Forever by the Sea

by Traci Hall

“Skip breakfast?” she said, stepping toward the hall and their bedroom.

  “Incorporate breakfast,” he countered.

  Excuses came to mind: she’d already showered, the dining room would get messy, what if something got broken? She rejected each one.

  “I’m in.”

  Sinead lifted her top over her head and tossed it to the kitchen counter.

  Christian grinned. “You are gorgeous.”

  “You, too.” She’d only been with Christian, and couldn’t imagine being with anybody else. Didn’t want another man. They fit together so well—two halves making one whole. “Are there any rules to how we should enjoy breakfast?”

  “No rules.” He skimmed her bra straps off her shoulders and down her arms, his palms creating friction.

  She hummed with appreciation, her body revving.

  “You said we needed to make some changes,” he said.

  Nodding, Sinead tilted her head so that her hair fell forward over her breasts. “And this is what came to mind? Breakfast?”

  Christian brushed his hand down her hip, stopping at the waistband of her jeans. She wore slippers—his feet were bare. Depending on what he was wearing under his shorts, this getting naked thing might not take very long.

  The quicker the better. Sinead stepped closer to Christian, reaching for his body. He danced backward.

  “Let me feed you a strawberry.”

  “Okay.”

  “Juice?”

  She shrugged, more interested now in him than sustenance.

  He poured a glass and brought it to her, sipping it first. He met her mouth, letting her drink the juice from his.

  The texture of his lip, the flick of his tongue made her hot. He bit into a strawberry and then rubbed the sweet, fleshy half against her mouth.

  Tart berry mixed with the sweet orange juice and she tried to be patient to wait for what he wanted her to try next but it was so hard. Waiting was not her thing.

  It was as if her libido had been sleeping and he’d switched her back on again.

  The air between them grew heavy, laden with sensual desire.

  Sinead unbuttoned her jeans as she walked around the table then shimmied out of her jeans and launched herself at Christian. “I don’t care about playing with my food. I want you.”

  He tossed her over his shoulder and headed toward the bedroom. “I think that’s a great idea. You can play with me instead.”

  Christian dropped her on the bed, coming down beside her. She traced the muscle in his arm, the line of his ribs, then rolled so that she was straddling him on the mattress.

  The bulge straining the loose fabric of his shorts had her laughing. “Commando underneath?”

  “Why don’t you find out?” His husky voice sent shivers down her back and pooled heat between her thighs.

  She hovered her hand over his length, teasing him but not touching. She knew that he liked the way she held him, stroked him, with hands and tongue.

  Sinead leaned down and kissed his mouth, tracing the lobe of his ear with a gentle finger, caressing his chest, his erect nipples.

  His desire spurred hers. Dressed only in a lacy pink thong, she pressed her breasts against his skin as she kissed her way down his throat to the line of dark hair at his shorts.

  “Lift,” she instructed, her voice low. She pulled his shorts off. “Just as I thought. Naked. For me.”

  She cupped him, tracing his hard length.

  He lifted his hips, his body straining toward hers.

  “Patience, my love,” she purred, her long hair splayed across his belly and thighs, feeling impatient herself.

  She kissed the tip of his erection and then loved her way down—his eyes were closed as he gave himself to the pleasure she offered. They knew one another so well that making love was pure joy.

  His body peaked at the tip of orgasm before he pulled away and flipped her to her back to enter her in one long, hard stroke that had her screaming Christian’s name.

  Christian, sated, held her in the crook of his arm as he snuggled back against the pillows on their bed.

  “That was fun,” she murmured against his chest, her finger tracing circles between his nipples.

  “Give me a minute and we can do it again.”

  “Deal.” He felt her smile against his skin. “Thanks for breakfast.”

  “It was my pleasure.” He caught her long hair in his hand, smoothing it out over her back. “I can heat the eggs up in the microwave. They’ll be good as new.”

  “No they won’t.” She lifted up on one elbow to stare at him, her green eyes filled with love. “But I don’t care about that. Bacon is good cold. What made you so happy this morning?”

