Page 76 of Meant to Be

“Ilovethem,” I blurted out. It was a bit of an overstatement, yet still felt sincere, perhaps because my heart felt so full.

Joe looked relieved. “Youdo?”

“Yes. Berry’s really sweet.” I hesitated, then added, “Honestly, I didn’t expect that. I knew she’d be nice, but I thought she would be a bit…harderon me.”

Joe nodded, not bothering to play dumb, which I appreciated. “Yes. She can be very protective…but I could tell she loved you, too.”

I smiled and told him that made me happy.

“And what about my mother? Do you see what I mean about her? She didn’t last twenty minutes without grilling me about running for office. It’s relentless.”

“Yeah,” I said. “But she just wants the best for you—and thinks that you could use your name to make a difference. You really would make a great public servant.”

“Oh, I like that description,” Joe said. “It sounds better than politician…and you really think so?”

“Yes. You genuinely care about people. You care about the cases you prosecute and you care about why defendants find themselves in situations that lead them to commit crimes,” I said, feeling a wave of pride in him. He was such a good person. “I love that about you.”

“Wow. That’s really nice. Thank you,” he said as we entered the most picturesque cove. The shore was rocky, and the water like glass. For the next few minutes, we idled along, taking in the scenery. Then Joe cut the engine and announced that this was theperfect spot for a picnic. He walked around the console to the front of the boat, reached for the anchor, and tossed it into the water. I watched as he quickly and expertly tied some fancy nautical knot, thinking what a turn-on it was when a man was so good at something.

He glanced up, catching me staring at him, and smiled. “What?”

“I was wondering whether you were a Boy Scout.”

Joe laughed and said, “What were youreallythinking?”

I swallowed, feeling myself blush as I put my hand on his tanned forearm and said, “Okay, yes. I was thinking that watching you tie a knot is kind of sexy.”

Joe laughed.

I smiled as he moved to the back of the boat, spread a towel on the floorboards, and asked me to join him. I sat down, watching as he got to work unpacking a small cooler.

“When did you put this together?” I asked, impressed with his organization.

“I didn’t. I begged Berry to pick it up from a store in town,” he said, opening a bottle of chilled white wine with a corkscrew and pouring it into plastic cups. He handed me one, then took his sunglasses off, hitching them on the collar of his shirt.

“To us,” he said, raising his cup with a soulful expression.

“To us,” I repeated, tapping the edge of my cup against his.

For the next thirty minutes or so, we sipped wine and ate grapes and cheese and crackers and little cucumber sandwiches, talking and laughing.

At some point, my buzz kicked in, the talking turned into kissing, then full-on making out.

“Is this safe?” I whispered at one point as he slid his hand under my swimsuit top, then pulled it up and kissed one breast while he palmed the other.

“Yes,” he said. “It’s totally private back here.”

“What about long-range cameras?” I said, thinking of all the celebrities who had been photographed topless on vacations.

“There’s nobody out here, babe,” he said, now taking my hand and pressing it against his erection.

He let out a low moan that made me wetter than I already was, and I knew then what was going to happen. Sure enough, Joe laid me on my back, pulling down my bathing suit bottom. He slid one finger slowly inside me, then took it out even more slowly before putting it in his mouth. Then he went down on me.

It was so good—toogood—and I begged him to stop even as I held on to his head, my hands running through his hair. Then, just as I was on the brink of exploding, he pulled down his swim trunks, climbed on top of me, and slowly entered me.

“How?” he whispered when he was the whole way in. “How is itthisperfect?”

“Because it’s us,” I said, breathless.

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