Natalie and I are having mimosas at the hotel restaurant Friday morning when Alex approaches our table. He presses a kiss to my cheek before taking the chair next to me.

“Good mornin’, ladies,” he says, taking off his ball cap and setting it down. I have a feeling he does that a lot back home with his cowboy hats. He’s always a proper gentleman, making sure my needs are met before his, and being super polite—yet not too polite in the bedroom.

Too bad there’s none of that Southern charm in Wisconsin.

“Morning!” Natalie beams, the smile on her face gives away what she’s thinking. We’ve barely seen each other since the weekend, but as she’s said over and over, she more than understands.

“Where’s Dylan?” I ask when he doesn’t take the other chair like I expected.

“Buried in Jessica probably.”

I laugh, knowing he’s more than likely right. We’ve hardly seen Dylan either, not that Alex seems to even mind.

The waitress comes over and takes our orders. Adam left early for one last fishing trip since he and Natalie fly out tomorrow night. My flight isn’t until Sunday, giving me only one more night with Alex since he and Dylan leave Saturday afternoon.

The past few days, we’ve explored more of Key West, checking more items off my vacation bucket list—or rather adding items so we could check them off—and the more time we spend together, the harder it’s going to be to leave him.

“I can’t believe I have to go back to work on Monday,” Natalie whines. “Maybe I could convince Adam to move down here instead. I’m sure they could use a radiologist at the hospital or something.” Her tone is serious, though I know she’d never leave her family.

“Doubtful.” I chuckle. “He’s too much a country boy. He’d miss his ice fishing and snowboarding.”

Her shoulders fall. “Damn. A girl could get used to this beach lifestyle.”

I grin, agreeing. “It’s definitely going to be hard going back to twelve-hour shifts after this.”

“Damn, you work long hours,” Alex states. “I’m usually up around four or five a.m. to feed the animals before starting on the day’s chores, but Dylan and I fuck around most of the time.” He chuckles, and I have a feeling he’s being humble about how hard he actually works.

“Twelve hours minimum,” I add. “Then sometimes I don’t even get a break until the end of my shift, which means my feet are swollen and I look like I’ve just ran a marathon.”

“That’s intense,” he says, studying my features.

“I’m sure you’re used to those long hours, too,” I say. “Don’t ranchers work till the late afternoon or something?”

“Oh, yeah. It just depends. Every week can be different, especially at the Bishop ranch. My older brothers, Jackson and John, live on the ranch, too, so we’re supposed to split up the duties.”

“I can’t even imagine living on a ranch,” Natalie blurts out. “Being constantly dirty and smelly and oh my God, the heat. That’s a double hell no from me.”

Alex chuckles. “You city girls.”

I grin, not denying he’s right. I love my job, and at least I get to work indoors.

Moments later, our food arrives, and we dig in. Alex talks more about the family ranch and his brothers. It’s very family-oriented, which actually sounds nice. But there’s no denying we’re from two completely different worlds.

“So you’ve talked about different aspects of your job, but I don’t think you told me what made you want to become a nurse in the first place,” Alex says, curiously, and though his question isn’t out of line, it does come a little unexpected.

Natalie lifts her face right away to watch my expression and waits to see if I need an out. I don’t let her give me one, and even though talking about Rylie never gets easier, I don’t avoid it either. Hiding what happened to my baby sister won’t change the past.

“I ended up spending a lot of time in hospitals when I was eleven or twelve. As sad as it sounds, it became my second home for a few years. I met a lot of nurses and doctors and started learning more and more about it as I got older,” I begin.

“Were you sick?” His brows squeeze together.

“No, I wasn’t.” I swallow, lowering my eyes before looking back up. “My baby sister, Rylie, had leukemia, and after she was diagnosed, I didn’t leave her side. Every doctor appointment, ER visit, or chemo treatment—I stood next to her because I didn’t want her to be alone.”