  “I made a decision to be happy. To let go of the past. I want you, and if it is just you and me, then I’m okay with that.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I was actually talking about kids.”

  “Oh.” She blinked at him.

  “Which made me think that we should go to Pet Rescue today and look around.”

  “Just me and you meant getting a dog?”

  “Or a rabbit or ferret. Maybe kittens. They’re cute.”

  “Independent, too.” She sat up, cross-legged. “I hate the smell of kitty litter. One of Mom’s husbands had a cat.”

  “They have state of the art kitty litter stations these days. I don’t think we even have to touch the stuff.”

  She hummed in her throat. Non-committal.

  “What do you think?” He traced her knee, his eye drawn to the auburn curls between her legs.

  “I’d be willing to look.” She covered his hand with hers. “Do you not want kids now?”

  “I do. When you’re ready. If you’re ready.” He meant it.

  “I never said that I wasn’t.” She held his gaze. “I want to have a family with you. I thought we should be married. It’s better for the kids to have that stability. I know that you and I are the real thing, but as life has shown us repeatedly over the last year, shit happens. I’d want our child to be protected. Safe.”

  “I agree.” He noticed that she was back to just the one. Christian kissed her knee-cap.

  “I’ll toss my birth control pills,” she said. “Let’s just see what happens.”

  “Whoa. This from the woman who plans our grocery items down to the last orange?” He kept his tone light but inside he was jumping for joy.

  The corner of her mouth lifted in a half smile.

  He pushed her backward, covering her body with his. He caressed her soft skin, his hand touching the exact places that made her eyes dilate with passion. Behind the knee with his tongue, her nipple, her hipbone.

  He took his time showing her how much he loved her. She reciprocated with languorous touches, kissing him deeply.

  “The marriage part?” he asked, coming back around to starting their family.

  “When, if, I get pregnant, we can go down to the courthouse and make it legal. We won’t even have to tell anybody.”

  He braced himself on his elbow, their mattress dipping. “They wouldn’t believe us anyway.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  The Saturday before Thanksgiving in November, Sinead held Christian’s hand as they walked toward the restaurant from the parking lot. She’d finally made the arrangements for a meal at a German place with private rooms so they could eat family style. Christian opened the door and she was hit with the smell of yeasty baked bread and roasted beef.

  The dark room in the back had a low chandelier over the round table that had seating for ten and shelves of beer steins and German folk memorabilia. Collette, Ferguson, Sydney and John sat on one half-circle, while Fianna, Xavier, her mom and the photographer from the wedding. Steve? Sam? sat on the other side. Stephan!

  Fianna looked up from her menu and squealed, pushing her seat back and running for Sinead. Sinead opened her arms and wrapped them around her sister, hugging her tight. She smelled like ginger spice shampoo. Sinead blinked tears
from her eyes.

  “I’ve missed you, Fianna.”

  “You have got to stop being mad at me,” Fianna said. “I hate it.”

  “I’m not anymore, I swear.” Sinead hugged Fianna again. “I’m sorry. Really sorry.” She pulled back, her grip on Fianna’s upper arms. “It’s been a rough year. Christian and I want to put it behind us.”

  “That’s great advice.” Collette, dressed for winter in Florida with a long, skin-tight knit dress and boots, joined them in the hug exchange. “We missed you guys.”

  “We needed some time. We’re better.” Sinead nodded at everyone, happy to be part of the world again. “We’re going to get a dog.”

  “A puppy?” her mom asked.

  “No puppies.” Sinead bent to kiss her mom’s cheek and nodded at Stephan. “We want to get one from the rescue place.” She sat and Christian pushed in her seat.

  “Pet Rescue has a great reputation. Healthy dogs. Happy new owners.” Christian smiled at everyone around the table. “According to the World Wide Web, anyway.”

  “I know someone who got a dog from there last year. The owners make dog treats too.” Sydney nodded to her husband. “Remember that lawyer woman, Karma something?”

