Aspen leaned forward to peer out her kitchen window, sighing as she paused to take in the view. It was the perfect Outer Banks evening. Fluffy cotton candy clouds dotted the sky now turning from peach to pink, a warm breeze flowing in from the water. And for the first time in a long time, she felt at peace.
Two weeks had passed since the night Gina had attacked her. She was all healed up physically, except for a couple of tender spots in the deepest part of the gash Gina had given her on her left upper arm—ruining part of Natalie’s name that she’d have to get fixed. Dealing with the mental trauma of it, however, was proving more difficult.
She still couldn’t wrap her mind around knowing that Steven and Gina would have killed her to try and save themselves. They’d wanted the painting at first, which it turns out was worth almost two-hundred-grand on the market. When that hadn’t worked and they’d run out of time to pay the thugs they owed, they’d decided to kill her to get the house via the trust, hoping to liquidate all the assets and pay off their debts that way.
According to Steven’s official statement, he’d come to shoot her that night, then lost his nerve at the last moment. He’d never expected Gina to take matters into her own hands as a result.
Now he was in jail, and would probably stay there for a long time. He was expected to take a deal, so it looked like she would at least be spared further pain and drama without the hassle of a trial.
As for her, she’d done up a will in the days following the attack. The beach house was now hers completely, and she wanted to keep it. Desperately. Sweet Spot was already getting hype on social media thanks to her efforts and some expert guidance from Harper. She was planning to open before the Memorial Day long weekend, to make sure everything was running smoothly by then.
She smiled when a pair of strong, warm arms circled her waist from behind and a solid chest came to rest against her back. Bowie’s short beard teased the curve of her neck as he nuzzled her, his mouth finding the exact right spots that made her shiver and melt.
“What are you thinking about?” he murmured.
“Us.”
“Yeah? What about us?”
“That I’m lucky to have found you.” In spite of everything she’d been through here, she knew this was where she was meant to be. This was where she was meant to live her life and plan her future—with Bowie.
This was home now. This beautiful place. This incredible man.
She looked over at the door when a familiar scratch sounded. “Is it that time already?”
“Yup.” Bowie dropped his arms and went to open the door. Sinbad padded in, tail wagging, looking at them both expectantly. “You’re so ridiculously spoiled,” Bowie said with a chuckle, but reached up for one of the bully sticks Aspen kept stocked for him in a jar on a shelf inside the door.
The dog took it and trotted over to curl up on the woven rug under the kitchen dinette set. “Maybe we should get a dog,” she murmured. She’d never been a dog person before, but Sinbad had converted her.
Bowie shot her a surprised look. “What? Neither one of us will be home enough to have a dog.”
“We could take turns taking it to work with us.”
“Yeah, because a dog on a food truck isn’t a health code violation at all.”
She laughed and waved him toward the fridge, dropping it for now. “Can you grab the salad? I’m just packing up our dessert.”
“Sure.” He hooked a hand around her waist and kissed the side of her neck on the way past. She loved how affectionate he was with her, and hoped that never stopped.
“Knock, knock.”
She glanced over to find Jack standing in the doorway with a bunch of flowers in his hand. “Brought these for you,” he said gruffly, thrusting them out at her.
“Ohh, they’re gorgeous.” She took them and stuck her nose into the blooms to inhale deeply. “These all from your garden?”
“Course. They need to go in water right away, or they’ll wilt.”
She smirked at him. “I’m not that clueless with flowers.”
He grunted. “Just making sure.”
She put the flowers in a vase and placed them in the center of the kitchen table. “There. They’ll brighten up my day every time I look at them.”
“Good. Need a hand with anything?”
“You can carry this,” she said, handing him the full basket. “Bowie’s taking the cooler, and I’m bringing the fun.” She held up a battery-operated radio and a foam football.
“Where’s Harper?”
“Already down on the beach staking out a good spot.”
When they were all set, the three of them and Sinbad headed down the wooden steps together. Since it was after six o’clock, Sinbad was allowed on the beach with them, and besides, he was practically a person anyway.
The wooden steps were warm under Aspen’s bare feet as she carried the radio and football. It was gorgeous out. The beach was fairly busy, a taste of what it would look like during the long, hot summer months ahead. Even the breeze off the water was warm, heralding the change of season fast approaching.
