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“Maisy,” Xander whispered into her mouth, and Maisy melted. This was the romance she’d always dreamed of. This was the moment of complete freedom she’d chased. This was it.
Then Xander slowly pulled away. Maisy looked up at him.
“Wow,” he said.
“Wow?” Maisy giggled. “That’s your feedback on our kiss?”
“What do you want me to say?” he asked. “That our kiss was magical? That I never want to stop kissing you? That you’re the most amazing woman in the world?”
“Well, that would be better than ‘wow.’”
“Okay, then. Our kiss was magical. I never want to stop kissing you. You’re the most amazing woman in the world.” Xander kissed her once more. “That’s all true, too.”
Maisy melted into him. Something about kissing Xander felt so right, as though he were the man she’d always been meant to be with. Maybe the twin swap at the wedding had been fate, and it had now led up to this instant.
“What do we do now?” Maisy asked hesitantly. She didn’t want to break the moment, but her worries about everyone else were starting to creep back in.
“More kissing?” Xander suggested. To underscore his point, he leaned forward and gave Maisy another quick kiss that made her knees weak. The more time she spent with him, the more likely it was that she would fall apart into a pile of butterflies and jelly.
“I do like kissing…”
“Then don’t let that beautiful brain of yours start overthinking this.” Xander pressed her against him. His hands were firm, confident, but his eyes were almost pleading. “Let’s just enjoy this moment, okay?”
“Okay.” Maisy would have agreed to almost anything at that point. Agreeing to kiss Xander more was the easiest thing in the world. Sure enough, he bent his head to hers and she kissed him back more than willingly. This time, she was a little braver and she let her hands wander across his broad, muscular back as their lips brushed. Then Xander captured her lips in his in an intense kiss that left Maisy’s head spinning.
When they broke apart this time, Maisy knew that her face was flushed. Her heart was beating hard, like she’d just run a marathon.
“Wow,” she said,
“Exactly.” Xander beamed at her. “Now you know what I mean.”
“I do.”
“I’m just wondering… as lovely as this beach is, perhaps we want to retire to our villa?”
The thought of being alone with Xander in private, in a house with a bed and a couch and curtains she could close, was intoxicating. A small voice asked if Maisy was going too fast, if she shouldn’t consider the consequences first, but it was too late. She had already agreed to just enjoy this moment, and that’s what she was going to do.
“Yes. Let’s go.”
Xander put his arm around Maisy’s shoulders, and she put hers around his waist. Together, they continued down the beach toward the villa.
“I just want you to know,” Xander said as they walked. “Just because we’re going back to the villa doesn’t mean that there’s any pressure to do anything.”
“You don’t want to… um, do anything?” Maisy asked. She drew her lip between her teeth.
“Oh, Maisy.” Xander stopped and spun her towards him. Once again, Maisy was pressed against that broad chest, and once again, she stared into those warm brown eyes. “I want to. But the last thing I want is to make you uncomfortable.”
“I want to, too.” Maisy looked away. “I just… well, I know you’ve had more than a few relationships. I don’t know if I’d… measure up.”
“Come on.” Xander gently swayed her in his arms. “You must have figured out why I had a string of casual relationships but not anything meaningful.”
Maisy tilted her head. She didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but her heart ached for what she might hear next.
“Why?”
“Because if I couldn’t have you, I didn’t want anyone else.”
This time, Maisy was the one who initiated their kiss.