  John picked up the menu. “Nice woman, for a lawyer. Fitness nut. Probably how she stays sane.”

  Sinead laughed. “Maybe I should try it. So, how easy was it to find a sitter for your kids? You could have brought them.”

  Sydney snorted and unrolled her silverware from the cloth napkin. “Uh, I don’t think so. Lilly would have stuck to you like a tick and Emmet is now into magic tricks. There’s already been an incident with the disappearing ink—he drank it and thought he’d be invisible. He was this close,” she squeezed her finger and thumb together, “to going to the emergency room.” Her shoulders relaxed. “Thankfully it was non-toxic. It is so nice to have a break.”

  Christian, who sat to her right, put his hand on Sinead’s thigh. Sinead couldn’t even imagine what she’d do in such a scenario. “That sounds terrifying.”

  “Normal,” John countered. “Boys will be boys.”

  “We can have girls,” Christian whispered in her ear.

  He read her thoughts sometimes. And Lilly was pretty stinking cute. Sinead picked up her napkin.

  “So, when are Dad and Aline coming for the holidays?” Christian asked Sydney. They stayed with Sydney and John because of the grandkids and they had a guesthouse.

  “December 7th,” Sydney said. “The Holiday pageant is the 15th. The kids’ music teacher is so cute. Curly hair, glasses—and his girlfriend’s family owns that old cookie shop? Delicious cookies.”

  John waved to the waitress waiting at the door. “I think we are going to need drinks. Lots and lots of drinks.”

  “Should we get an order of bread and sausage for the table?” Christian asked.

  Sinead nodded. “Good idea. That way nobody is starving while we look at this incredible menu.”

  They decided to do a pitcher of dark ale and a pitcher of light, though Sydney and Madge ordered wine. Sinead looked at Fianna. “What are you drinking?”

  Fianna cleared her throat and Sinead could see a blush heating her sister’s cheeks even in the shadowy room.

  “Water these days.”

  Sinead felt Christian’s comforting hand on her thigh tighten. Fianna was just going to do everything first, then?

  Sinead scooted back from the table and pulled her sister up from her chair, giving her another hug. “Wow. Congratulations, Fianna. Xavier.”

  Madge stood and clapped. “Really? I get to be a grandma?”

  “Sexiest grandma I ever saw,” Stephan said.

  Sinead ignored him and put her hand over Fianna’s flat stomach. “How do you feel?”

  “We’re only two months in, so tired. Queasy, but the doctor said it will go away.”

  Counting back the months, Sinead realized that they really hadn’t gotten married to cover a quick pregnancy. God, I am rotten.

  “This is really terrific. You’re going to be a great mom.”

  “You think so?” Fianna blinked away tears. “I am so scared. We need to be friends again. I need my sister.”

  “I’m here.” Sinead let go all negative emotion and opened her heart. Her sister was her best friend, no matter what. “Promise. I’ve really missed you.”

  Xavier cleared his throat. “Uh, and what about me?”

  “You will not be a great mom,” Christian joked. “But keep trying.”

  Sinead gave her sister one last hug then went back to her seat next to Christian. She cleared her throat. He put his hand on her back and rubbed between her shoulder blades.

  “Thanks,” she whispered to him. Nothing calmed her like his touch.

  “Anybody else with awesome news?” Christian asked, pouring beer into glass boots and passing them around.

  “Can’t beat that,” Sydney said, smiling at Fianna. “If you have any questions, I’m happy to answer them.”

  “Thanks.” Fianna layered a piece of rye bread with butter. “Right now I alternate between starving or sick. Tonight, I’m starving.”

  Sinead sipped from the boot and accepted a piece of bread. As she chewed, she realized that she was honestly happy for her sister and Xavier—she wasn’t just saying it. Thank God.

  Getting a dog would be a very a good idea. It would add to their Sharp-Monroe family without any pressure of babies or marriage. It would be like practice.

  By the end of dinner, the private room shook with laughter, forgiveness and love.

