I could have gone to Cam’s house after work, but I’m sure he’s asleep by now. Instead, I came here, to my little house that I don’t love, but which suits me just fine.

At least, the stench from the rotten food is gone.

I swing through the kitchen and set a kettle of water on the stove to boil for tea before walking back to the bedroom. I flip on the light and yelp. “Cam!”

“You’re home.”

“Why are you lurking in the dark?”

“I’m not lurking.” He laughs and stands before crossing to me. He’s in sweatpants and no shirt—muscles on full, glorious display.

“I knew you’d come here rather than my place,” he says and rubs his hands up and down my arms. “I didn’t know when you’d be back, so I came to bed.”

“Did I wake you?”

“No.” He kisses my forehead just as the kettle starts to whistle. “Let’s go make your tea.”

“I’m gonna change really quick,” I inform him. “Right behind you.”

“Take your time,” he replies as he walks toward the kitchen.

Okay, I’m glad he’s here. I don’t like sleeping without him. I end up tossing and turning. And why shouldn’t I be with him, when he’s clearly more than happy to sleep with me?

I change into more comfortable clothes and then join Cam in the kitchen.

He’s already poured the water and dunked my favorite tea in it.

“You’re handy to have around,” I inform him as I sit on a stool. “Thanks.”

“Oh, you want some, too? This is mine.” He grins and slides the hot mug across the island to me. “Just kidding. How was the rest of your night?”

“Pretty uneventful, actually. Steady, but nothing remarkable happened. I’m glad the college kids turned out to be harmless. I talked with Sinead before I came home.”

I blow on the tea and take a sip.

“What’s the plan?” he asks.

“First of all, are you okay with this? I made the decision without even talking with you about it first.”

“You want to go, so we’ll go. It’s fine with me.”

I nod in relief. “Great. I’m excited. We need to leave in two days. I know that’s fast, but Sinead is really in a bind. Both of her housekeeping girls are out, and she needs help with breakfast in the morning. She’s putting us up in the guest house on the property.”

“Great,” he says. “It’ll be nice to be there.”

“I think so, too.” I sip my tea. “I’m excited to spend some quality time near the ocean.”

“Uh, babe? I hate to be the one to break this to you, but we live near the ocean.”