Birds circled overhead, their cries carried on the wind. And looking east, a vast expanse of endless, white-crested azure ocean disappeared into the horizon.
Staring out at it, Aspen felt energized. Tonight felt like the promise of a new beginning somehow. She drew in a deep breath of the fresh ocean air and drank in the sound of the waves rolling gently against the sand.
She’d wanted to do this here, in the same place where she’d been attacked and nearly died. Because she planned to stay here, and she didn’t want to think about that awful night every time she looked out at the view or walked the beach. Starting now, she was going to replace those nightmarish memories with good ones, and over time the bad ones would fade away.
Already seated on a blanket she’d spread out on the sand a dozen yards from the water line, Harper waved at them, shading her eyes with her other hand. They all joined her, and the relaxed atmosphere helping to push the ugly memories out of Aspen’s mind.
She handed out the food—citrus and spice marinated pork tenderloin, Thai peanut noodle salad, grilled veggies drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar—while classic rock played on the radio. Bowie passed out the drinks. They talked and laughed as they ate, enjoying each other’s company and the gorgeous May evening.
After dinner, they packed everything away so Sinbad couldn’t get at the leftovers, and Aspen reached for the spongy football.
“Hey, wait a second,” Jack complained. “No dessert?”
She laughed and tossed the ball at him. “After. Come on.” She dragged him to his feet. “We have to take on Bowie and Harper first, burn off some calories so we’ve earned it.”
Jack and Bowie played quarterback, while she and Harper were the receivers. Within the first minute of the game, it was clear she and Jack were outgunned and in over their heads. Bowie had won his college scholarship as a tight end, but he had one hell of an arm.
He threw a long pass to his sister, who caught it with disgustingly natural athletic ease and zipped past Aspen to score while Sinbad loped around, barking and wagging his tail, having no idea what was going on.
When it was their turn, Jack tossed her the ball and she spun to find both Bowie and Harper blocking her way. She twisted left and tried to dart past Bowie, but he was too fast for her, catching her around the waist and hauling her off her feet.
She squealed as he swung her around in a circle, her heart flipping over at the sexy grin on his face as he finally set her down in front of him, arms wrapped around her back. “Wanna give up yet?” he teased, eyes twinkling as he dipped down and kissed her.
“Hey, we have multiple penalties on this play!” Jack yelled. “Holding for sure, and unnecessary PDA! Unsportsmanlike conduct!”
Aspen didn’t know what any of those were, but she liked the holding and unnecessary PDA parts. A lot.
“Do you two need to call a time out, or what?” Harper shouted.
Bowie laughed and kissed her more soundly. She wound her arms around his neck, the ball forgotten in her hand, and kissed him back.
“Okay, enough, ugh,” Harper muttered. “We win.”
“Dessert time?” Jack asked.
She broke the kiss to answer. “Fine.” Then she narrowed her eyes at Bowie playfully. “You play dirty.”
“Baby girl, you have no idea just how dirty I can play.” Heat curled low in her belly at the sensual gleam in his eyes.
“But I’m gonna find out?” she said hopefully.
He chuckled. “Oh yeah.”
Good. She couldn’t frickin’ wait.
Gathered together back on the blanket once more, she handed out the jelly jars she’d packed their desserts into. Jack took his, eyeing it dubiously. “Did you drop them?”
She laughed at the look on his face. “No, it’s an Eton mess. Ever had one?”
“No, but it sure does look a mess.”
“It’s supposed to.” She handed him a spoon. “Try it. You’ll like it. I’ll make you a chocolate pecan pie next time.”
He scooped up a bite, expression dubious, then his face brightening as he tasted it. “Yeah, okay, it’s better than it looks.”
God, she adored him and his prickly edges. “Such high praise.”
“What’s in it?” he mumbled around another mouthful.
“Meringue, strawberries and sweetened whipped cream, all mixed together.”
“Yum,” Harper said, digging into her jar for more. “Wish you’d made them bigger.”
“Hope you made extras for later,” Bowie said, stuffing a big spoonful into his mouth.
“You know I did.” She planned to spoon-feed it to him in bed tonight. And “accidentally” drop some on certain places on his sexy-as-hell body so she could lick it off his naked skin, because she liked to play dirty too. She loved teasing him until he was all revved up, because the results were always more than worthwhile.
