One year later

Spencer headed straight to the table at the back of the sports bar, nodding at one of their favorite waiters on the way. Nervous anticipation thrummed through him, making his fingers twitch, and he forced the impulse back. He’d told Trina he had to work late. A tiny fib she’d forgive him for when she found out the truth.

He hoped. No. He was pretty sure.

He found her with her coworkers in their usual Friday night spot. This had become the ritual—everyone going for drinks almost every week since she got the job. He paused a few feet back, to watch.

The way she laughed and joked with everyone was natural. None of the forced interaction he’d seen when she was in her last job. Those weeks from the install site—how poorly everything was handled—still nagged him. He wasn’t surprised Doug never made good on his threat to sue.

Gavin nudged Trina, pointed at Spencer, and said something that didn’t carry through the noise in the room.

Trina spun in her seat. Her smile grew, and she hopped to her feet, to skip the short distance to meet him. She hugged him. “About time.”

“Missed you too.” He kissed her on the cheek. “I’m yours for the weekend. I promise.”

“Good.” She grabbed his hand and tugged him back to the table.

Each touch was a pleasant jolt, racing over his skin. The little things hadn’t gotten old—the pecks on the cheek, their fingers tangled together, it was all still incredible. He dropped into her seat and pulled her into his lap.

“You look guilty.” Aaron studied him. “Definitely. You think?” He nudged Gavin.

Gavin nodded. “I think.” He was Cynthia’s head programmer, and he, Aaron, and Cynthia were together.

Spencer couldn’t imagine sharing Trina with anyone, but the three of them were happy, and that worked for him. “I’m not guilty,” Spencer said. No reason to spill the news yet. He just needed to keep it a secret a little longer.

Trina glanced back at him and frowned. “I’m not seeing it.” She looked at Aaron. “You can’t add drama when there isn’t any.”

Aaron shrugged. “Technically, I can. That’s my job. I stand by my claim, though.”

The conversation shifted away from Trina and Spencer, and toward technological breakthroughs in data mining. It wasn’t enough to kill the way his body reacted to Tina’s shifting her weight in his lap, but it was dry enough a conversation he didn’t want to focus on anything besides the way she teased his erection.

He kissed her earlobe. “I think I’ve got a broken switch,” he whispered.

She frowned. “Is it a hardware issue? Do you need to go?”

“It’s a hard thing, for sure. And yes, we should go.”

She stood with him, and they said their goodbyes and headed to the parking lot. When they reached his truck, he pressed her against the passenger door and kissed her, letting go of any restraint he’d shown inside.

She gasped in surprise and leaned into his body. She traced her fingertips along her bottom lip when he broke away. “I thought you said there was a broken switch.”

“There is. My Off switch doesn’t work.” He nudged her with his hard length, to emphasize his point. “The only solution is for you to help me with it.”

“You dragged us away for that.” Her smirk took the sting out of her words.

“They’ll be here next week too. I want you to myself tonight.”

Trina dropped her hand below his waist and traced the outline of cock.

He pressed into the contact.

“I guess I could maybe help with your hardware issue,” she said. “But not in the parking lot... again.”

“That was fun, though. You have to admit.”

She shook her head. “I won’t deny it for a second. It was even worth the cramped muscles.”

It absolutely was. “But no. Not in the parking lot. We’re going for a drive.” Though, if she kept teasing him, they weren’t going to reach their destination without him pulling over and fucking her on the hood of the car.

Somehow he managed the trip to the beach house without any unplanned stops. It took a lot of intertwining his fingers with hers, to keep either of them from teasing too much.

They reached their destination, and he led her around the house, instead of inside. They spent almost every weekend up here, but as they walked toward the beach, he realized this was the first time they’d taken this path since New Year’s Eve a year ago.

She squeezed his hand more tightly.

He expected tonight to end very differently, though.

They drew within visual range of his setup—a blanket spread on the sand, a cooler next to it.

“What is this?” she asked.

“Depending on how things go, either celebration or commiseration.”

He pulled her to a stop, and spun her so he could look her in the eye. He’d considered and discarded a billion different speeches, before deciding he wanted to improv the moment. “When things went south with Mia, I knew I was done with relationships like that—the kind that led to marriage. And then you came along.”

Trina bit her bottom lip.

“And then you came along, and you saw it a lot sooner than I did, but in my defense, you literally weren’t old enough.” He kept the teasing in his voice, to cover the nervousness. Her tiny laugh helped, too.

If he didn’t do this soon, he was going to ramble for several more minutes, and that would spoil what she was already figuring out. “Anyway. Down on one knee, right?” He knelt at her feet and kissed her fingertips. “I’m out of fancy words. I love you so much, and I can’t imagine waking up to a day when we’re not together. So... marry me?”

“What’s in the cooler?” she asked. Not what she was supposed to say next.

“Champagne. And your ring. I needed it somewhere you wouldn’t find it if you went rummaging through my pockets. You know I asked you a question, right?”

Her smile broke through, and she pulled him to his feet. “Yes.” She kissed him hard, until he was pretty sure his heart didn’t fit in his chest anymore. “I love you too, and yes. A million bazillion times, from now until eternity, yes.”

“That’s not technically possible.” He liked being able to tease her back. She’d earned it.

She pulled him the rest of the way to the blanket, coaxed him down, and straddled his legs. “You say that, but we can find a way to make it happen.”

He couldn’t argue that. Didn’t want to. He placed his hand at the base of her neck and captured her mouth. With Trina, anything could happen, and he was looking forward to turning every one of those possibilities into a new memory.

THE END

~*~

If you enjoyed Riding the Wave, and want another sexy, not-your-typical billionaire/virgin romance, check out .

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Keep reading for a sneak peek of Chapter One.