I shake my towel out before laying it on the sand, and I peel my wet suit off. I’ve got my board shorts on underneath. I pull my hair back, tying it up, and then I drop down onto my towel.

Evie has laid her towel out next to mine.

Kneeling on it, she says, “Can you unzip me?”

Sitting up, I take hold of the zipper. I slowly pull it down, the sound loud between us.

Zipping her up before was deliciously tough. Lowering her zipper now…exquisite fucking torture.

The beach is quiet with some people still around, but as far as I’m concerned, there is only her and me.

When the zipper touches its base, I stare at the exposed skin at the bottom of her neck. It looks so soft, so enticing. I want to know how she tastes. And I can’t help myself, I press my lips right there.

I feel a shudder run through her body.

“What are you doing?” she asks softly.

“Tasting you,” I breathe against her skin. “Is that okay?”

“Yes,” she whispers.

Moving closer, she presses into me. My arm slides around her waist as I trail a path of kisses up her neck—until she turns her face to mine. I stare into those whiskey eyes for a long thrilling moment, falling somewhere unknown. Then, I take her mouth with mine. I kiss her gently at first until she’s moaning in my mouth and turning in my arms. Her fingers slide behind my neck, linking there, holding me like she never wants to let me go.

And I know for sure that I don’t want to let her go.

Then, she breaks the kiss. I see her cheeks are flushed, her lips swollen.

She runs the tips of her fingers across my overgrown stubble. “I can’t believe we’re making out on the beach.”

“Too much too soon?”

She stares into my eyes and shakes her head. “No.”

“Good, because I plan on kissing you anytime I get the opportunity.”

I want her, so fucking much. And it’s not just the kissing even though that rocks. It’s more than that. It’s her. I want to be around her, to talk to her, to learn everything I can about her.

I have a feeling, when it comes to Evie, nothing will ever be enough. I’ll always want more, need more.

“So, what do you want to do for the rest of the day?” I ask, threading my fingers through her hair. “Aside from making out.”

That earns me a giggle.

“I don’t mind.” She lifts her shoulders, looking right at me.

No one has ever looked at me like Evie does. It’s like she really sees me. And that makes me feel like a fucking king.

“So long as I’m with you, I’m good,” she says.

My heart skips over.

“The feeling is totally fucking mutual, babe.”

And it really is.

Two days, and I’m already crazy about her.

She’s hit me like a bulldozer. And I don’t even care. If anything, I’m happy about it because I have her, and nothing has ever felt better, or more right.

“Evie.”

The sound of Adam’s deep voice behind me has the hair on the back of my neck standing on end.

Slowly turning around from the coffee machine I was cleaning, I face him.

He looks just as imposing in here as the last time I saw him, but at least he doesn’t look like he’s here to yell at me again. Well, that’s what I’m hoping.

Honestly, I’m surprised to see him here. I haven’t seen him since our talk a week ago. I know he’s been avoiding me. I thought I was the last person on earth that he would want to see right now.

But here he is.

Also, I was pretty sure I’d locked the door when I turned the Closed sign. Apparently not.

“We’re closed,” I say. I don’t know why I said that…unless he is actually here for coffee.

“Yeah, I got that from the Closed sign.” A small smile touches the corner of his lips.

A warm glow erupts in my chest. God, I’ve missed his smile.

“I’m not here for coffee.”

“What are you here for?” I put the cloth in my hand down on the counter.

“We need to talk.”

“About?” I’m probably being a little stern. I just don’t want a rehash of the other day. I know I deserve it, deserve whatever he has to fire at me, but I’ve only just recovered from our last encounter.

Well, recovered might be overstating it, but last night was the first night since our talk that I didn’t cry myself to sleep. I don’t want to start again.

He looks over his shoulder at the door, as though he’s expecting someone to come in, and then he looks back to me. “Not here.”

I cross my arms over my chest. I don’t miss his eyes going to my boobs as they get pushed up. Oddly, it brings me a sense of self-satisfaction. He might hate me, but he still likes my boobs.

God, get a grip, Evie.

“Why not? There’s only me here, and I don’t see a problem with us talking—unless you plan on yelling at me again, because that I could do without.”

His eyes flicker to mine. “It’s not me yelling that I’m worried about.”

“Me?” I let out a laugh. “Why would I yell? I’ve got nothing to yell about—unless you scratched my car, which I would be kinda pissed about—”

“We’re still married.”

My brain freezes.

“I’m sorry, what?” I let out an awkward-sounding laugh. “For a second there, I thought you said that we’re…still married.”

“I did. And we are.”

“I-I…what?” All I can do is blankly stare at him. “We’re married? I don’t understand.”

“I never filed the annulment papers that you so kindly left for me. So, yeah, that means we’re technically still married. I thought you should know.”

It’s right then when my head explodes.

“You thought I should know? We-we’re married. We’ve been married for the last ten years. Jesus Christ! I can’t…even…” I’m struggling to make sense as well as breathe.

For the last ten years, I’ve believed my marriage never existed in the eyes of the law even though it meant everything to me. And now, I’m hearing that’s not the case at all.

We’re still married.

My body and brain are jumping between confusion to elation to betrayal, which is funny coming from me because I betrayed him in the worst possible way.

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I take some deep breaths.

After a long moment, I look up at him. “You never filed the annulment papers?”

He slowly shakes his head, eyes fixed on me.

“Why would you not do that?” My words come out on a whisper of hope.

Hope for what? That he still loves me?

I almost smack myself in the face for that one.

Adam shrugs.

That sets me off again.

“Jesus, Adam! I’m really confused here! I know I left you, and I did a horrible shitty thing by doing so, but…hell! I’ve—we’ve been married all this time, and I didn’t know. There’s just something fundamentally wrong with that. What if”—I’m mentally searching around for something to throw at him—“I’d gotten married to someone else?” I have to stop myself from laughing at that one. I’ve been on exactly one date in the last ten years, so a second marriage wasn’t exactly on the cards, but that’s beside the point. And for some reason, right now, I want a reason to be mad at him. “You would have made me a freaking bigamist!”

“Look, I’m sorry—”

“You’re sorry? Well, that’s okay then!” I throw my hands up. “How could you have done this?”

I see fire light behind his eyes.

His palms slam down on the counter, and he leans close to me. “Apparently, as easy as you fucking leaving me without a word.”

My eyes widen. “You did this for revenge?” My words come out on a gasp.

I see a muscle pop in his jaw as he works it.

“Nice. Good to know what you think of me, Evie. No, it wasn’t for fucking revenge. I was hurt and in denial that you’d left me. I searched everywhere for you, hoping that you’d come back to me. So, filing those papers was the last thing on my mind. By the time I realized what I’d done, the time had lapsed to allow me to file. I had no fucking clue where you were, so it’s not like I could call you up and let you know, was it?”