“Oh my God, River. I’m so sorry.” He reaches over and squeezes my hand. The tears surface, but I blink them away.

“It was horrible,” I admit. “I watched her deteriorate and become a lifeless version of herself.”

“Is she okay now?” he asks, and even though I anticipated that question, it does nothing to my aching heart.

I try to find the right words as I respond. “No. When I was fourteen, she ended up in the ER for the millionth time and contracted an infection that took a turn for the worst. She became septic, and her organs rapidly shut down.”

“She didn’t make it,” he says softly, his voice somber. He closes his eyes.

I cover his hand and squeeze three times. He couldn’t have known, and I know he feels bad now for bringing it up.

“Alex,” I whisper, and he opens his eyes.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” I tell him. “I like talking about Rylie, even when it’s sad.”

He wraps his arms around my shoulders and pulls me close. “You became a pediatric nurse because of her.”

“Yeah. I knew I wanted to be around children, and as weird as it sounds, it makes me feel closer to her. I want to do good by her, make her proud.”

“By the sounds of it, I’d say she’d be very proud.” His smile is genuine.

We turn our heads, putting our attention on Natalie who’s staring dreamily at us with tear-filled eyes. “I’m not crying.” She wipes her cheeks.

I laugh through my own tears. “Me either.”

“Me either,” Alex says in a thick voice, making Natalie and I both laugh.

We finish our breakfast and part ways with Natalie so she can start packing.

“So…” Alex begins as we walk hand in hand along the beach.

“Yeah?”

“What do you want to do for our last night here?”

I was hoping he wouldn’t bring it up actually and that we would just continue the way we’ve been without saying it aloud that he leaves tomorrow.

“I’m not sure. Do you have any ideas?”

“I do, but I’m not sure if you’ll approve or not.”

I give him a side glance. “Why? Is it some weird kinky shit that’s going to have me tied up with a gag?”

He narrows his eyes at me, almost scared. “What kind of romance books are you into?”

I chuckle.

“I guess it’s a little more than just our casual sex agreement. But I figure I’d risk it anyway because what’s the worst that can happen? Not like you can call it off now.” He smirks when I look up at him and winks.

“So what you’re saying is it’s a romantic gesture?”

“Yeah, I would say so, but I saw the ad for it and think you’d really enjoy it. One last vacation bucket list item to check off.” He stops and turns so we’re face to face now. “Whaddya say?”

Smiling up at his hopeful face, I couldn’t deny him even if I tried. “Lay it on me, cowboy.”

Alex and I spent the afternoon in my bed, both of us wanting to memorize every inch of each other. I love his rough and bossy side, but I also really like his sweet and passionate side too. Alex makes love as good as he fucks.

Later that night, he tells me to get dressed because he’s taking me out for dinner. We end up at a nice steakhouse where he orders us wine, and we talk about anything and everything.

Once dinner is over, we travel to another part of the island, and in the distance, I can see exactly where he’s taking me.

“A hot air balloon?” I exclaim, my smile widening from ear to ear.

“Yeah, you ever been on one?”

“Hell, no! Oh my God! This is so exciting!” I wrap my arms around his shoulder and tightly hug him. “It’s perfect,” I tell him. The perfect way to say goodbye, I think to myself.

“I was hoping you’d say that.” He grins against my lips.

As soon as we’re inside the bucket, the instructor talks a little about what to expect. I’m so giddy, I mostly tune him out. Before long, we’re floating toward the clouds.

The view is incredible as I look out with Alex’s arms wrapped around my waist. His chest is pressed against my back as he holds me, and it’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever experienced.

“The sunset is amazing,” I say when he rests his chin on my head. “No view will ever be able to compare now.”

He dips his face and buries it in my hair, inhaling the scent of my shampoo. His lips linger down to my ear where he presses kisses along my neck. “Agreed,” he says, though he’s not looking at the sky.

He’s looking at me.

