“What the fuck, Masters?” Spence yells.
“Oh, shit.” He turns his back immediately, although too late. He’s already seen everything. “Sorry.” He winces. “I thought you were alone.” He hunches his shoulders as if excited. “Hi, Charlotte.”
I smile as I look up at my beautiful man and cup his face. “Hi, Jules.”
“I was just coming to see if you… well, both of you now, wanted to come to the beach. But I can see you’re busy.”
Spencer’s eyes hold mine. “We’ll meet you there.”
I can’t stop kissing him, even though Julian is still in the room.
“Although Charlotte may be in a body bag by the time I’ve finished with her,” Spencer adds dryly.
Julian chuckles. “Okay, well, just make sure that her bodyguards don’t see you kill her. I’m not sure I could get you off that one, and you’re way too pretty to go to prison.”
I smile softly, and in that moment, I know it’s going to be okay.
We are going to make it through this together. His friends, my friends, and our families combined will make it work… whatever it takes.
“See you later,” Julian says as he walks out.
I frown, confused. “Where’s Julian staying?”
“He, Bree, and the kids are three doors up, and Seb is in town. They wouldn’t let me come alone in case you didn’t show up.”
“Why weren’t they with you yesterday?”
“I wanted to be alone. I was waiting for you.”
I stare up at the beautiful man in front of me. “Can you ask me to marry you now?”
“No.” He kisses my lips.
My face falls, and I think for a moment. “Fine. Then Spencer Jones… will you marry me?”
“Again, no.”
“Spencer,” I whine. “You’re supposed to say yes.”
“And you were supposed to stay by my side when things got rough.”
My heart drops. I hate that I let him down.
“I will now. I promise.” I pause and smile. “Do you know what this is, Spence? It’s a new beginning for us.”
He exhales heavily and hangs his head. “The last two weeks…” His voice trails off.
I stare into his big blue eyes, and the hurt in them breaks my heart wide open. “Baby,” I whisper. He wraps his arms around me and holds me tight. We stay in each other’s arms for a long time and it’s like the longer our bodies touch skin to skin, the more I can feel the emotions run between us.
“Let’s go back to bed,” I suggest quietly.
He nods, and we step out of the shower. I dry us both off, and then he leads us into the bedroom. I lie down beside him.
“I love you, Spence.”
His eyes close as if hearing me say that pains him, and then he kisses me. He really kisses me with his heart on his sleeve and without holding back.
It’s long and slow and deep and everything I’ve missed about us.