Risking the Crown (The Crown 2)

“Good morning.” I sat up, careful to keep the quilt tucked under my arms.

“I thought I’d drive the truck over this morning and start unloading.” He leaned forward to kiss me on my cheek. “You didn’t tell me you were bringing that much stuff.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “You told me to pack what I couldn’t live without.”

“I guess it was good I got the beach house.”

I laughed. “Yes, I think it was fate.”

Cole had moved his clothes into the smaller closet and his tools were stored in the bedroom that bordered the street.

I loved that our room was the ocean front suite. Every morning I was going to wake up in this room, with this view. The deck wrapped around to this side of the house. A door from the bedroom led to the deck, which was oddly placed, but I thought added some quirky charm.

“You said you brought your bedroom set, right?” Cole asked from behind me.

I nodded. There were all kinds of things in that truck. Suddenly, I was glad I packed so much for the kitchen. We were going to need it.

“Ok, I’ll go grab your bag, since I didn’t give you that chance last night, and then I’ll start unloading.”

“But, you can’t carry mattresses and my desk by yourself.” Don’t get me wrong, Cole was strong, but that was too much even for those beautiful muscles.

“Darlin’, I’ve got it all taken care of.” He threw a T-shirt on the bed. “But why don’t you put this on. There is someone who wants to say hi.”

“Grayson.” I smiled.

I quickly threaded the shirt over my head. It smelled like Cole. I collected my shorts off the floor and stepped into them.

“Ready for this?” Cole asked.

I nodded. I was ready as I could be to have an instant family.

The door opened and Grayson ran into the room, holding a train. He threw his arms around me.

“Hey.” I pulled him into a hug.

“I paint.” He held up the train and I realized it was pink.

“You painted it for me?” I laughed.

He nodded. “Pink.”

“It’s definitely pink.” I looked at Cole who was standing next to the door. He didn’t care if his son painted an entire room pink, as long as he was happy Cole didn’t care.

“Why don’t you two wait here? I’ll be back in a few minutes with your bag.”

“All right.” Grayson and I walked to the balcony.

I watched as Cole jogged down the stairs and cut through the backyard path to the Dunes.

“Daddy beach.” Grayson pointed.

“He’ll be right back,” I promised.

Five minutes later, Cole appeared with my overnight bag. “Here you go.”

“Thank you.” I unzipped it in search of my cosmetics bag. I was looking forward to a shower with my own soap and shampoo.

“I’m going to take a shower, and then I can help you unload everything.”