The hour ride is over too soon. I’m dreading the descent because we’ll be back on land where time exists. Up in the balloon, we floated above the horizon, over the beaches and water, and it was as if time stood still.

“Thank you,” I tell him as he holds my hand and leads me back to the hotel. “Definitely my favorite on the list.”

“Even more than patio sex?” His brows rise, teasingly. A couple nights ago, Alex turned into a caveman and pressed my body up against the patio glass door and took me from behind. And if that wasn’t the hottest damn thing ever, he then opened the door and bent me over the railing. I could see people down at the pool below us, and the fact that any of them could look up and see us had me hot all over.

I chuckle and shrug. “Okay, I guess it’s a tie then.”

He brings our hands up to his mouth and kisses my knuckles. “I can deal with that.” He winks.

When we’re finally in my room, the mood is somber, both of us knowing what’s to come tomorrow. Neither of us want to bring it up again, and the tension is thick in the air. It’s obvious this week together turned into much more than just a fling, but that doesn’t mean anything can change once we leave. We aren’t from the same worlds, and another broken heart would be inevitable at that point.

Nerves take over my body, and Alex can sense my apprehension.

“River.” His voice is deep and thick with emotion. I look up at him and see it in his eyes. He’s sad, too.

“Yes?”

Wrapping his hand possessively around my neck, he brings his mouth down to mine and slowly kisses me. He takes the time to really explore my mouth and savor the taste. I cling to him, gripping my fingers in his shirt and holding him to my body. We mold together effortlessly.

“I’m going to miss you,” he says, breaking the kiss. He rests his forehead against mine, and the deep breathing between us is all that can be heard as he waits for my response.

Swallowing, I do my best to keep my emotions at bay. “You’re supposed to be the strong one,” I tease, choking back tears.

He flashes a small, gentle smile. “Let’s not waste our last night together being sad, okay?”

I nod against his forehead. “Okay.”

Slowly, he strips me of my clothes. His movements are calculated but not rushed. Taking his time, he studies everything about me, placing it all into his memory. He kisses my neck before moving down to my shoulder and collarbone. My head falls back as I welcome his mouth on me, burning his touch into my skin.

Alex roams his hands around my waist and pulls me close. I grab his shirt, needing to feel his skin on mine. Pulling it over his head, he doesn’t waste a second before crushing his mouth back down. Our bodies mold together, hunger and desperation taking over our senses.

I wrestle with his belt and undo his jeans. A throaty moan escapes his lips when I pull his boxer shorts down and palm his cock. I want to memorize everything about him—the feel of his skin, the length of his hardness, the way his lips burn into my neck. It’s perfection.

Alex makes me feel like the only girl in the entire world, and I’ve never felt like that before. I know what we have is based on variables—being on vacation with limited time, meeting a sexy stranger, and knowing that whatever happens can only happen here—but that doesn’t mean I haven’t let thoughts of what-if escape me.

We were, in fact, slow dancing in a burning room.

It’s only a matter of hours before we leave everything we shared behind.

I push all those thoughts away, not wanting to think about it. Not tonight, anyway.

Moaning at the way his mouth devours mine, I absolutely love it when he palms my cheeks as if I’m the most precious and important thing to him—at this moment, at least. After he removes the rest of his clothes, he pushes us to the bed, and I adjust my body till we’re lying in the middle of the mattress and his body towers over mine. Though I’ve seen his naked body all week, I’ll never get tired of looking at him. He’s rock solid all over, has one small tattoo on his chest, and a small happy trail that leads all the way down to his glorious cock. Both of his ears are pierced, and with his blond hair and blue eyes, he’s the very definition of a Southern playboy. Always the smooth talker with his dirty words, yet he’s charming and polite. Everything about Alex Bishop screams perfection, and I’ve been the fortunate one to have his complete and undivided attention during this trip—something I sense many other women don’t get from him.

Even though it feels like it’s been a real-life fantasy, no one can ever take this week from me. It’s one I’ll hold in my heart forever, and once we leave this place, that’s where it’ll stay stored.

