It's in His Kiss Read online

  She tilted her face to his.

  “I hold people at a distance, I know it. I do it because I also know that anyone or anything can be ripped away from you at any time. But you, Becca. . .” He shook his head. “I can’t—you’re in, babe. You’re past my walls, past my defenses. If I have to deal with that, so do you.”

  The crowd was still cheering as she stared up at him. “What are you saying?”

  He got serious. Very serious, very intent, his eyes focused on hers. “It means I’m in love with you.” He slid his thumb over her jaw in a gesture so sweetly powerful that she had to close her eyes at the sensation. “It means I love you so fucking much I ache with it. All the time. It means I want you to stay here in Lucky Harbor and be with me for as long as you’ll have me, which I’m hoping is a damn long time because I’ve carved out a damn fine life for myself and I want you in it. All the way in it.”

  She stared up at him. “You . . . you said the words.”

  “I did,” he agreed.

  “You said the words,” she whispered again, marveling. “Right?”

  From the front, Lucille leaned in. “Honey, yes,” she called up to her. “He said he loves you. You might want to see Dr. Scott on Monday about that hearing problem.”

  Becca wasn’t about to be distracted from Sam. “You didn’t want to say them, but you did. For me.”

  “Always for you,” Sam said, and, ignoring their avid audience, he bent her over his arm and kissed her, a long, slow, deep one that meant business. It was there in his kiss how much he loved her, and it had been all along.

  When he was done, he lifted his mouth from hers and slid his thumb over her wet lower lip. “We good?” he asked.

  Lucille cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted to Becca, “Honey, he wants to know if you’re good!”

  Becca gave her a thumbs-up before turning to Sam. “Considering all I want is you, we’re perfect.”

  Epilogue

  One month later, Becca got a call. Her agency had been steadily sending her new assignments, and she’d done well on all of them. This time they were offering her one of their largest accounts, an American car company.

  Finally.

  Becca hung up and laughed, and then did a little dance right there on the boat.

  The guys were sprawled out enjoying the last of the Indian summer as September came to a close.

  After a crazy summer, the best summer of Becca’s life, they’d all taken a rare day off and were fishing. Or at least making a semblance of fishing, as in the lines were cast. But she doubted any of them, slouched in various positions on deck, each with a beer, dark sunglasses on, bodies relaxed and still, was worried about his catch.

  It’d been Sam’s idea to take Becca out today. He’d been unhappy when Cole and Tanner had tagged along without invitation, but he’d given in to the inevitable invasion, and they’d had a great day.

  Cole was smiling at her little dance. “Probably you shouldn’t ever teach dance classes,” he said.

  “I think she dances kinda cute,” Tanner said. “It’s white-girl rhythm, but it’s the enthusiasm that counts. Although I could tell better if you’d do it again, in a bikini this time,” he said with some hopefulness and a sidelong glance at Becca’s tee and shorts. “Maybe we should instill a new uniform code. A bikini code.”

  Sam smacked him upside the back of his head. “My woman,” he said. Then he tugged Becca onto his lap.

  “Hey,” Cole complained. “No PDA on this boat.”

  “You tagged along,” Sam reminded him. “Deal with it.” He smiled at Becca. “What’s up, babe?”

  “I got a big assignment.”

  His smile was slow and sure. “Proud of you,” he said, and leaned in for a warm kiss.

  She cupped his scruffy jaw. “Do you have any idea how much I love you?”

  Sam nipped her bottom lip and slid his palm to the nape of her neck to hold her still for another kiss. “Show me,” he murmured against her lips.

  “Christ,” Tanner mumbled to Cole. “They’re like bunnies.”

  Cole sighed, rose to his feet, and headed for the helm. “Time to head in.” He pointed at Sam. “And that wasn’t one of those double entendre things. You can wait until we get back.”

  Sam smiled into Becca’s eyes. “I’ll try.”

  She smiled back. It’d been a great month, maybe the best month of her life. She was teaching, writing jingles, sometimes still playing late at night at the Love Shack. . . when she wasn’t sleeping in Sam’s arms. They stayed at his house sometimes, but more often than not Sam left his place to his father and stayed with Becca in her warehouse apartment.

  She loved it.

  She loved him.

  She loved life.

  As a bonus, Jase had just gotten out of rehab. She’d talked to him the day before, and he sounded good, real good. He wasn’t going to go straight back out on the concert rounds but was going to stay with their parents and do some studio work and see how things went.

  She was hopeful about that, and as Sam pulled her sunglasses off and kissed her, she realized she was hopeful about a bunch of things.

  Thirty minutes later they pulled up to their dock.

  Becca had placed an ad in the paper for help at the hut, freeing her up to teach music classes to the rest of the grades in the district. She’d hired someone who was perfect for the job.

  “Hey, son.” Mark caught the ropes Sam tossed him and helped tie down the boat.

  Becca looked him over carefully. He’d had a rough month health-wise, and they’d had to change up his meds, but he was looking good today at least, and she’d take that. She knew he was happy to be working, and that he loved feeling helpful, and most of the days he was even on time.

  “You do it yet?” Mark asked Sam.

  “Do what?” Cole wanted to know.

  Mark blinked at Cole, then looked at Sam. “I thought you were going to do it today. How did you do it with these clowns with you?”

  Sam’s mouth tightened.

  “She didn’t like it?” Mark asked. He turned to Becca. “You didn’t like it?”

  “Dad, drop it,” Sam said. “Jesus.”

  Becca grabbed her small backpack and the tin of ranch-flavored popcorn Sam had given her that morning as she’d boarded. Clutching all her stuff, she stepped off the boat. “Like what?” she asked Mark.

  He tapped on the tin.

  “Oh, I love it when he buys me the popcorn,” she said. “I just didn’t get a chance to eat any yet. Sam distracted me every time I tried.”

  Sam looked pained.

  Becca stared at him, wondering what the odd tremor in her belly was. She couldn’t help but feel like she was missing something.

  Something big.

  Mark looked at Sam and laughed. “You poor, dumb bastard. I almost feel sorry for you.”

  Sam scrubbed a hand over his face and let out a sigh.

  Becca set her backpack down and opened the tin.

  Popcorn.

  “Becca,” Sam said, and reached for the tin.

  She shoved a handful in her mouth, and the delicious flavor exploded against her taste buds. Cole reached into the tin as well, but she smacked his hand away. “Mine.”

  “Man, never get between a woman and her popcorn,” Tanner told Cole.

  Becca shoved down another few bites, leaving enough room to push the popcorn aside. At the bottom was a little velvet black box, dusted with popcorn crumbs. She stopped breathing.

  “I knew you’d get hungry enough eventually,” Sam said. “I was just trying to avoid a crowd when it happened.” He leveled the guys with a look. “I should’ve known better.”

  She just stared at him, her heart pounding.

  Sam reached into the tin.

  “Hey,” Cole bitched. “You’ll share with him and not me? I thought we were friends.”

  Tanner wrapped an arm around Cole’s neck, clapping a hand over his mouth.

  Sam pulled the small black box f