She held out a hand to him, and he took it, bending to kiss the back of it. “Be right there, love.”

He went into the bathroom to use the facilities and brush his teeth, leaving his jeans in a pile on the floor near the hamper, which would give Linda something to talk to him about in the morning. He crawled into bed with her, putting his arm around her waist.

She covered his hand with hers but didn’t stop reading.

Sometimes he hated the attention she paid to that e-reader, but other times the books she read put her in an “interesting” mood that benefited him. “What’re you reading?”

“The usual.”

That meant romance. His wife was a sucker for a good romance. “Is it one of those hot and sexy ones?”

“Maybe.”

“Hey, Lin?”

“Yeah?” she asked, but her eyes continued to dart over the screen.

“Do I pay enough attention? To you and to us?”

The e-reader fell to her lap, and her head turned toward him. “What?”

“You heard me. Do I pay enough attention to you?”

“Mac… What is this really about?”

“Answer the question.”

“Yes, of course you do.” She glanced at him. “Do I? Pay enough attention to you?”

“Except for when one of those romance novels gets you by the throat,” he said in a teasing tone.

“You like when my romance novels get me hot and bothered.”

“Yes, I do. I like that very much.”

“Where are these questions coming from?”

“Something Kevin said had me thinking about it. That’s all.”

“What did he say?”

“It’ll make you mad.”

“Tell me anyway.”

“He asked how I’d feel if you suddenly left me for a younger guy.”

“What did you say?”

“I was so shell-shocked by the thought of it that I didn’t say anything. And then he apologized for even suggesting it.”

“Good,” she said. “He should apologize, because that’s never going to happen. Ever. Where would I ever find a younger guy with your stamina?”

He stared at her, momentarily shocked that she would say such a thing.

Then she smiled, her eyes dancing with glee at having shocked him. “What in the world could I ever want that I don’t have right here with you?”

“I don’t know,” he said gruffly. “And that’s what scares me. That maybe there’s something you want that I don’t know about.”

She laid her hand on his cheek. “There’s nothing I want that I don’t have, Mac. I have everything as long as I have you.”

“So there’s no younger guy lurking around the hotel trying to lure you away from me?”

“I couldn’t be lured. What about you with your girlfriends you call ‘sweetheart’ all over the island?”