her or booked a spa day for an anniversary or something?”
“I’ve been light on the girlfriend front,” I admitted after a brief pause. “Back when I was still in the service, there just never seemed to be enough time for anything meaningful to develop. Now, I’m still away more often than I’m at home. It makes it difficult to get to know me and for me to really get to know someone else.”
“Are you saying that you’ve never been in a relationship?” Her eyes stretched wide open, the blue filled with shock and disbelief.
“I’ve been in relationships. They’ve just never lasted very long. What about you? Other than your last relationship, obviously.”
She chuckled, not tensing or clamming up like she had the last time her ex had come up. “I was too busy focusing on my career to spend much time bothering with love and relationships. I had a few before Will, but they also never got serious. I spent far too much time in the office for it to get that far. I guess we’ve got that in common.”
“I know you don’t really want to talk about Will,” I said cautiously, “but why would he leave you? Did you ever take him to a spa? If you did, he was fucking crazy to run out on you.”
“Are you really that impressed by all this?” She flicked her hand in the air. “I mean, it’s nice, but it’s not really the kind of thing that would inspire someone to stay with you.”
I scoffed. “I wasn’t only talking about the spa, but I could be convinced to stay with you forever if you keep bringing me to places like this.”
Laughing as she shook her head at me, she dropped her gaze to her lap when it turned sad. “I don’t really have a good answer for you about why he left me. And yes, we did spa days together all the time.”
“If it counts for anything, I think he was an idiot for leaving you.” Truth rang out clear as a bell in my voice, and Lindsay shot me a small smile.
“Does that mean you think I’m cool?” she asked.
“Not cool… but all right.” I winked as I wound my arm around her waist and pulled her closer to me despite the intense heat in there. “You’re definitely one of the cooler planners I’ve ever met.”
She rested her head against my shoulder. “You’re one of the cooler impulsive people I’ve met.”
We talked for a while longer until the therapist came to get us again. Exfoliation and detoxification treatments were on the menu for the afternoon, and we emerged smelling vaguely of the papaya and pineapple lotions they’d applied to rejuvenate our skin.
As we were saying goodbye, one of the therapists handed us a neon flyer for a beach party the resort was hosting that night. She smiled when Lindsay took it from her. “We hope to see you there. You can’t leave here before you’ve experienced a party beneath our star-filled skies.”
Lindsay’s eyes darted up to mine, and I saw the hesitation in them. “I don’t know. I’m pretty ready to just fall into bed after how relaxing this day has been.”
A minute ago, I’d felt the same way. But now, all I could think about was dancing with her curves pressed against my body underneath that star-filled sky the therapist had just mentioned.
Giving her my very best puppy-dog eyes, I wrapped my hand around hers and brought it to my mouth to brush a gentle kiss against each of her knuckles, interspersing the kisses with words.
“I think we go should, baby. It’s a beach party. I love beach parties.”
A soft smile lifted the corners of her lips as she sighed, then nodded. “Yeah. Okay. I’m down to go if it means that much to you.”
“It does.” I bent over and kissed the top of her head. “It really does.”
Chapter 17
LINDSAY
The night was clear when Jaxon and I walked out of our bungalow after cleaning up and having a drink together on our patio. Stars glittered in the sky above us, and the scent of a bonfire and grilling meat drifted in the air.
He took my hand when we stepped onto the beach, spotting the festivities just a little ways away and located farther down the private stretch of sand. Although we’d been holding hands a lot, I still felt a tingle whenever he first pressed his skin against mine.
Now that I knew what else he could do with those hands,