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delighted that he was still wearing a pair of cutoffs, like her, mimicking their dreams.
He came along willingly, taking the blanket and spreading it out on the sand. Both
of them brushed off their feet before sitting down cross-legged in the middle of it, face-
to-face.
“I had fun today,” she told him first. “I love the house. You were right to buy it
when you had the chance.”
“I’ll happily put it right back on the market if you want to stay in your condo.”
She’d taken him by there on their way to the mall—they’d even tried out her queen-
sized bed.
Summer gazed into Matt’s midnight-blue eyes and saw her future. She took both of
his hands in hers. “I don’t want you to sell the house.”
He lifted one eyebrow. “You don’t?”
She shook her head. “It has spare bedrooms. My condo only has one, and we’ll
need one for a home office.”
“And the others?” She could feel him tremble between their linked hands.
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Cindy Spencer Pape
She took a deep, fortifying breath. “Well, I turn thirty-three tomorrow. I don’t want
to wait too long to have those two or three kids I mentioned.”
“Say it, sugar.” His entire body had gone taut.
Summer looked right at him and said, “I love you, Matt. Your humor, your
protective streak, even your stubbornness. I love you for real and for always.”
“Thank heavens.” He crushed her to his chest, squeezing her almost until she
couldn’t breathe. “I hoped, prayed, wished… But, holy shit, I was never sure. Thank
you, thank you, thank you.” He peppered kisses on the top of her head and rocked her
back and forth on his lap. “I love you so much. I always will.”
“So you ready to meet my family tomorrow or are you running back to your place
first thing in the morning?” Teasing him was fun, especially when she was safe in the
circle of his arms.
“I’m not going anywhere without you, darlin’. I can’t wait to meet your folks and
get their blessing.” He eased her off his lap and pulled something from his pocket.
“Blessing?” she asked, tipping her head.
“Summer Holiday, will you marry me? Make me the happiest man alive? Live with
me in my house or yours—or wherever the hell you want?” His earnest expression
melted away any lingering trace of doubt she might have had.
She reached up and cupped his cheek. “Matthew Warren, I would love to marry
you. And live in your nice, big house. But thank you for letting me choose.”
“All that matters is you,” he said with a shrug. “Home is wherever you are.” He
flipped open the velvet box and held it out. “Now if you don’t care for this, we can
exchange it too. But I’d like you to wear my ring.”
A diamond set in a golden flower. It was stunning. “I love it.” She held out her
hand, and Matt fumbled the ring as far as the knuckle on her finger. He was shaking so
hard she had to push it the rest of the way into place.
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Midsummer Dreams
She held up her hand, letting the diamond catch the last rays of the sun. “Thank
you. For loving me, for believing in us, for giving me time. I love you.”
He kissed her then, bearing her down onto the blanket. “It occurs to me, sugar, that
we never actually did act out the dreams and make love here on the beach. Though
there might be a little sand.”
She spared a moment to be glad this was a very isolated beach, and that they’d hear
anyone coming from around the spit or the house before they could be seen. Then she
grinned up at him. “Who cares? I’m wearing the sundress, but not the bikini. “Just undo
your shorts and we’re good to go.”
Matt swallowed hard. “I didn’t bring any condoms down from the house.”
Summer winked. “I told you I didn’t want to wait to have kids. You up for that?”
His laugh was pure joy. “Hell yes. When it comes to you, Summer, I’m up for damn
near anything.” He proved his point by grinding his impressive erection against her
mound.
She reached down and eased up the skirt of her sundress while he very cautiously
unzipped his jeans. He groaned when he sprang free and gazed down at her. An instant
later, he covered her, and slid his hot, naked cock into her core.
“Oh Lord. Nothing has ever felt this good.” He pushed down the stretchy top of her
dress and pulled one of her breasts into his mouth.
“Never,” she agreed, her legs coming up to wrap his waist.
Then there was nothing else but the crashing surf and their surging bodies.
Damn, she’d never think of the sound of waves during sex as cliché again, not as
long as she lived.
Finally, her world exploded into bursts of colored light, and she cried out Matt’s
name. He bellowed hers, and she felt him empty himself into her, filling her with warm,
thick semen.
After a while, they adjusted their clothes and lay there, fingers entwined.
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Cindy Spencer Pape
“I’m rethinking the whole sand thing,” she said. “I’ve got just a little bit in some
very uncomfortable places.”
“Me too,” he admitted. “But I don’t care. I have you. Anything else, we can fix.”
“Yep.” She let him help her to her feet and they hauled each other up the steps and
then into the shower. “But I think I’ve had my fill of sex on the beach.”
Matt laughed. “That’s why I bought that king-sized bed.”
“I knew you were smart.”
They helped each other with sand removal and made love against the shower wall
before finally curling up together on the sofa, watching the stars out the window.
“Here’s to us,” she said, holding up her wineglass. “To dreams coming true.”
He tapped her glass with the neck of his beer bottle. “To dreams coming true. May
this be just the beginning.”
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About the Author
Cindy Spencer Pape has been, among other things, a banker, a teacher and an
elected politician, though she swears she got better. Her degrees are in zoology and she
currently works in environmental education, when she can fit it in around writing. She
lives in southern Michigan with her husband, two teenage sons, a dog, a lizard and
various other small creatures, all of which are easier to clean up after than the three
male humans.
Cindy welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email
address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
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Also by Cindy Spencer Pape
Awakening Augusta
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