Reaching for the thermos of Arnold Palmers she’d made, she topped up everyone’s glass, then lifted hers in a toast. “To all of you, for welcoming me into KDH, and into your lives. You don’t know how much it means to me.” Damn, her throat was suddenly tight.
Harper beamed at her and raised her glass. “To new beginnings.”
Everyone tapped glasses. “I like having you for a neighbor,” Jack said, taking Aspen by surprise. “Even if you are still a dingbatter.”
She laughed and Bowie curled a heavy arm around her, pulling her tight to his side. “Yeah, but she’s my dingbatter,” he murmured, that gorgeous gray stare locked with hers.
Her insides squeezed at the loving, possessive look in his eyes. If she looked deep enough, she swore she could see the promise of forever written in them.
Harper finished her drink with one long swallow and cleared her throat. “Jack, give me a hand helping carry some of this back to the house, will you?”
He looked at her blankly, spoon poised partway to his mouth.
She gestured at the picnic things, raising her eyebrows meaningfully. “The leftovers and dishes. Up to the house. And Sinbad needs his supper still.”
He finally caught on to what she was doing. “Oh, yeah. Sure.” He got up to gather the things with her.
Aspen chuckled as she watched them walk up the beach together with Sinbad loping around them in circles. “She’s so subtle.”
“That’s Harper for you.”
“Yeah. And now I love her even more, for giving us some romantic time alone out here.”
Bowie tugged her toward him and settled her between his legs, her back resting against his chest and her head on his shoulder. He played with the ends of her hair as they watched the waves curl onto the shore together. He’d saved her life on almost this very spot. Now he was holding her on it, both of them safe, with their future stretching out before them.
Aspen sighed, relaxing completely against him. “Happy?” he murmured against the side of her head.
“Yes.” She glanced up at him. “You?”
“Yeah.” His lips curved in the trademark sexy half-grin that never failed to stir her insides. “So can I see your new tat now?”
She’d kept it bandaged while it healed, partly to save it as a surprise for him. “Yes, you can.” Sitting up, she pulled the sleeve of her top down and peeled the tape from her skin. Gina’s slice had ruined Natalie’s name. Aspen had had it redone, and added a little something else along with it.
Bowie grasped her arm gently in his warm hand and stared at it. “Bodie Lighthouse.”
“Yes.” She twisted around to face him more, stroking her fingers over his bearded jaw. “Because it reminds me of you. And because you’re my safe harbor in the storm.”
His gaze lifted to hers, locking there. “I love you.”
A rush of tears clogged her throat and burned the backs of her eyes. “I love you too,” she whispered, flooded with joy.
He grinned and cupped her jaw to kiss her, his lips warm, lingering. She lost herself in it, gave herself over to him until the rest of the world fell away and there was nothing but them.
He loved her. She was the luckiest woman in the whole world.
On a chuckle, he kissed her one last time and lifted his head, his eyes glowing with heat and pride. “So, not long until the big launch day, huh?”
She nodded and tried to slow her racing heart. “I’m ready to get back to work.”
“Feel like taking a getaway with me before that?”
She eyed him in surprise. “Getaway? Where?”
“I was thinking…England.”
She got to her knees, smothering a gasp. “Don’t tease me.” He didn’t take holidays. Harper had told her so, and she’d seen for herself how dedicated he was to his business with all the late hours and overtime he’d put in since they’d known each other. He’d also never been outside of the country before.
He grinned. “I’m not.” He brushed the hair back from her face, his expression tender. “I’ve already booked our flights. We leave tomorrow night for ten days, and I made sure you’ll be back in plenty of time before your launch.”
He wasn’t kidding.
Aspen squealed and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tight, stunned and insanely excited. “You’re serious! Oh my God, we’re going to England?”
He hugged her tight, his chuckle reverberating in his chest. “Figured we could both use some time away together before we’re locked into our work schedules. And I thought you’d like to do some firsthand research of British desserts before your grand opening.”
It choked her up. She blinked against the sting of tears, burying her face in the side of his beard. She and Harry had talked about making the trip so many times, and then they’d suddenly run out of time. She’d dreamed of it forever. “I love you.”
Bowie eased her away from him, taking her face in his hands as he smiled at her. “Love you too, baby girl.” He kissed her softly, then lifted his head to search her eyes. “What do you want to see when we’re over there?”
“So many places. But it doesn’t matter which ones we get to, as long as I get to see them with you.”