I’m trying not to go into full meltdown mode. I’m an adult. I’m supposed to be calm, in the face of a crisis. Yet it’s Cee who is comforting me, not the other way around.

“Everything’s going to be all right,” she slings a boney arm around my shoulders. “These planes have the best technology.”

We learned two hours ago that Colt’s plane nearly crashed shortly after takeoff. We’d been watching The Bachelor, cementing our renewed commitment to each other with Rocky Road ice cream when breaking news interrupted the program. I had no idea Colt was onboard until the broadcaster mentioned his name. Colt was supposed to come back tomorrow, not tonight.

All I can think of was how we’d hardly exchanged two words to each other the day before he left. What if he’d died on this trip? I never considered the fact that he might never come back. I’d just stumbled off the emotional roller coaster of Cee’s near-drowning only to be swept into a new terrifying ride. I don’t know how much more of this my heart can take!

My eyes are beet-red. My nose is tender. My temples feel bashed in. It’s been four hundred and twenty minutes and thirty-one seconds since I pulled Cee from the lake, but who’s counting? I have an overwhelming desire to stick my head in the sand, emerging only when this drama has dissolved.

Cee claps her hands. “I have an idea. Let’s play Wii.”

I shake my head no.

“Okay, then. How about cards? I know lots of card games. Or Yahtzee.”

“I don’t feel like playing right now.”

“You need something to take your mind off Colt.”

“What I need is a stiff drink.”

“Me too! I saw a bottle of Curvy-say in the pantry.” She hops up and heads for the kitchen.

I snag the hem of her T-shirt with my index finger, stopping her in her tracks. “Oh, no you don’t. No liquor for underage grief counselors.” She plops back down onto the sofa. “And by the way, Courvoisier is pronounced koor-vwah-zee-ay, not curvy say.”

She giggles. “I was only trying to be helpful.”

“Nice try.” I return her grin, thinking how lucky I am to have her here. “Gimme that Yahtzee game.”

“Okay, but I have to warn you, I’m hard to beat.”

My smile doesn’t fade. “Yeah, Cee. I agree. You are definitely hard to beat.”

* * *

I must have fallen asleep sometime around midnight. One minute, I was adding up the score, wondering how I’d let a fifteen-year-old beat me at Yahtzee. The next, Colt is kneeling over me, waking me up. He lifts his forefinger against his lips, motioning for me to be quiet as he helps me to my feet. We don’t want to wake Cee. Once we get to the master bedroom, I throw my arms around him and hold him tight.

“Colt, we were so worried!”

“For a while, I was worried, too. I wasn’t sure I’d make it back in one piece.”

He nuzzles my neck and I breathe in his scent, happy to see him. He smells good. Confident. Strong. If he could bottle his unique blend of masculine pheromones and woodsy spice, I’d buy stock in the fragrance. I want to melt into him and soak up his essence until I can’t tell where he ends and I begin.

Instead, I ask, “How did you get here so soon?”

“After the plane’s forced landing in Birmingham, I chartered a private jet to bring me home. There was no way I was staying away from you guys one minute longer. I had to get back to my family.”

I choke back the emotion lodged in my throat. “Oh, Colt.”

He pulls back and clasps my face between his palms, stroking my cheeks with the pads of his thumbs. “Shayla, the whole time I was on that plane, all I could think about was you and Cee. I promised myself if God didn’t put me in a pine box, I was gonna make things right. I know you said you’re leaving once we adopt Cee, but I’m not letting you go without a fight. Not this time. I don’t want to go another day without knowing where I stand with you. I love you.”

He pauses, resting his forehead against mine. His thundering pulse matches the cadence of my heartbeat. “Everything that’s happened so far is my fault. I realize I’ve been going about this the wrong way. I’ve been demanding your trust, trying to convince you that I’m a changed man. But trust isn’t asked for, it’s earned. I’m going to do my damnedest to earn your trust—and your love. Starting right here, right now.” He pulls back and locks gazes with me. “Tell me what I need to do, Shayla, and I’ll do it. Anything.”

Yearning fills his gaze. I believe him. I believe this near-death experience has changed him for the better. He’s at his most vulnerable now. This is a version of Colt I’ve only seen rare glimpses of. No games. No ego. Just the man I never stopped loving.

I will my galloping heart to slow to a canter. “There is something you can do for me.”

“Name it. Whatever you want, it’s yours.”

“This.”

I lean in on tiptoe and brush my lips against his. Immediately, I know this is where I belong. In his arms. Like him, I don’t want to play games anymore. I’m tired of holding back. Tired of being suspicious. I want to let go. I want this moment. Maybe I’m fucking up. Maybe he’ll break my heart. Again. I’ll deal with that in the morning. Right now, I need my husband.

“Shayla,” he mumbles against my mouth. Anything else he says is swallowed in our hungry kiss. His fingers trail whisper-soft caresses down my cheeks, my chin, and finally, my neck. Everywhere he touches me, he leaves embers of fire that erupt into full-blown infernos, scorching my skin, and leaving me burning for more.

When he moves his hands lower and cups my ass, pulling me against the hard planes of his body, a delicious heat sparks through me and nestles between my legs.

“Colt,” I moan between his hot kisses.

He pauses and tilts my head back. His green eyes are full of sensual promise. “Did you want me to stop?”

I shake my head. “If you do, I’ll kill you.”

A wicked grin eases across his lips. “I’ve already cheated death once today. I don’t want to tempt fate.”

He resumes his erotic assault, and once again, I’m lost in his kisses.