me. He only wore jeans and tees on the island, no shoes. I loved him in suits, but I loved his new look, too, because it was his choice. “You’re going to be a wonderful father.”
He turned to me, and for a man so confident and sure of himself, I saw a little doubt. “Never had one, but I hope so.”
I walked right into him, my arms moving around his waist. “The way you love me, so completely and unconditionally, I know so.” Then I batted my lashes. “Do you give private instruction?”
I saw the look, because that shit annoyed him, but annoyance gave way to heat. “For you, fuck yeah.”
Even after three years of marriage, and a very healthy sex life, he still could cause those butterflies.
“Let’s finish here, so I can feed my woman.”
We finished up, locked the shack, then strolled up the pier to the small food stand that sold the best seafood stew on the island. “Hey, Ethan. Two large bowls,” I called.
Yes, Ethan had moved to Antigua. He and Sandy lived not far from the hospital, where she worked, and Ethan had found his calling as a cook. His stand always had a line, like the one now, but we never had to wait.
“Family and she’s pregnant. Give me a minute,” he said to his customers. To us he said, “Sit.”
He scooped out two bowls from the huge stainless steel pot he had simmering over an open fire, grabbed the rolls he made special and brought it over to us.
“You’re a little late today,” he said, then glanced at Kade. “Beating the mommies away?”
He placed our food on the table.
“Fuck you,” Kade said.
Ethan laughed out loud. “Yeah, that’s got to be a pain in the ass, all those women falling all over you. Torture,” he said, rolling his eyes and pushing his hands into his pockets.
“Only woman I want falling all over me is already wearing my ring.”
The teasing stopped. “I hear ya, man,” Ethan said. “So did you hear about the case Zac picked up?”
I was happy, I loved my life, but I still got that chill for the hunt because I really did love being a detective. “No, what case?”
“Jewel heist that ended in murder. Victim was from Monaco, a link to the royal family.”
“Holy shit.”
“Yeah, he was pretty jazzed,” Ethan said. He started back to his customers, calling from over his shoulder. “Enjoy. Oh, and I’m working a new recipe. I need a guinea pig.”
I raised my hand. “That’s me.”
I caught Kade studying me throughout lunch, but he said nothing while we ate. He waited to share what he was thinking when we were heading to our second job. We docked, he turned off the engine, but he didn’t move to get out of the skiff.
“You miss it,” he said softly.
I wasn’t surprised by his comment because the man read me like a book. I was honest when I said, “I miss putting the pieces together, but I don’t miss chasing down meth heads and coming face-to-face with a barrel of a gun.”
His jaw clenched, thinking about my shooting. He pushed his hands into his pockets. “Consult.”
“On the case?” I couldn’t lie; the idea had crossed my mind.
“Yeah. A fresh set of eyes to look over the case file.”
I liked the idea, but I wasn’t sure Cap would go for it. “You think Cap would be okay with that?” I asked.
“I don’t see why not, but it can’t hurt to ask, and if you need to make an appearance from time-to-time, we already visit Manhattan a few times a month to check on my shit, we coordinate our schedules.”
“All the parts of detective work that I like and none of the bad,” I said, not hiding my excitement.
Kade pulled me to him. “We’ll call later.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck, my voice going a little soft, because I loved this man so fucking much. “You’re always taking care of me.”
“And I always will.”
He kissed me, hard and fast, and then he smacked my ass. “We’ve got work.”
We walked up our dock, but we didn’t head to the house. We took a path that ran alongside it, leading to a building hidden behind tropical trees. Reaching the big double doors, Kade unlocked and pulled them open. He hit the lights. We were building a sailboat. It was the second boat commissioned, an original Kade Wakefield design. I did more watching than working because he loved it. A man who had once said