock.
My piece of peace.
My memory maker.
My happily ever after.
THE END
Thank you to the women in my life that make me a better author, friend, mother, daughter, and most importantly, person: to Brook, CJ, Willy, Wendy, Jeni, Susan, Christine, Laurelin, Lauren, Amy, and YOU. Because I include YOU – the readers, bloggers, admins, VP Pit Crew members – in this group of incredible women who continuously challenge, support, teach, and empower me. Without you, none of this would be possible.
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author K. Bromberg writes contemporary novels that contain a mixture of sweet, emotional, a whole lot of sexy and a little bit of real. She likes to write strong heroines and damaged heroes who we love to hate and hate to love.
She’s a mixture of most of her female characters: sassy, intelligent, stubborn, reserved, outgoing, driven, emotional, strong, and wears her heart on her sleeve. All of which she displays daily with her husband and three children where they live in Southern California.
On a whim, K. Bromberg decided to try her hand at this writing thing. Since then she has written The Driven Series (Driven, Fueled, Crashed, Raced, Aced), the standalone Driven Novels (Slow Burn, Sweet Ache, Hard Beat), and a short story titled UnRaveled. She is currently working on new projects and a few surprises for her readers.
She loves to hear from her readers so make sure you check her out on social media.