Page 34 of Kiss Me, Darling

We didn’t forget how to do this part. There was minimal fumbling as he teased my nipples or as I stroked his cock. When we came together it was shocking. It took my breath away and I held onto his shoulders to keep from crying out, but it was also wonderfully familiar. Comforting. His skin against mine, his breath hot on my cheek. I knew from practice and instinct when his rhythm would change or when he needed to be touched by me.

And when we came, it was with me on top, our fingers threaded together, and nothing but hope for our future in my heart.

* * *

“Can you grab me a canvas?”I asked Joe. He was about to make a run to the mainland for supplies. Okay, so he was also picking up half a dozen packages of things I ordered for the house. Whatever. It was for the family!

I felt bad that I kept asking him to get me things so I was making him his favorite dessert, my grandmother’s famous chocolate cake. Joe told me he hated how overly sweet most chocolate cakes were, so I knew right then and there I would make him one as a thank you for being awesome.

Today was the perfect day because he’d be gone for a few hours and when he got back I’d have the surprise ready and waiting.

“Sure. What size?”

I used my hands to indicate something fairly large. “It doesn’t matter exactly. Something big enough to hang, hopefully. Square if possible, but I’m not picky.”

“No problem. Esther is keeping an eye on things. I’ve got my phone if you need anything else.” He winked before he left.

“What are you going to paint?” Chris asked. He was over helping Scott paint the game room.

“Something from the sandbar. Usually if I see something this clearly in my head, I end up painting it. I figure why not? If it comes out well then we can hang it somewhere in the house.”

He reached over the counter and stole one of my dark chocolate oatmeal cookies. Here’s the thing about me: I cook when I’m thinking. There’s something about the combination of exact measurements and gut instinct that soothes my creative energy and helps refocus it. Aside from the cookies and the cake, I also volunteered to make dinner for everyone.

“Any idea what the big family meeting is about tonight?” I asked. Scott had no clue.

“I have a feeling, but it’s just as possible I’m totally wrong and Ben wants to talk about the sky. Or Christmas plans. Who knows.”

Talks of staying through the holidays had heated up, so that wasn’t entirely surprising to hear. “Could it be new information about our home confinement?” More photographs were delivered to Ben and Scott’s agent. All from a distance, all of the house. The only odd thing I couldn’t figure out was the inclusion of an old newspaper clipping from when the boys lived here years ago. It felt...odd. I couldn’t say exactly why though.

“Maybe,” he shrugged, “but I hope it’s wedding news. Then Mom and Dad will stop asking me what I know.”

Their parents were also on board for holidays on the island. I was starting to get genuinely excited about it all. “Do they want a big wedding?”

Chris stole another cookie. “Probably. The Andersons are an old island family. Olivia said Paris’s wedding was enormous.”

Scott and I occasionally talked about what kind of wedding we might want one day. I always felt weird talking about an event that might not happen. I floated the idea of a big Hollywood wedding, but he batted it down. Said if I wanted a big wedding then great, but not to cater to the press or other stars. If he had it his way, we’d have a small wedding on a beach somewhere. Back then it was visions of a Caribbean island and honeymoon.

But now...maybe that beach could be here.

One day. Maybe.

“Does enormous mean the same thing here? Hundreds of guests, lots of glitz and glamour?”

“I don’t think so. It’s more like an island holiday.”

“That sounds lovely. I’m hoping that’s the news tonight, too.”

“I better get back to painting. Scott left alone for too long is a dangerous thing.” But he paused before climbing off the stool. “I’m really glad you two are doing better. We’ve missed you.”

Did that warm my heart? Yes it did. I thought of Ben and Chris as brothers. Did it also make me want to act sisterly? Thanks to the terrible influence of London, yes, yes it did.

For the first time in all the years we dated, I had an idea on how to prank the brothers. I grabbed the dark chocolate chips and set to work on a new batch of oatmeal cookies.

* * *

My personal opinionon chocolate cake is that the cake should be light, moist, and not very sweet. That allows the frosting to do the heavy lifting. The combination is a thing of beauty.

Getting it all just right is the hard part.

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