She did. But it had been such a long time since they’d been spontaneous. Kids and jobs did that to a couple. So did grief, loss and sadness. An ache that had never completely vanished throbbed its dull pain through her. “We can go sailing tomorrow night.”

“Since when are you home early enough on a Thursday? Besides, the weather’s changing tomorrow. There’s a big blow coming in.” His tone oozed the disappointment of a kid whose kite kept slamming into the ground instead of soaring high and free.

These days, few things made Libby truly happy and despite Nick’s reassurances that he was “all good,” perhaps he wasn’t doing as well as he professed to be either. The ache intensified and she fought it with a sudden desire to give Nick what he wanted. If he was happy, perhaps she would be too. “Okay, let’s be spontaneous. Sailing’s on.”

“Yes!” He snaked an arm around her, pulling her in close before lowering his mouth to hers. His kiss overflowed with excitement, enthusiasm and optimism—just like his kisses of old. It was innocent of the heavy weight life had dropped on them two and a half years earlier. A weight that was too slow in relieving its pressure.

“If I get the girls sorted, can you do the food? I’ve got plenty of drinks on Freedom so we only need bread and sausages, some fruit and a packet of Tim Tams. We can go to Bunga Arm and barbecue on the beach.” Nick winked at her. “Shame we can’t stay the night, tesoro mio.”

Libby remembered the first night they’d slept on the beach. It was the third time she’d been out on Andiamo but the first time without the added company of Nick’s mate, Will Azzopardi. They’d dropped anchor and swum off the yacht, but when it was time to return home, the wind had dropped. Nick had tried starting the motor but despite his legendary skills with an engine, it had failed to turn over. All these years later, Libby still didn’t know if it had been a ploy of Nick’s to deliberately maroon them on an isolated beach on a star-filled night or if it was just serendipity. Either way, they’d been together ever since.

Libby pressed her palm flat on Nick’s chest. “Even if we didn’t have to show up at work in the morning, I’m not sure sharing the beach with the girls, Jess and Leo would exactly recreate that night.”

“I thought it was just us and the girls?”

“It can be next time, but I can’t dump Jess for sailing at such short notice.”

Nick crossed his arms. “She can’t come.”

“Wait? What? Why?”

“Leo is why. He’s thirteen months and can barely walk on land.”