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“So…” Adam cleared his throat. “You and my mom…um…”

He should probably put the man out of his misery, but it was too funny not to. “Me and your mom…?”

Adam scowled. “Talking about my mom and dating is…weird.”

Jamie took pity on him. “Would it help if I told you I have no intention of hurting your mom, we are definitely taking things slow, and no, I won’t discuss with you whether or not we intend to have sex? Although if we do, I will definitely use protection. Any other questions?” The bigger Adam’s eyes got, the funnier Jamie found the whole thing. “You can skip the warnings, Adam, I promise. I want nothing more than for Iris to be happy.”

“She didn’t deserve what my dad did to her. And yes, I know the whole story,” Adam clarified. “I knew something was wrong and finally just asked her outright; she answered honestly. Dad is a dick. I haven’t spoken to him in months now.”

Did Kirk even comprehend how much he’d lost with his selfishness? Jamie didn’t think so. But Kirk’s loss was definitely Jamie’s gain.

“Kirk is a dick, I totally agree.” He flipped a couple of patties on the grill. “Iris is a good woman, and I intend to treat her a lot better than your dad did, I assure you. As good as she deserves.”

Adam’s shoulders dropped, and he smiled, the gesture somewhat sheepish. “You better.”

Jamie gripped one of the steaks with his tongs and prepared to transfer it off the grill. “I promise. And I keep my promises.” He held up the steak. “Medium, right?”

Adam chuckled. “Medium. Perfect.”

Fifteen

After a huge lunch that had them all groaning at the fullness of their stomachs, Jamie took the group out in the boat for a leisurely tour of the lake. Iris joined him in the seat next to his up front, the younger crew lining each side of the boat as they surveyed the coves around Douglas Lake and met up with other holiday goers celebrating the day off like they were. When they made it back to the dock, Jamie and Iris decided the lounge chairs sounded better than skiing, and left the “youngsters” to more energetic pursuits while they settled into the shade for naps.

Iris woke a short while later to the soft sound of snuffling snores from the chair next to her. The intimacy of hearing Jamie snore caused a melting in her heart. Knowing that small, secret detail about him emphasized the closeness they’d developed, just how far Jamie had managed to ease himself into her life and into her heart. And strangely enough, she wasn’t panicking at the thought of a man being that close to her anymore. She was actually starting to be okay with it.

Did she want to marry Jamie? No, her aversion to getting married again was still strong. But she was intelligent enough to acknowledge that they already had some sort of relationship going on, and denying it wasn’t going to make it untrue. Jamie was a part of her life. The question was, how much more of herself did she want to share with him?

Slipping from her chair, she glanced Jamie’s way. The vulnerability of sleep made him look younger. It was as if the determination and drive he carried every second was let go for a little while, and his face relaxed, the tension around his eyes—whether from laughter or concentration—easing, allowing her to see a softer side of him than she’d seen before. Her fingers itched to touch him, to smooth back the wind-tossed hair along his forehead that stuck out at all angles, to run her fingers over that wide chest that she now knew was even more mouthwatering than she’d imagined it to be. Her gaze tracked down his long body, seeing all the bits of him that she never allowed herself to focus on for fear someone else might notice her interest.

Jamie Worthington was a handsome man indeed. And the warmth in her belly dared her to explore the deep masculinity on display before her in all the ways she’d dreamed about for months now.

Wanting to cool herself off—and yes, think about this decision that was presenting itself with a far cooler head than she was currently able to conjure—she lowered herself down the ladder on the other side of the dock and slipped into the chilly water of the lake. Here near the shoreline, the water was a clear green, allowing her to see through to the sandy bottom until it dropped off near the end of the dock to a much deeper depth. She lay out on her back, allowing the water to hold her, the sun hot above her head, the lapping water calm and cool around her. It felt good, shutting out the world and narrowing her focus down to only her body and her thoughts.

And one thought was rising above all the rest: she wanted Jamie Worthington, and she didn’t want to wait anymore.

The longer she floated, the clearer the decision became. Did she have misgivings? Yes. She had never been with a man other than Kirk, and no matter how confident she was in herself, the idea of showing another man her body still gave her pause—or maybe even more so, given her age. But she was done letting her ex-husband and her past dictate her future and her feelings. Wherever this connection with Jamie took her, she was ready for the next step.

She was ready for sex. She hoped.

When she pulled herself out of the water, Jamie was still sleeping in his lounge chair, still softly snoring. She surrounded herself with a towel and walked over to stand at the end of his chair. Gently shaking her hair over his body showered cool droplets onto his skin, and Jamie stirred beneath her.

Sleepy green eyes focused on her, grazing her body with an intensity that almost had her squirming. “Hey,” he said, voice rough with sleep.

“Hey, yourself,” Iris said. “Did you know you snore?”

He laughed unselfconsciously, the sound doing funny things to her heart. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Iris scooted his legs to one side and settled onto the foot of his lounger. “It’s nice to know you have a flaw or two.”

“Oh, I have a flaw or two,” he agreed, amusement clear on his face. “But from what Michael tells me, my snoring isn’t loud enough you’d be forced to sleep in another room, away from me.”

The idea that they’d sleep together enough for her to notice his snoring that way brought a delicate pink blush to her cheeks. Jamie’s gaze fixated on her reaction and followed the flush of color with seeming fascination down the length of her neck, across her chest to the vee between the mounds of her breasts. Her breasts felt like they swelled under his attention, and her nipples peaked. She wondered if he noticed.

When she dropped her gaze to hide her thoughts, her glimpse of Jamie’s lap told her he had indeed noticed—and responded.

He shifted a bit, drawing the towel next to him over his lap. Clearing his throat, he pulled her attention back to his face. “Are the kids back yet?”

“No,” she answered absentmindedly, mulling over the past few seconds. Using the edge of her towel, she began to scrunch the water out of her curls. “They seem to be having fun.”