“This is sweetly decadent,” Savannah said as they were escorted to the sheltered, private space right on the beach. “I could definitely get used to this level of pampering.”

Immediately, a waiter showed up to take their drink orders.

“I want something with rum in it,” Jenna said. “I think just a rum and pineapple juice.”

“Trying to keep it simple?” Alicia asked.

“Yes. Nothing too fruity. Those complicated recipes will sneak up on you and kick your ass.”

“I’ll have the same,” Alicia said.

“I’ll have rum and coconut juice,” Savannah said.

Tara debated. “Actually, the pineapple juice does sound good. I’ll have that one.”

The waiter looked at Liz. “Just orange juice, plain, for me.”

Jenna cocked a brow. “Designated driver?”

She laughed. “No. Just not in the mood for a cocktail yet.”

The cabana was gorgeous, the sun warm, which made Liz glad for the shade since she’d burn to a crisp without it. Jenna and Tara made a beeline for the water and the waiter brought their drinks. Liz settled against the back of the chaise with her orange juice.

“I think I’m going to swim,” Savannah said. “It looks so good.”

“I’ll join you,” Alicia said, getting up from the chair. She looked over to Liz. “Are you coming?”

“No. I’m going to sit here and stare at the sea and bask for a while. You two go ahead.”

Alicia grinned. “Okay.”

After they left, Liz closed her eyes and soaked in the heat, suddenly aware of how much she missed Gavin already.

Ugh. Love was such an all-consuming thing. She’d never wanted to fall in love, had never thought she would. Unfortunately, she’d been in love with Gavin for what seemed like forever. She’d thought marrying him would settle her feelings, make them a little less . . . intense.

She’d been wrong. They’d only grown more, the yearnings she felt for him intensifying the more time they spent together. He was everything to her—kind and generous and fun and playful. He was a generous lover, and even when they argued, which was rarely, it was still with a fiery passion. And their arguments tended to fizzle out quickly, because they communicated so well.

She’d found the man of her dreams and she considered herself so lucky.

She should be wholly content. And she was. Except she wanted to have his baby, and Mother Nature or some cosmic force in the universe refused to grant her this one wish. Maybe it was because she was so exceptionally happy in all other facets of her relationship. Maybe this just wasn’t meant to be, and she was going to have to learn to accept it.

They had already talked adoption, and she certainly wasn’t opposed to that. She’d love a child they could raise together, no matter where that child came from. She was going to give it another six months to a year. If they weren’t pregnant by then, they were going to start seriously pursuing adoption. By then she’d have figured for sure that pregnancy wasn’t an option for her.