Janine laughed and pulled her suntan lotion out of her bag. While Zach puttered around inside, she put on her swimsuit, then dragged the lounge chair into the sun to soak up the last of the afternoon’s rays.

Zach soon joined her, carrying a tall glass of iced tea. “You look like you could use this.”

“Thanks. If I’d known how handy you were in the kitchen, I’d have let you take over long before now.”

He set the glass down beside her and headed back to the kitchen. “You’d be amazed by the list of my talents,” he threw over his shoulder.

Kissing was certainly one of them, she thought. The sample he’d given her earlier had created a sharp need for more. If she was a sophisticated, experienced kind of woman, she wouldn’t have any problem finding her way back into his arms. It would all appear so effortless and casual. He’d kiss her, and she’d kiss him, and then…They’d truly be husband and wife.

Lying on her back with her eyes closed, Janine imagined how wonderful it would be if Zach were to take her in his arms and make love to her….

She awoke from her doze with a start. She hurried inside to change, and as soon as she was ready, Zach announced that dinner was about to be served. He’d set the patio table so they could eat on the deck.

“Do you need any help?” she asked, trying to peek inside the kitchen.

“None. Sit down before everything cools.” He pointed to the chair and waited until she was comfortable.

“I only have a spoon,” she said, after unfolding the napkin on her lap. He must have made a mistake.

“A spoon is all you need,” he shouted to her from the kitchen.

Playfully she asked, “You went to all this trouble for soup?”

“Wait and see. I’ll be there in a minute.”

He sounded so serious, Janine had to smile. She was running through a list of words to praise his efforts—“deliciously unique,” “refreshingly different”—when Zach walked onto the deck, carrying a tin can with a pair of tongs.

“Good grief, what’s that?” she asked in dismay.

“Dinner,” he said. “The only real cooking I ever did was while I belonged to the Boy Scouts.”

As though he was presenting lobster bisque, he set the steaming can in front of her. Janine leaned forward, almost afraid to examine its contents.

“Barbecued beans. With sliced hot dogs,” he said proudly.

“And to think I doubted you.”

Her reservations vanished, however, the moment she tasted his specialty. The beans were actually quite appetizing. He surprised her, too, by bringing out dessert, a concoction consisting of graham crackers covered with melted chocolate and marshmallows. He’d warmed them in the oven and served them on a cookie sheet.

Janine ate four of what Zach called “s’mores.” He explained that once they’d been tasted, everyone asked for “some more.”

“I don’t know how you’ve managed to stay single all these years,” she teased, forgetting for the moment that they were married. “If the news about your talent in the kitchen got out, women would be knocking at your door.”