“River…” his deep voice murmurs against my lips.

“Mm?”

“You’re so beautiful,” he tells me—something he’s told me often, but not always believed.

I peel open my eyes and see him looking down at me with a small, crooked smile.

“You are too.”

His fingers brush over my lips softly, and when my breath hitches, he paints my mouth with his. Alex continues to devour me all night long, taking his time and building me up over and over again.

I’ve left scratch marks all over his back and arms, no doubt. His teeth and lips have left bruises—the good kind—over my neck, shoulders, and chest. I love feeling the scrape of his teeth along my back when he takes me from behind as if he can’t get enough of my skin against his.

He takes me slow, pushing inside me with firm thrusts, but doesn’t rush. Building me up ever so slowly yet pounding into me deeper as I ride out my orgasm. His fingers lace with mine as he brings my arms over my head and chases his release. As my thighs wrap around his waist, I dig my heels into his ass and push him inside deeper. His face twists as he howls out a guttural moan, his entire body tightening as he comes. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, and now that I have the vision of Alex coming permanently etched into my memory, I don’t know that anything could ever come close to topping it.

Afterward, he always rubs his palm along my chest and stomach. He massages my breasts, flicking and sucking on my nipples, and runs his fingers along my hipbones. Tonight, he doesn’t disappoint, but rather, he holds me tight to his chest and rests his palm on my racing heart as if he’s storing the beats of it to his mind.

Later, we take a shower together, and he pins me to the wall and kisses every inch of my body. The way he cherishes me is something I know I’ll miss.

Once we’re fully satisfied and back in bed, he keeps me wrapped in his arms and legs and holds me there until morning.

“Alex?” I whisper, wondering if he’s awake or not. His breathing has picked up, but he hasn’t moved.

“Hm?” he finally groans.

“What time does your plane leave?” I cringe at the words, but I know if he doesn’t get up, he’ll more than likely miss it.

“Whenever I get there.”

I chuckle at his arrogance. “Oh, you must be a personal friend of the pilot.”

“Yep.” He rolls me over, and I see a cocky grin on his face.

“Have you packed yet?”

“Nope.” His eyes aren’t fully open, but he doesn’t seem to be worried about it.

“Has Dylan?” I furrow my brows, wondering how the hell these two guys even made it here in the first place.

He yawns, stretching his arms over his head. “No idea.”

I purse my lips together, narrowing my eyes. “Okay, well do we have time for breakfast? Or do you want help packing?”

“Oh, there’s always time for breakfast.” The corner of his lips curls up into a mischievous grin, and it takes me a second to realize what he’s doing when he pulls the covers back and kneels between my legs.

“What are—”

He wraps my thighs around his neck as he digs his fingers into my ass and presses his mouth between my legs.

“Alex!” I squeal and laugh, then moan and scream because he licks and sucks, circling my clit with his tongue, and then presses a finger inside as the orgasm builds and releases around him.

“Sorry, darlin’.” He winks, licking his lower lip. “They do say breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”

Once I convince him to get up and dressed, I walk with him down to his room. As soon as we walk in, it looks like a bomb went off. Clothes, bedsheets, shoes, towels, food, and room service trays are spread out all over the floor.

“Dylan, you sick fucker.”

I chuckle when I see girl’s clothes spread all over the floor, and the air reeks of sweaty sex.

“Go away.” We hear his mumbles from the patio.

“Ah, shit,” Alex groans, rubbing a hand along his scruffy jawline.

“Hey, Dylan,” I call out, making sure he knows I’m in here, too.

“He looks in rough shape,” I whisper, making sure only Alex can hear me.

“Yeah, he doesn’t do goodbye very well.”

I pull in my lips. That makes two of us.

“You want me to leave you guys alone to pack and…maybe throw him in the shower?”

