Page 109 of Long Shot

Cade leans down and kisses my pout, letting his tongue linger.

I shiver, my belly growing warm.

“Why not?” he asks, nuzzling my ear.

“I don’t know. It always seems so self-righteous. Eat healthy. Work out every day. Take online courses. Eh. Why wait for January first to do that?”

“Good point.”

We’re standing at the railing of a beautiful yacht, cruising across the San Diego Harbor, having finished a five-course dinner of lobster and filet mignon (it was good, but I could have done better), ending with chocolate truffles and champagne. Along with Beck and Hayden, and Marco and Carrie, we danced to the DJ, and now as the clock approaches midnight, we’ve all moved to the railing of the yacht.

The downtown skyscrapers glitter against the dark sky, and the water of the bay glimmers with multicolored reflections. We’re nearing the Coronado Bridge where fireworks will go off at midnight. The salty, chilly air tosses my hair around my head, and Cade reaches out to smooth strands back from my face.

“But therearea couple of things I want to focus on this year,” I say.

“Yeah?”

I nod seriously. “I want to have more sex.”

Cade chokes on his champagne. “Well, I’m definitely in support of that one. As long as it’s with me.”

“Of course. Or, you know . . . a ménage à moi. When you’re not around.”

He lifts one eyebrow. “Right. You know, you can do that when Iamaround.”

“Mmm. You want to watch?”

“Hell, yeah. Okay, this is a great resolution. What else do you want to focus on?”

“Making you happy.”

“Ah.” His lips curve and his eyes warm. “All the sex will definitely do that.”

I shake my head, smiling.

“You do make me happy, baby.”

“I want you to know how loved you are.” I hold his gaze earnestly. “I want to make you toast with peanut butter and bacon, and pizza with ranch dressing.”

His smile shines. “I want you to feel loved, too,” he murmurs. “And I want to make you happy.”

“I think if we focus on that, we should be good.”

“I agree.”

“What about you? Do you make resolutions?”

“Make more money.”

“Phhht.” I roll my eyes, lips twitching.

“Convince you to have more fun with me. And you know what that means . . .”

“Lots of sex?”

He laughs. “Yeah, but also skydiving.”

“No! I told you already, I will not jump out of an airplane.”

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