Nautier and Wilder (Nauti Girls 1.5)

“Thanks,” Grange said. “I think I’ll take mine to go. There’s a paint supplier at the store I want to talk to. Nice to see you, Elena.”

“You, too.” She smiled and waved her uncle off, then turned to Jed.

He ate his sandwich and admired her in her cute capri pants, polka dot top and tennis shoes, her hair pulled up high on her head in a ponytail.

He was a sweaty mess, and she was a fresh goddess. He was one lucky sonofabitch.

“The boat’s coming along nicely,” she said, glancing down at the well-sanded deck of the first boat Jed and Grange had bought as part of General’s Fishing and Touring Charters, the business they’d started up together a month ago.

Once the general had asked Jed to go into business with him, it had taken Jed about two seconds to say yes.

Partly because it meant outdoors and adventure, something Jed had craved. Partly because it meant he could be with Elena, and mainly because now he had a family, and that family included Elena.

Maybe the general had known that, maybe not, but either way, Jed was damned grateful.

“What are you thinking about?” Elena asked as she wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin.

“You. All this and how it worked out. How lucky I am.”

“Really? I think I’m the lucky one. You stayed.”

“I’d have stayed anyway, even if this job hadn’t happened. I wouldn’t have left you.”

Her cheeks turned pink and her lips curved into a sweet smile that never failed to make his heart squeeze in a way that was still new to him. “I love you, Jed.”

“I love you, too, Elena. It’s a perfect day, I have my beautiful woman in my life, and we’re on our boat. Life just can’t get any better.”

She leaned over, laid her hand on his heart and pressed her lips to his. “Oh, it will. This is just the beginning.”