Page 45 of Searching for Sunshine

Instead of pulling away, she drops one more kiss on my mouth and leans in to hug me close for another moment before slipping out the door.

“Come on, hubby,” she teases, waiting for me to follow her out of the office. “We need to get back to work, but we can finish this after the party on the beach for Avery’s birthday tonight.”

I groan at the reminder. “Damn it, is that tonight? I was looking forward to coming straight home and spending the night with those pretty legs wrapped around me.”

“Yes, well, as fun as that sounds…” she says, “you and I both know there’s no way we’re missing Avery’s party. And even if we tried, she would one million percent hunt us down and drag us out of the cottage, dressed and ready or not.”

I shudder. “Actually, now that I think about it, you’re right. I know she’s your best friend and all, but she still scares me.”

Stella laughs loudly just as the front door opens and over twenty guests pile in, heading toward the check-in counter. “Oh, she knows,” she teases. “I’ll see you at the cottage tonight.”

“Hey,Stels, are you almost ready to go?” I call through the house. I just got back from taking Duke for a walk, and I’m anxious to get this party over with so I can have Stella to myself.

“Almost,” she yells, and Duke takes off to search for her. I follow him into the bathroom, and my breath catches when I see how fucking gorgeous she looks.

Her pink swimsuit accentuates every inch of her toned body, and the white open-front skirt she’s wearing with it makes her look fucking incredible.

“Damn, Stels,” I mutter, and she turns to smile at me.

“Oh, hi. Sorry, I’m almost ready. Does this look okay?” she asks, spinning to let me see her from several different angles.

“Stella, you look fucking incredible. Are you sure we have to go to this party? I’d much rather keep you here.”

She laughs and rolls her eyes. “Yeah, that would go so well for me. You know Avery would freak if we didn’t show up. Plus, she told me it’s supposed to be a super small event. I think she just invited your brothers, Bennett, and Chloe.”

“Oh, that’s it?” I ask, slightly surprised. “She did all this work just for the seven of us?”

“Yeah…you’ve met Avery, right? Does it seem like she does anything halfway to you?” Stella points out, and I shrug in agreement.

“Okay, fine, you may have a point,” I admit.

“Yeah, I know I do,” she teases. “But anyway, I’m ready now. You ready to walk?”

Duke’s head pokes up just as I say his favorite “w” word and his tail starts beating against the floor in excitement.

“Buddy, you can’t go with us to the party, but I promise we won’t be gone too long and then we’ll play,” Stella says to her dog, leaning over to pet him.

“I know, I’m sorry,” she says before straightening and looking at me. “All right, let’s get going.”

We walk back into the bedroom and I freeze when I see the new addition.

“Stella, what the fuck is that on the wall?” I ask, my eyes wide.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Look at what I finally got back from the frame shop,” she says, gesturing to the wall where the caricature of the two of us from the wedding sign that was attached to the boat the day after our wedding now hangs proudly over the bed. She had them trim it down to just the drawing, and I’ll admit shelooks pretty cute in the picture. But me on the other hand? I have buck teeth and a nose that takes up half the page.

“Is this really necessary, Stels?” I ask, already knowing this is probably not an argument I’m going to win.

“Of course it is. Look how cute we are,” she says, looking up at it with a wide smile.

“How in the hell did you even find the damn thing?” I ask, and Stella laughs.

“Trent thought it was too good to pass up, so he saved it when he took it down and brought it to me,” Stella explains. All I can do is shake my head.

“Fucking traitor,” I mutter. “Anyway, can we go now?”

“Sure,” Stella agrees. “Just lead the way.”

We make the quick walk down to the beach, and my jaw drops when I see the crowd of people standing around and grabbing drinks across the beach.

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