“Love you, babies.” They all get one more round of hugs and kisses from me. “Thank you, both.”

Dad and Deedy nod.

“Where’s Jake?” Deedy asks.

“Um … the shower. I think.”

“Bye, guys. Thanks!” Jake peeks his head around the corner, wearing nothing but a white towel barely holding on to his waist.

Deedy waves at him then shoots me a sly grin.

I turn ten shades of red, returning a tightlipped smile.

Yeah, Deedy, as soon as you leave with our kids, I’m all over that.

Five years without one night of uninterrupted sleep.

Five years of sprinting through sex before someone calls Mommy or Daddy.

Five years of a child in the middle at some point, every single night.

Five years of dirty diapers, spit up, and leaky boobs.

I’m going to ride the Jake train for a solid week.

And if Trip enjoys time alone with his humping pillow, without one of the kids trying to take it from him … well, that’s just a bonus.

The door closes behind them.

I restrain myself from sprinting to the bathroom. When I pull open the glass door, Jake slicks back his wet, now longer, hair as rivulets of water venture down his perfectly inked body.

“Ave …” He grins.

I step inside, closing the door behind me, trapping the steam in with us.

“Tell me how you love me.” I press my lips to his chest as my hand slides lower, forcing his breath to catch.

His eyes drift shut for a few seconds before he kisses the top of my head. “I love you like an acoustic song. The words mean more. The emotions are magnified. It’s like the stars … during the day we don’t see them, but at night when the world around us feels stripped and bare, they shine so brightly.” He ghosts his hands up my hips and brushes his lips over my cheek to my mouth. “I’ve never seen anything as beautiful as you are in this very moment. Our love is … flawed but perfect.” His tongue drags along my top lip. “It’s honest and open. It’s naked, Ave … our love is a naked love.”

The End

Receive a FREE book and stay informed of new releases, sales, and exclusive stories:

Mailing List

Undeniably You

Sydney Montgomery doesn't plan to make a career out of house-sitting.

It's just the means to an end. In a month, she’s off to visit the galleries of Europe and finish up the degree she needs to make her career as a museum curator. The life she's been working for is finally within reach.

In the meantime, she’s getting paid to sip margaritas and wrangle a naughty dog poolside in California.