Before another five minutes had passed, Zach left the highway and drove into the resort town of Ocean Shores. He didn’t stop in the business district, but headed down a side street toward the beach. The sun was setting as he pulled into a driveway and turned off the engine.

Janine was too enthralled with the house to say a word.

The wind whipped at them ferociously when they climbed out of the car. Janine held on to her hair with one hand, still clutching the flowers, and to Zach with the other. The sun cast a pink and gold reflection over the rolling hills of sand.

“Home, sweet home,” Zach said, nudging her toward the house.

The front door opened before they reached it and a trim middle-aged man stepped onto the porch to greet them. He was grinning broadly. “Hello, Zach. I trust you had a safe trip.”

“We did.”

“Everything’s ready. The cupboards are stocked. The firewood’s stacked by the side of the house, and dinner’s prepared.”

“Wonderful, Harry, thanks.” Zach placed his hand on Janine’s shoulder. “This is my wife, Janine,” he said. “We were married this afternoon.”

“Your wife?” Harry repeated, looking more than a little surprised. “Why, that’s fantastic. Congratulations to you both.”

“Thank you,” Janine said politely.

“Harry Gleason looks after the place for me when I’m not around.”

“Pleased to meet you, Harry.”

“So Zach got himself a wife,” Harry said, rubbing his jaw in apparent disbelief. “I couldn’t be more—”

“Delighted,” a frowning Zach supplied for him, ushering Janine toward the front door.

“Right,” Harry said. “I couldn’t be more delighted.”

Janine tilted back her head to survey the sprawling single-story house.

“Go on inside,” Zach said. “I’ll get the luggage.”

Janine started to protest, suddenly wanting him to follow the traditional wedding custom of carrying her over the threshold. She paused, and Zach gave her a puzzled look. “Is something wrong?”

“No.” She had no real grounds for complaint. She wasn’t even sure why it mattered. Swallowing her disappointment, she made her way into the house. She stopped just inside the front door and gazed with wide-eyed wonder at the immense living room with its three long sofas and several upholstered chairs. A brick fireplace took up an entire wall; another was dominated by a floor-to-ceiling window that looked over the ocean. Drawn to it, Janine watched powerful waves crash against the shore.

Zach followed her inside, carrying their luggage, barely taking time to appreciate the scene before him. “Harry’s putting the car away,” he said.

“This place is incredible,” Janine breathed, gesturing around her. She placed the flowers on the coffee table, then trailed after Zach into a hallway, off which were four bedrooms and an equal number of baths. At the back of the house, she found an exercise room, an office and an ultramodern kitchen where a pot of coq au vin was simmering.

In the formal dining room, the polished mahogany table was set for two. On the deck, designed to take advantage of the ocean view, she discovered a steaming hot tub, along with a bottle of French champagne on ice.