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Six months later
Jade Lodge hasn’t changed much from when we were here almost a year ago, except that it’s quieter in the spring. The air has a cool chill to it that I enjoy, and as Mel and I sit out on the balcony gazing into the forest, a feeling of peace settles over me.
This time around, there’s no schedule of team bonding events or forced dinners.
It’s just the two of us, taking our time.
This morning we slept in, made love, and convinced each other to take a hike to a swimming hole a few miles away. Later today, we’ll lounge in the sauna, maybe. And then I’ll talk her into getting back in bed.
I can’t help but marvel at where we’ve ended up. Twelve years after first falling in love, and it just keeps getting better. Every day I fall for this woman a little more.
She keeps me honest, keeps me laughing, and every time I look at her—and the ring on her finger—it’s a reminder tobe better.
Later, as we head into the dining area, our waiter greets us. “Mr. and Mrs. Sharpe.” He hands us both menus for this evening’s courses.
Marriage looks good on Mel. It’s not quite what I imagined when we were kids, but I don’t think you can imagine a connection like this. Plus, I never would have been able to predict how beautiful she is now—glowing, smiling up at the waiter, her slender finger showing off the small diamond.
Once we were “officially” back together—after we made up according to everyone else and decided to stop pretending we weren’t head over heels for each other—I barely held out for two months before proposing.
I lazily decide on a salmon dish and chuck the menu onto the table, staring instead at my wife.
This honeymoon is a relief.
The marriage was quick, the planning of it even quicker. And exhausting. Luckily, Jodie felt well enough to bustle around and help out, but neither Mel nor I wanted to tire her out.
And then there was making sure everything at Dupont would run smoothly without us. Not much to worry about, since my new CEO—a younger guy who reminds me a lot of myself—was raring to take on the responsibility.
And Adrian, Mel’s assistant on the marketing side of things, is more than capable. Word around the office is she has a love-hate thing going on with a woman from accounting, the two of them having been caught in a fax room. Pretty cliché, but to each their own.
“Still exhausted?” I ask, reaching out to take Mel’s hand.
She smiles at me, thumb rubbing my knuckles. “I think I’d belesstired if someone would let me sleep instead of waking me up with those sexy kisses.”
Mel whispers the last part teasingly and I give her an indulgent grin.
“I can’t help it. There’s something about you being mywife.” My eyes run over her casual top and jeans, remembering what’s underneath.
Mel gives me a playful nudge and turns her attention to the glass of water on the table.
“You haven’t touched your drink.” I toy with the pineapple slice on the Singapore sling I ordered for her before she came out of the room.
Mel wrinkles her nose. “Just not feeling it tonight. That fruity scent is making me pretty nauseous.”
My brows knit. “Really? I thought this was your favorite, though?”
“Oh, it is.” Mel leans back, giving me a shy grin. “But not right now. And I need to stay away from the fancy cocktails, anyway, for a while. I’m pregnant, after all.”
My mind goes blank as shock, then terror, then excitement washes through me. Mel is watching me closely, biting her bottom lip in that tempting way I can’t resist.
“What?”
I heard her, but the question slips out anyway. When she opens her mouth to answer, I lean over the table and take her face in my hands, kissing her soundly.
“Really?” Before she can answer, I kiss her again, and she laughs against my lips.
“Are you going to let me get a word in, or are you going to keep this up?”
I stand and move around to her side of the table, kneeling in front of her and continuing to steal quick, enthusiastic kisses.