He wraps a hand around my waist and pulls me into his side, kissing the top of my head. “We have to leave at three to make our flight.” He checks the time on his phone. “Come back at one?”

“Sure, that’ll give me time to start packing my own shit.” I tilt my head up and kiss him.

When I shut his door behind me, realization hits that it’s the final time I’ll be in there.

I text Natalie and tell her I’m heading over. She also leaves this afternoon, so I figure I’ll keep myself busy for the next couple of hours by helping her pack.

“Oh, River.” She frowns the second she sees me. I step inside and wipe my eyes.

“What?”

“I hate that we’re leaving, but I hate even more knowing you and Alex are going your separate ways.”

I hear the shower running and know we have a few moments of privacy till Adam is done.

Shrugging, I sit on the edge of the bed. “We both knew what we were getting into. One week, no strings or attachments, no expectations.”

“Even I know that’s a bunch of bullshit,” she blurts out.

“This was your idea, Nat,” I remind her, eyeing her.

“I know, but I didn’t know he’d turn around and be Mr. Perfect.”

“It’s because we’re on an island, sipping margaritas, and living on the beach. That’s not real life,” I say, trying to convince myself more than her. “Even if we lived on the same planet, you know the moment we’d get back home, shit would hit the fan. It always does.”

“You sound so cynical,” she spats.

I arch a brow, knowing I have every right to be. Shrugging, I play it off because I don’t want to talk about it anymore.

“Did you two have a nice night together at least?”

I smile, thinking about it. “Yeah, we really did. It was a great way to say goodbye.” I look up at the ceiling, knowing if I see her face right now, it’s going to make me an emotional wreck.

“Are you going to exchange numbers?” she asks, drawing my eyes back to her.

“No, that’s part of the ‘no strings and casual sex’ agreement. Why draw something out that’s only doomed to fail? I’d rather take all these great memories and hold onto them than taint them with trying to make it work. Because let’s be honest, we live hundreds of miles apart, and I doubt we could ‘just be friends’ after a week like this.”

“That just makes me so sad, River. I wanted you to come here and have no-attachments sex, but I hadn’t expected the guy to be…well, Alex.”

“Yeah, damn those Southern cowboys,” I mock. “All charming, sweet, and polite.”

“And in bed?” She wiggles her brows.

“Definitely not polite.” I smirk. “Always the gentleman, though.”

After I help Natalie and Adam pack, we say our goodbyes. They’re going to grab lunch before heading to the airport, so once they’re off, I head back to Alex’s room.

When I walk down the hall of his floor, I see his door is propped open, and when I get closer, I see it’s housekeeping.

I look around for him or Dylan, but when I step in, a woman is stripping the beds.

“Hello,” I say, shyly. “Are the two guys who stayed in here around, do you know?” I feel silly for asking, but I have no idea where else they’d be.

“No, ma’am.”

“Okay, thank you.”

Where the hell would he be? He knew I was coming back.

Swallowing, I walk out and head up to my floor. Once I’m at my room, I see a piece of paper taped to my door with my name written on it. I open it up and see it’s the scratch paper we used to write out my vacation bucket list. After deciding that we were going to follow one, Alex and I had handwritten one out. He must’ve had it in his pocket.

---

Oh my God.

My feet feel frozen to the floor as I scan the note again. He’s gone.

I feel my heart racing, and I blink out of my trance before running back to the elevator. Maybe he’s still down there. I have to at least look.

Searching the lobby, pool, and bar area, it’s confirmed. He’s gone.

Go to the airport, a thought pops into my head. And for a second, I consider it, but then push it away. Calling him and hearing his voice or seeing him one last time isn’t going to change anything. In fact, it’ll only make things worse. Saying goodbye wasn’t going to be easy in the first place, so maybe this is the way it had to be.

As I walk back to my room, thoughts of last night surface and how wonderful and magical it all was. Those are the memories I want to remember. Like I told Natalie, that was the perfect way to say goodbye. Anything else would only deepen the wound.