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AFTER THE DELIVERY ARRIVED, Garrett and Isla sat on his back patio. He’d started a fire in the fire pit and lit tiki torches.

“Wow,” she said as she ate some of her rice. “I was starving. I pretty much drove down from the base for hours. I stopped once for gas and a Red Bull.”

He drank more wine. “So, you’ll be up all night won’t you?”

“I hope not,” she said with a laugh.

The night couldn’t have been more perfect. Isla had dreamed of this but never thought that it was possible. She looked over at him as he put his feet up on the wicker ottoman. The back yard was a little overgrown with tall green grass. The rose bush was out of control with roses climbing up the house and sticking into the panels and roofing.

“How is it?” Garrett asked, slurping noodles from his chopsticks. He poured hot sauce into his container, and Isla grinned. He hadn’t changed. He was still obsessed with spicy food.

“I haven’t had such a relaxing dinner in ages,” she said before eating a chunk of hot sesame chicken.

Garrett glanced at her from across the table. “I haven’t either. Meals in the army are always a race. You rarely get to finish anything.”

“Sounds terrible.”

He shrugged. “It wasn’t all bad. I now have enough money to pursue my dreams. I have some friends that will have my back no matter what. You can’t find that in too many places.”

“You couldn’t be more right,” Isla said. “Robin has always been my most loyal friend. She’d never betray me like some girls from high school. I’m lucky to have her. And you.”

“Of course. Thank you for being here. I know that we have a lot of catching up to do, and I have a lot of explaining, but I can’t be more thankful that you’re giving me a chance.”

“Why wouldn’t I? You meant everything to me. You still do. There’s no use being coy or trying to pretend that I don’t still love you.”

He smiled at her. “I love you too, babe.”

“Good. Now, let’s pretend that we didn’t miss out on almost four years of each other’s lives.”

“I can do that. Jesus, I can’t believe this is happening. I seriously thought I’d be alone for the entire summer.”

Isla sat up in her chair. “What do you mean? What happens after this summer?”

He cleared his throat and held his arms out. “I’m selling the place,” he said. “I’m thinking of moving to the East Coast to pursue my writing career. All of the best agents are in New York, and while I know that all it takes is a letter to them, I want to be in the mix. I want a change, a meaningful one. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll return to England. I do have dual citizenship after all.”

Isla’s heart dropped into her stomach. New York? England? All she heard was I’m leaving you behind again.

“Oh,” she said. She hadn’t expected that.

They’d talked about moving away together when they were just teenagers, but she wasn’t ready to let him go just yet.

“Wow. That’s not too far from now.”

He sighed and closed his box of noodles, shoving it to the center of the table.

“Yeah. I’m going to miss this place. But it's like a tomb. I need to sell it and move on. I think it’s time. I just can’t stay here with all of the memories. My mother was the only thing that kept me here before I met you that one summer. I’d been planning to save all of my money and travel around the country.”

“I remember you telling me that,” she murmured.

“Laguna isn’t for me. The best part about being here was you.”

Crushed, Isla lost her appetite. She set her chopsticks down and drank the rest of her wine. “Well, damn. You just came back, and now you’re leaving.”

“I am. But, who says you can’t come with me? What’s keeping you here? Up until today, you weren’t even a resident of Laguna Beach.”

Isla shot a look at him, stunned. “What do you mean?”

He turned to her, reaching for her hands from across the table. She tensed as he took her hands into his and kissed her knuckles.

“Come with me?”

Isla didn’t think twice. She grinned. “Okay. When do we leave?”

Garrett smiled at her. “Really? I just can’t get over how we both arrived in Laguna at the same time. It’s as if fate brought us back together.”

“Me too. I couldn’t agree more. Let’s go, Garrett. Let’s start over together.”

“Seriously? You’d drop everything and go across the country with me?”

“Yes. One hundred percent!” she exclaimed, sitting up in the wicker patio chair. “Yes. What do I have in Laguna Beach? Nothing, really. Chrissy moved to Los Angeles with her husband and baby. Robin is here, but she can come and visit and vice versa. If you leave, I’m not staying here by myself. I only came to Laguna to regroup. I planned on looking at a map and just picking somewhere to go.”

Garrett smiled at her. “It’s settled then, isn’t it? We’re taking on the world. Together.”

He stood and helped her to her feet. Cupping her face in his hands, he kissed her. Butterflies filled her belly as she closed her eyes and submitted to her body’s desire. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her body to his.

Please, she thought. Don’t let me wake up.

As if he’d read her mind, he picked her up and carried her inside through the glass back door.

Isla grinned when he took her back to his old bedroom. Nothing had changed, except there was an army bag against the window that looked out to the side street.

Clark crossed her mind and vanished just as quickly. She didn’t care if she ever saw him again.

Garrett didn’t waste any time. There were no doubts between the two of them as he shrugged off her shawl and pressed her against his closed door. He placed his hands against the door on either side of her face and leaned down to her.

“Did you miss me?” he asked, his green eyes looking deep into hers, his voice lowering to a sexy drawl.

She nodded, her brows furrowing. “Of course.”

The door was cold against her bare back as he pulled off her yoga pants and panties. He lifted her by her thighs. She felt dizzy as he kissed her throat.

“How much did you miss me?”

Isla’s eyes fluttered closed, warmth filling her legs as Garrett pressed his thumb to her clit and rubbed it in a circular motion that gave her shivers.

“More than anything, Garrett,” she said, breathless.

The tenderness in which he touched her was unsurpassed by any other man. He touched her as if he cherished her above all things, and she had no doubt that this was right. After two years of silence, this was better than her dreams.

She gasped when he spun her around and laid her on his bed. Taking off his boxers, he licked her nipples, making her shiver beneath his warm and wet tongue. The anticipation was unbearable, and when he positioned himself between her legs, she kissed his hand as he stroked her cheek.

Isla pressed her face into the palm of his hand and then took his thumb into her mouth and sucked it from the base of his hand to the tip.

“Don’t make me wait,” she whispered, a mischievous look flashing in her eyes.

Garrett cracked a grin, reaching for a condom in his top nightstand drawer. “You haven’t changed,” he said and placed the condom on the length of his hardened manhood. He positioned himself between her legs, placing them over his shoulders.

With one swift thrust, he entered her, sliding into her wetness, making her cry out at the rush she felt.

Isla sucked in a breath, overwhelmed by how perfect he felt inside. He filled her, igniting every pleasure sensor in her body. Isla’s breaths became labored as he quickened his speed. He held her legs by her thighs and lifted her pelvis for a better angle.

Her lips parted as he scraped and caressed her G-spot. The sensations were intoxicating, and to add to it, he leaned over and kissed her neck, stretching her legs above her head.

Her world spun in a blur of ecstasy that she was certain would fade into the vaults of her imagination once she woke up from this cruel yet delicious dream.

She didn’t want to wake up.

Ever. She’d live in the bliss of this dream for an eternity as long as Garrett was there with her.