“Oh, God,” I whined.

I rolled to the side, stretching my legs in the opposite direction of my hands. My body had taken a beating from the trip. I rubbed my back.

“Good morning, darlin’.” Cole appeared with two cups of coffee.

A white quilt draped over half my naked body. I rubbed my eyes before reaching for the coffee.

“Good morning.” I sat up, careful to keep the quilt tucked under my arms.

“I thought I’d drive the truck over this morning and start unloading.” He leaned forward to kiss me on my cheek. “You didn’t tell me you were bringing that much stuff.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “You told me to pack what I couldn’t live without.”

“I guess it was good I got the beach house.”

I laughed. “Yes, I think it was fate.”

Cole had moved his clothes into the smaller closet and his tools were stored in the bedroom that bordered the street.

I loved that our room was the ocean front suite. Every morning I was going to wake up in this room, with this view. The deck wrapped around to this side of the house. A door from the bedroom led to the deck, which was oddly placed, but I thought added some quirky charm.

“You said you brought your bedroom set, right?” Cole asked from behind me.

I nodded. There were all kinds of things in that truck. Suddenly, I was glad I packed so much for the kitchen. We were going to need it.

“Ok, I’ll go grab your bag, since I didn’t give you that chance last night, and then I’ll start unloading.”

“But, you can’t carry mattresses and my desk by yourself.” Don’t get me wrong, Cole was strong, but that was too much even for those beautiful muscles.

“Darlin’, I’ve got it all taken care of.” He threw a T-shirt on the bed. “But why don’t you put this on. There is someone who wants to say hi.”

“Grayson.” I smiled.

I quickly threaded the shirt over my head. It smelled like Cole. I collected my shorts off the floor and stepped into them.

“Ready for this?” Cole asked.

I nodded. I was ready as I could be to have an instant family.

The door opened and Grayson ran into the room, holding a train. He threw his arms around me.

“Hey.” I pulled him into a hug.

“I paint.” He held up the train and I realized it was pink.

“You painted it for me?” I laughed.

He nodded. “Pink.”

“It’s definitely pink.” I looked at Cole who was standing next to the door. He didn’t care if his son painted an entire room pink, as long as he was happy Cole didn’t care.

“Why don’t you two wait here? I’ll be back in a few minutes with your bag.”

“All right.” Grayson and I walked to the balcony.

I watched as Cole jogged down the stairs and cut through the backyard path to the Dunes.

“Daddy beach.” Grayson pointed.

“He’ll be right back,” I promised.

Five minutes later, Cole appeared with my overnight bag. “Here you go.”

“Thank you.” I unzipped it in search of my cosmetics bag. I was looking forward to a shower with my own soap and shampoo.

“I’m going to take a shower, and then I can help you unload everything.”

“Take your time. I’m sure you’re tired.” He winked. “I can get the stuff in the house. Oh, I put some towels under the sink.”

The shower sputtered, and the pipes started to howl when I turned on the hot water. I guessed all houses had their special sounds. I lathered my hair with shampoo and coated my legs with shaving cream before running a razor over each one.

I turned off the water and wrapped myself in a towel. I stifled a giggle. These looked a lot like the ones Cole ordered for the Dunes.

Feeling more like myself than I had in three days, I walked out onto the driveway balcony, amazed at the size of the truck I had driven. I knew it was big, but when I saw it take up the entire driveway and stick out into the street, I realized it was a monster.

“Carolina!” I heard Cal’s voice yell from somewhere in the truck.

“Cal?”

I raced down the stairs. Lance and Cal each had a box in hand, and they were making a stack next to the stairs.

“Hold on, girl. Let me put this down so I can hug your neck.” Cal placed the cardboard box on top of another one then wrapped me in a hug.

“Don’t squish her, man.” Lance tapped me on the shoulder, before his arms circled my waist. “Glad you’re here.”

“Me too.” I looked around for Sasha. She had to be here too. “Where’s Sasha?”

Cal laughed. “Oh, don’t worry. She’ll be here in a second.”

Lance jabbed his friend in the ribs. “Does she know?”

My eyes darted between the pair. “Know what?”

“I’ll let Sasha tell you when she gets here.” Cal turned to walk up the truck’s ramp. “Lance, get over here and help me with the desk.”

I placed my hands on my hips. I wasn’t getting anything out of these two. I waited for them to pass before I reached for a box.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. What are you doing?” Cole jumped in front of me, wrestling the box from my hands.

“I’m unloading the truck.”

“No, the boys and I have a handle on this. Why don’t you start unpacking?”

I looked at him. Part of me was relieved not to carry heavy boxes of books or dishes up to the second story.

“I can handle carrying boxes, Cole.” I turned to find another one.

“I know you can handle it. That’s not what I meant.” He sighed. “Look, I have no idea what to do with everything in the boxes. I just thought it would go faster if we unload the truck and you unload the boxes. But, if you insist on lugging the damn boxes up the stairs, have it your way.”

He walked down the ramp, two boxes in his arms, and started up the flight of stairs that led to the kitchen.

I swallowed hard. Day one and I had already put my foot in my mouth. I clutched the box in my arms and followed him up the steps.

Boxes were strewn around the living room and on top of the kitchen counter. Cal and Lance walked from the hallway.

