The collaring ceremony was long over. Mary Catherine had left for her house hours ago, waving and telling everyone to keep in touch and come back soon. Fritz left shortly after, saying he’d see everyone in Delaware in a few months. Abby and Nathaniel were flying to Switzerland in the morning to spend a few days at their chalet and had turned in early. Julie and Daniel had stayed up with them the longest, but even they eventually turned in, knowing Cole and Sasha wanted some alone time.
It was early in the morning and though they were flying home in a few hours, neither Cole nor Sasha could pull themselves away from the other long enough to sleep.
“I don’t even know if it’s worth it to try and get any sleep now.” Sasha was as content as she could be, laying on Cole’s chest, his heart beating in her ear.
“I don’t, either. Though I must say I’m envious of Nathaniel and Abby’s private jet.”
“You don’t think you’ll be able to sleep on the flight home?” Sasha asked.
“It’s not that. I won’t be able to strip you down and do wicked things to your body.”
She laughed. “It may do us good to take a breather.”
“Isn’t that what we’re doing now?”
“I mean a longer breather.”
His arms tightened around her. “I’m never going to get enough of you.”
“I certainly hope not.”
“It was a perfect day, wasn’t it?” His fingers lightly brushed her collar.
“Yes.” She propped up on one elbow and looked down on him. “Know what surprised me, though?”
“Mary Catherine?”
Mary Catherine showing up had definitely been a surprise. Not to mention the way she’d looked when she was confessing how her ex-husband never looked at her and how lonely she was. The pain in her eyes was obvious, but even more so because Sasha knew exactly how she felt. Before she’d gotten together with Cole, how many times had she seen the way Daniel looked at Julie and wanted to be on the receiving end of a look like that?
The pain of those memories had been what moved her forward and caused her to wrap her arms around the hurting woman. But as surprising as that entire scene had been, that wasn’t what had surprised her the most.
“No, not her,” Sasha said. “I was thinking about Fritz.”
“I still owe him a punch in the gut.” Cole appeared to be in deep thought. “But I might let him get away with it since everything he said was true. What was surprising about him?”
“I didn’t expect for him to be so poetic.”
“Fritz? Poetic? I’m not sure he’d think that was a compliment.”
“That’s why what he said was so surprising. It didn’t fit the image I had of him. It came as a shock to hear him talk about love the way he did. Is he with someone?”
Coles’ expression clouded over briefly. “No, he’s never been serious about anyone, as far as I know.”
Which seemed odd to her. “The way he talked it would seem otherwise.”
“Let me rephrase,” Cole said. “He hasn’t been serious about anyone he’s been with. I do think he has feelings for someone.”
“Unrequited love sucks.” She kissed him just because she could. “I feel bad for him.”
“I wouldn’t say it’s unrequited. As far as I know, he’s never told her.”
Something lurked behind his eyes, she was sure of it now. “You know her, don’t you?”
He nodded. “I’ve known for years how he feels. I thought he would have done something by now; Kate and I split up ages ago.”
Two hundred questions ran through her brain, but she only asked one. “Your ex, Kate?”
“Yes.”
“Wow.”
“Ball’s in his court, so to speak. If he wants her, he can man up and do something about it.” He shifted, so he was on his side, facing her. “No more talk of Kate, or Fritz, or Mary Catherine. We have a few more hours before we have to get out of bed . . .” He trailed off and ran a hand down her side, cupping a breast.
Sasha arched her back in pleasure as he drew her nipple in his mouth. “I take it our breather is over?”
But Cole’s mouth was too busy to reply and by the time he could speak, taking a breather was the furthest thing from her mind.