“Now this is a honeymoon.” Sighing, Bree stretched her arms out to soak in the Caribbean sunshine. “I love that there are places where it’s summer in November.”
Cooper trimmed the sails of their catamaran and dropped anchor before joining her on the long, padded bench. Leaning in for a quick kiss, he said, “When you told me you’d never been down here, I figured I needed to do something about that.”
“I’m so glad you did.” Happier than she’d ever been in her life, she smiled at her newly minted husband and draped her arms over his shoulders. “What did your mom have to say when you called her from the hotel earlier?”
“That it’s been snowing since she left us at the airport, and they’re supposed to get another foot by morning.” When Bree laughed, he shook his head. “That’s not very nice.”
“Sorry. How’s Sammy enjoying the snow?”
“She said he loves it, and he and Mitzy are getting along just fine. She was keeping him in the mudroom at night, but this morning she caught the two of them curled up asleep in front of the fireplace. She still has no idea how he got out.”
“The Amazing Sammy.” Bree laughed, waving her fingers melodramatically.
Grinning, Cooper kissed her again. “He managed to get us together, too. Not bad for a big pile of fur.”
The love glowing in his eyes warmed Bree even more than the sun overhead, and she sighed. “It really is amazing here. How long can we stay?”
“As long as you want. Things are usually pretty slow around the holidays, and Granddad’s old partner offered to take care of anything that can’t wait. He can handle whatever comes up.” Chuckling, he added, “I’m not sure Nick feels the same way about his ace reporter, though.”
“I still can’t believe he wouldn’t come to the wedding,” she complained. “I mean, who hates weddings?”
“It’s not that, exactly,” Cooper corrected her quietly.
“Then what?”
“It’s complicated—and very personal,” he added quickly when she opened her mouth to speak. “If you want more than that, you’ll have to ask him.”
“Well, in return for annoying the bride, he can make do without me for a while.”
Cooper’s expression made it clear he admired her more laid-back career plan. “If he fires you, you can always take Mom up on her offer to work at the bookstore.”
“I’m doing that anyway, just for fun.” Looking like someone who’d just seen Bigfoot, he fell onto the deck with a convincing thunk. “Oh, you’re hilarious.”
He clawed his way up the side of the bench and clung to the cushion like a rescued swimmer. “I must be hearing things. I thought my beautiful, very intense wife said she was planning on doing something for fun.”
“I do lots of things like that now,” she reminded him with a playful kiss. “I learned it from you.”
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from Bride Wanted by Renee Andrews.