  Sydney drank from her glass boot. “I sent out invites to you all for Thanksgiving…”

  Sinead looked to her mom and Fianna. Normally they went out to eat for Thanksgiving dinner.

  Madge lifted her wine glass. “Stephan and I will be there.”

  Collette smiled at Ferguson. “Well? Think you can handle another family meal?”

  “Bring it on,” he said in a smooth voice.

  Fianna put her hand on Xavier’s. “Thank you, Sydney, but we are going to his family’s house. First holiday together.” She shivered.

  “Sounds great to me,” Sinead said. “I’ll call you later to see what I can bring.”

  “Perfect.” Sydney frowned into her empty boot. “I guess it’s time to go.”

  Madge said, “Stephan and I want to invite everyone over for a cocktail party at his condo. To kick off the Christmas spirit—put it on your calendars for the first week in December. There is an adorable chapel by the sea that’s over a hundred years old. Quaint, with dark wood and louvered windows.”

  “I’ve been going every Sunday since I moved in a few years ago,” Stephan said. “I’m not much for religion myself, but there is something very peaceful about this place.”

  “You girls will need to check it out,” her mom said, slipping one arm into a thin sweater.

  “Sure,” Fianna answered.

  Sinead nodded. Her mom, in church?

  Christian snagged the bill for dinner.

  “You can’t do that,” John said.

  She and Christian had talked about it before hand, deciding that treating their patient families was the right thing to do.

  They wanted to do it.

  “As payback for all of the ups and downs,” Christian explained.

  Sydney frowned, looking from Christian to Sinead. “But now we’re done? Everybody’s back to regular?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Then thank you very much for dinner.”

  “Thanks, man,” Xavier said, shaking Christian’s hand. “It was my pleasure standing up with you. We’re good?”

  “Best of friends,” Christian assured him.

  “Hey, we need to start our Wednesday lunches back up again.” Collette looked from Fianna to Sinead. “We can plan a baby shower instead of a wedding.”

  Sinead grinned. “Now that sounds like fun.”

  It would be fun, watching Fianna and Xavier begin a family.

  Christ
ian whispered in her ear, “You are doing great.”

  She lifted her face for his kiss. “Couldn’t do it without you.”

  Christian opened the car door and Sinead slid inside. He eyed her long denim-clad legs and black heeled boots.

  “You’re serious about getting a dog tomorrow?” he asked. They’d checked out the website a few times but in the end she’d always found an excuse not to go.

  “I want to,” she assured him. “We’ve got a fenced back yard. Plenty of room. I think it’s time we tackle the mound of wedding gifts and get them sent back as well.”

  Christian started the car. “I suppose you’re right.”

  Sinead chuckled beneath her breath. “With a nice thank you note for the thought? I should look online to see what Emily Post has to say about that.”

  “You have a way with words,” he said. “It will be fine.”

  “You are just trying to butter me up so that I will take care of the note-writing.”

  “Is it working?”

  Sinead pushed her hair behind her ear. Emerald’s sparkled from her lobes. “We’ll see.”

  “But honey, you’re better at it.” He kissed her hand when they stopped at a red light.

  “Oh, all right.” She crossed one leg over the other. “You’re very cute. And persuasive.”

  He grinned. “Once we get that room emptied we can set it up for the dog.”

  She turned to him with surprise. “The dog does not need its own room.”

  He guessed not, but it was a prod to get that room emptied. Christian parked in the attached garage. “Tonight was fun. I missed everybody. Don’t get me wrong—I like being with you best of all. But I missed them.”

  “I was actually disappointed that Lilly wasn’t there,” Sinead admitted, leading the way inside the house. “Although Emmet swallowing disappearing ink? That sounds so scary.”

  “Kids are resilient.” She’d be a great mom, he knew it.

  He followed her down the hall to their bedroom. She shrugged out of her sweater and he tackled her, lifting her shirt to kiss her tummy. She laughed.

  “What are you doing?” She yanked her shirt down.

  “Great news for Fianna and Xavier. A baby. How about we give them cousins?”