Page 78 of Exes Don't

He catches my fingers with his hand and presses them to his lips in an achingly sweet movement. “I’m not too worried. I’ve been thinking about messing up your lipstick since I walked into the restaurant.”

My stomach swoops. “Do you have to get back to Green Bay right away?”

“I’m not in any hurry.”

I smile to myself at that. “Want to walk?”

“With you? Always. But it’s freezing out here. You sure you’re okay being out in the elements?”

“Yeah. It’s funny. It’s like when I’m with you, my body heat skyrockets. Wonder why?”

“I’m going to take that as the highest of all compliments from my favorite ice queen.”

I laugh as we stroll down Main Street. “I want to show you Wool Beach. It’s not really the season for it, but in the summer months, it’s one of our favorite spots.”

Anton nods. “I want to see it all.”

I nuzzle closer to him, feeling at once like I could fly and, at the same time, be completely grounded. Being here, next to him, is like curling up in front of a warm fireplace with a book that’ll take me to a far-off land.

In a word, perfection.

29

Abdicating

Anton

As Rose starts pointing out her favorite spots in Cashmere Cove, I can’t help but imagine our life here…together. I know I’m about fifteen steps ahead, but now that I’ve got Rose back, I want to keep her forever. I’m thinking engagement. Marriage. A family. The whole deal.

Looking around this quaint town, even in the dead of winter, I can see it now. This is everything I’ve ever wanted in a home base.

Bonus points for it being less than a half hour’s drive from Green Bay, so as long as my football career lasts—and I have every intention of retiring as a River Fox—I’ll be close to work during the season.

There’s just one tiny detail I need to work out. I’m a prince, and there are…expectations of where I’ll live and work and spend my time.

“I feel like I’ve been doing all the talking.” Rose squeezes my bicep, drawing me out of my thoughts. “Tell me something about you.”

“What would you like to know?”

She hums next to me. “Plans for Christmas?”

I tense involuntarily, and she notices. “Is that a sore subject? We don’t have to go there if you don’t want. I thought—”

“No. It’s fine, Rosie. Not your fault.” I sigh.

She stays silent, waiting on me.

“My mother is coming into town.”

Rose’s foot catches on the lip in the sidewalk, and I reach out and steady her.

“Yeah, the thought of having her around makes me want to face plant too.”

She lets out a strangled laugh. “Sorry. I know we shouldn’t joke about it, but…yeah.”

I blow out a breath. “My mother has a way of ruining everything.”

“Well, now, that’s not fair.” Rose is trying to be politically correct, but she doesn’t need to.

---