“We put the desk in that front room.” Cal smiled.

“Thank you.” I felt like a complete idiot.

Cole brushed past me and followed them out the door. I turned to the boxes and started opening. I pushed the flaps to the side and unwrapped a stack of bowls. That was until Sasha showed up.

“Knock knock.”

I squealed when I saw her auburn head peek around the side of the door.

“You’re here!” I jumped toward her.

“No, you’re here.” She hugged me and I laughed.

“I guess I am.” I waved my hand across the room. “All of my stuff and I made it in the middle of the night.”

“This is awesome. This place is so perfect for the three of you.”

I swallowed. It was crazy that there were three of us. I looked at Grayson in front of the TV. He was coloring more than he was watching.

“It is perfect.” I had already fallen in love with the little blue cottage. “I’d offer you something to drink, but I have no idea where the glasses are yet and I don’t even what Cole has bought.” I opened the refrigerator.

Sasha ran her fingers through her hair. “Oh, I’m fine. I just had to come see you before work today.” She rested her palm across her chest.

“I’m glad you did. It might be a couple of days before I’m done with all the boxes.”

She shifted her hand to her shoulder and then I saw it. The rock sparkled and glistened in my tiny kitchen.

“Oh my God. Sasha! Is that what I think it is?”

She nodded and let out a high-pitched squeal. “I’m getting married!” She hopped in place.

“Congratulations.” I reached for her hand. “Let me see this up close.”

She eagerly extended her hand so I could look at the ring.

“It was Cal’s grandmother’s ring. He asked his mom if he could have it.” Sasha’s eyes were glowing almost as much as the cluster of diamonds.

“Oh, I’m so happy for you.” I hugged her again. “Have you set a date?”

“I was waiting for you to get here so Cal and I could announce it together. Do you know how hard it’s been not to tell you on the phone?”

I shook my head. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”

“You know my mom is going crazy about it. She wants to plan the whole thing, but I want her to be the mother-of-the-bride, not the wedding planner. She won’t listen though.”

I giggled, remembering the storage unit full of wedding decorations Sasha’s mother kept for her clients. Sasha didn’t seem like a paper dove kind of bride.

“Ok, so tell me the date,” I urged.

I figured they had a nice spring date on the calendar when Padre wouldn’t be blistering hot and they could have another eight months to get plans underway.

“It’s going to be the end of October.”

“As in next month, October?” Maybe she meant a year from now.

“Yes.” She started hopping again.

Just then, the door flew open and the guys staggered in with the mattress.

“Babe, I’m headed to work,” she called to Cal as he shuffled past her.

“All right, call me later.” He huffed as they turned the corner for the bedroom.

“Kaitlyn, let me know if you need help getting settled. I’ve got to get to work.” She twisted the watch on her wrist.

“Congratulations, again.” I watched as she left.

Cole kicked on the door with three boxes stacked in his arms. I rushed over to let him in.

“I just heard Sasha and Cal’s news.” I slid my hands in my back pockets.

“Oh yeah?” He crouched low to put the boxes on the floor.

“Yeah.” I smiled. The misunderstanding in the moving truck seemed stupid and insignificant.

“What do you think about that?” He stood, his arms crossed. I wasn’t sure he wasn’t still annoyed with me.

“I think it’s great news. I can’t believe the wedding is next month.” I didn’t have a chance to get all the details from Sasha, like how Cal proposed, where they were going to live, or if their families were supportive. I didn’t want to wonder about whether she was pregnant. It did seem kind of rushed.

That would be a mess.

“She couldn’t wait to tell you. Made all of us keep it a secret until you got here.” He took a step closer and my heart rate sped up. “Found my phone.” He held it up, and moved even closer.

“That’s good. Where was it?”

“In the maintenance cart inside the storage closet. I forgot I had put it there when I was checking rooms.” His eyes followed his fingers as they tangled through my hair, sweeping along my collarbone.

Cal and Lance were in the other room, but all I could think about was getting Cole’s lips on mine.

“I’m sorry if I overreacted in the truck.” I edged toward him. My chin tilted up.

“Don’t they say moving is one of the most stressful life events?” He caught the small of my back with his palm and placed enough pressure so that I was firmly pressed against his body.

If he didn’t kiss me now, I thought I might die on this kitchen floor. My chest tightened with heavy breaths, ready to feel the warmth of his mouth, his tongue. Taste his breath on my lips. Why were there other people in the house?

My arms snaked around his neck, tugging him closer to me. “Yes, that’s what I’ve heard. Tons of stress.”

He grinned, and I felt my knees quiver. He could drive me crazy with only a smile.

“I think I know a few ways to help you with all of the stress.” His eyes dipped between my breasts. I pushed against him, begging him to make a move. To hell with the guys in the other room.

“We only have a dresser left and we’re done,” Lance called from the hall.

Cole kissed me on the cheek. “Let me help them with that, and then we can work on the stress relief.”

I refrained from letting out the full-fledged groan that was building in the back of my throat. He got me all worked up on purpose, I thought. I tried to focus on the stack of bowls I had begun to unpack.

Somewhere in one of these boxes was a set of glasses. I at least needed one tall glass of ice water to cool down everything he started.