Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Faye
Iwake up with a moan, my whole body buzzing with warmth.
I stretch out on the bed and smile at the gorgeous view of the sun rising over the lake.
A family of ducks is bobbing on the surface—the cutest little fluffy ducklings following their parents.
Everything looks so peaceful and perfect that I turn to wake up Owen so he can see it too.
“No way,” I whisper, giggling when I see Newton and Owen spooning. He has his arms around the dog, his face buried in his furry neck, both of them out cold. It’s adorable. I quietly get my camera and take a picture, immediately making it my phone’s home screen.
I slip out of bed and stand up, watching the two looking so comfy in bed. I’d love to sleep in with them, but I’m always such an early riser. The curse of being a barista who works the opening shift.
The view of them cuddling is much better than the spectacular view outside. I get my fill, watching them bond, until I have to go pee, and I’m forced to sneak away.
My mind races as I head to the bathroom.
I can’t believe I slept with Owen last night. So much for pretend… He was good. He was very good.
A warm shiver racks my body just from thinking about the way he made my toes curl.
I head to the mini-kitchenette around the corner and make some coffee. I’m still replaying every delicious moment of the night as I pour a cup and stir in some milk.
“Oh!” I gasp, shocked when I turn around and see Newton sitting there, watching me with a tilted head. I didn’t even hear him come up. “You’re an early riser too, eh? Looks like we’re going to get along just fine.”
I peek around the corner and see Owen still sleeping in bed, so I head outside through the French doors with my new furry friend to let him pee. As soon as I step outside, Newton sprints past me, flying to the beach. He barks at the ducks in the water as his paws kick up sand.
“No!” I cry out as I put my coffee down and run after him.
He leaps into the water and starts swimming after the ducks who don’t want anything to do with him. They hightail it deeper into the lake and Newton just follows them as I stand on the shore and desperately call him back.
“Newton!” I shout. “Newton, get back here!”
He just keeps going. I can’t exactly tell Owen or the Baines family that I lost our dog in the lake, so I run in after him, pajamas and all, cursing under my breath as I dive into the cool water.
It’s cold, but exhilarating, and the initial shock quickly wears off as I front crawl as fast as I can after this troublemaker of a dog.
The ducks have enough of the adorable lake monster chasing them and flap their wings, escaping into the sky. Newton turns around and looks so happy when he sees me in the water too.
He swims over and I duck under him, holding myself under the surface as he swims in circles, confused as to where I went. I pop up a few yards away and he swims over looking so darn happy it makes my heart hurt.
The water feels warm enough now that I’ve been in it for a while. The sun is rising, evaporating all of the morning dew. It’s so gorgeous here.
I float on my back as Newton swims in circles around me, and I’m kind of glad he got me off my butt and into the lake. There’s no way I would have gone in on my own. This is a better wake-up than any cup of coffee I’ve ever had.
When I turn back to the shore, I see Owen standing there, wearing a robe over his boxers and watching us with a smile on his face.
“You going to stand there and gawk, or hop in and join us?” I say with a grin.
He peels off his robe and lets it drop onto the grass. A little throaty moan escapes me when I see all of that hard, chiseled muscle—muscles that my hands and body and mouth were all over last night.
I smile when he dives in and swims over, my heart pounding with anticipation.
He pops up in front of me, his sexy hair slicked back, a smile on his wet face, his blue eyes shining with excitement to see me.
I slide up against him and moan when I feel his strong arms wrapping around me, holding me up. I can’t touch the bottom, but he can, so I wrap my legs around his muscular torso and let him be my anchor.
Newton comes swimming over, snorting with every breath. Owen laughs as he pets him.
“Go get a stick,” Owen says.
Newton hears the magic word and starts swimming to shore to fetch one.
“I thought he’d never leave us alone,” Owen says with a grin as he gazes into my eyes.
I lean forward and kiss his cool lips, loving the feeling of being wanted by this man. I tighten my thighs around him and he smiles.
“Did you sleep well?” he asks.
“Yeah, but I was jealous.”
He tilts his head. “Of what?”
“You were giving Newton all the cuddles. I was left all alone.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll see,” I say, excited to show him my proof. “I have pictures on my phone.”
He just smiles as he looks at me, getting lost in my eyes.
“Thank you for last night,” he whispers. “You were lovely.”
I kiss him again.
This one devolves into a full make-out session, complete with tongues and hands and lustful noises that shouldn’t be made in public.
His hands slide onto my ass and he pulls me closer as I run my palms over his broad shoulders, our tongues doing all the talking.
We’re both so into it, we barely notice Newton approaching until he’s snorting in our ears.
“I said a stick, not a tree,” Owen says.
I laugh when I see the massive stick in his mouth. It even has tiny branches with leaves still on it like he ripped it right off the tree.
Owen breaks off a normal-sized stick from the monstrosity and tosses it far away. Newton turns and swims after it.
I push off him and dive under the water. When I surface, Newton is back and Owen is tossing the stick again. He does it over and over until I’m beginning to think that this golden retriever won’t ever tire of this game.
It’s a wonderful morning. I don’t remember the last time I had a morning this nice.
“If you ever need a fake wife again,” I tell him. “I’m your gal.”
“What if I need a real wife?”
He’s kidding. He has to be.
I float on my back without answering, wondering what marriage with Owen would be like. I think of Vivian and what she told us.
Love is a choice. Every day, you either decide to love your partner, or you don’t.
I’m sure there would be many moments of frustration being married to Owen, but I can see myself choosing to love him anyway. I don’t think the choice would be that hard.
I float on my back and look up at the sky and let myself bask in all of this goodness—the sun and the water and the sound of Owen’s deep voice saying Newton’s name and the distant splash of a stick landing and the whole perfect, impossible morning.
I want to stay in this moment forever.
I think this is the first time I’ve wanted to stay somewhere forever.
What would it be like to wear these rings for real? I raise my hand to look at them, but as I straighten my fingers, the wedding ring slips off and disappears under the water.
“No!” I scream, my body filling with dread and panic as I jerk my head from side to side, not knowing what to do.
Owen is by my side at once. “What’s the matter?”
“The ring,” I say as tears flood my eyes. My hands are shaking and I start crying hard. I lost his grandmother’s ring? After promising not to? After everything he’s done for me? “I… I… It slipped off.”
I want to die. I want to sink into the lake and drown. How could I be so careless? How could I be so stupid?
“Hey,” he says, calmly cupping my cheeks with his big hands. “It’s okay, Faye. I got you.”
He smiles warmly and then drops under the water, searching around my feet for what feels like an eternity.
I close my eyes, hoping he’ll come up with it. It’s irreplaceable. It’s a family heirloom. I’ll never forgive myself if I lost it forever.
Finally he comes up.
I’m shaking as he opens his hand, the ring sitting in the middle of his palm.
“Thank you,” I gasp, lunging on him and clinging to him like I might never let him go.
He slides his arms around me and holds me gently until I stop shaking and my short breaths return to normal.
“Thank you,” I whisper again, burying my face into the crook of his neck.
When I finally pull my face away, I see the clouds in the distance.
Dark storm clouds.
They’re looming high in the sky, off in the distance, but they’re coming this way.
The morning light is still warm on my shoulders, but it won’t last long.
My stomach sinks as I look at them. An ominous feeling permeates my body.
They’re coming.
And it’s about to get ugly.