“What time are your friends arriving?” Sean asked as he crowded Jenna against the bathroom counter. She was smoothing sunscreen over her face, and she flashed him a quick smile in the mirror.

“They should be here in an hour. Grace messaged from Markdale thirty minutes ago.”

Good. That meant they had time for something a little dirty first.

Two weeks had passed since he’d set up the Jurassic Park screening, and ever since, he hadn’t been able to keep his hands off her.

He dropped a kiss to her shoulder as he squeezed her hips, snugly hugged by black spandex. “I like these shorts.” He liked the bathing suit beneath them even better.

They were heading up to Tobermory for an afternoon on the water. Snorkelling and swimming.

Sean would stay on the beach.

Small price to pay to see his wife in a bright pink bikini.

Two months ago—hell, a few weeks ago—he’d have wallowed in what he couldn’t do.

Now he drew strength from what he could do.

Namely, make Jenna cry out his name like it was a prayer.

“I think you like everything I wear,” she whispered as he tugged down the shorts, baring her pink-covered bottom.

“True. And everything you don’t too.” He traced the line of her bikini bottoms before tugging those down, too. He left them around her thighs, trapping her legs together as he wrapped his arms around her and stroked his fingers up her neck.

“Just like this,” he whispered in her ear. “Just like Gibraltar.”

She gasped as he eased her forward, onto her elbows.

Jenna bent over the bathroom counter, her pretty pink pussy on display for him between the round curves of her ass—there was nothing sexier in the world.

It wouldn’t be just like Gibraltar, though. Sean wasn’t the same man.

He stroked her gently at first then filled her with his fingers; one, then two. He leaned over her and pressed his cock into her hip. She twisted her head to look at him face-to-face.

Her eyes were glassy and her lips were swollen and pink. “I love you, my wife.”

It didn’t matter that it was different. It was still theirs.

Things weren’t exactly back to normal—he still struggled to maintain an erection, and he hadn’t even tried with her—but he wanted her something fierce.

Orgasms were overrated, he’d come to realize. He’d get there, eventually, but in the meantime, giving her pleasure was more than enough.

“Don’t move, okay?” He grinned at the weak, wobbly groan of consent she gave him. Then he pushed up and just looked at her.

His. Wife.

Fuck, he was lucky.

He lowered himself to his knees behind her and buried his face between her legs.

She cried out, her legs trembling, but she didn’t move. She took it. Every lick and swipe and suck. She took it until she couldn’t hold back, and as she came on his tongue, he felt himself get hard and stay hard.

Fuck, yeah.

Soon. Soon, they would do something about that.

He pressed his face into the back of her thigh and dragged in a rough, hungry breath.

Time for visitors.

Carefully, he pulled himself back up to a stand, and helped her right her clothes again.

She gave him a mock-scolding look that said heaps. She wanted to return the favour. But the thing was, it wasn’t a favour at all. He got a lot out of making love to her with his hands and his mouth, and right now, that was where he was comfortable holding their sex life.

Soon, though.

He took her hand and let her cup him through his shorts. She squeezed the fading strength of an erection, and he pressed into her touch before shifting away to wet a washcloth.

She turned pink as he scrubbed his face, but as soon as he was done, she pressed herself against him and kissed him until they were both breathless.

“That was really hot,” she whispered.

“Mmm.” He sank into her mouth, tasting her excitement. Promising more of the same later. “I should get changed, too. That’s what I was going to do before you distracted me with your shorts.”

She followed him into their room, but after he changed into a pair of swim shorts for their drive up to Mermaid Cove, she disappeared into the other bedroom. What had been her room, when he’d been stupid, and where all her clothes still lived. They needed to rearrange some furniture. He had the better, bigger bed, but she’d had the bigger room, without enough space for two dressers.

That would be his project when she went back to work next week.

He’d surprise her one night when she got home.

When she reappeared in the doorway, she was blushing. “Okay, so—I was—”

Blushing and stammering.

“What is it?” He sat back on the bed and spread his legs. She stepped into the space he made and held out her hand.

When he peeled her fingers open, he found a wooden box in her palm.

His heart thumped hard against his ribs. He opened the lid, knowing what he’d find inside.

Their wedding rings.

“Just like Gibraltar,” she said haltingly. “Maybe it’s time to put these on.”

He took her ring out and rolled it between his fingers before he silently took her hand in his. There was a lump in his throat as he thought about what he wanted to say.

“I made you promises with this ring. And I didn’t live up to them. But I will. I’ve stumbled, but I’m up again. I’m yours again.”

She reached for him, and he let her cup his cheek and tug his gaze up to hers. She smiled through bright, unshed tears. “I love you.”

That was all he needed. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her, and then he put her wedding ring back on her finger.

Jenna didn’t let his hand go very far before she caught it. “Your turn,” she said. She took a deep breath. “I made promises, too. And some of them were based on hypotheticals. We didn’t know it would be so hard, so soon. Now we know. We are stronger together. We are fierce together. And we are happy together.” She beamed at him as she slid his ring onto his finger. “My husband.”

He flexed his hand. “Hey, look at that.” His ring fit. Where it had been too big in Spain, now his finger filled it almost perfectly. “Good job fattening me up, wife.”

She laughed and patted his abs.

Okay, maybe just thickening up, then. He liked this bulkier version of himself. He didn’t need to keep his weight crazy lean for running any more. Now he could pack on a bit of muscle—and eat pie from Mac’s without any guilt.

“Our life is pretty sweet,” he said, squeezing her hand.

She nodded and held his gaze. “It is.”

A knock at the front door interrupted the moment, but Jenna’s squeal was worth it. “They’re here!”

Sean found his cane in the bathroom, where he’d left it before the sex and all it had led to. By the time he made it to the living room, Jenna had their guests inside and was talking a mile a minute about what they had planned.

“And this is Sean,” she said, bringing him into the loop as she gestured to her friends. “Grace and Alex.”

Grace was a stunning redhead, and her partner Alex was a quiet black man who gave Sean an understanding grin. “Nice to meet you, man.”

“Welcome to the peninsula. Jenna says it’s your first trip.”

He nodded. “I’ve been to Collingwood a few times for skiing, but never got quite this far. Same with Grace.”

“Then you’re in for a treat.”

They took Jenna’s car, and on the drive up to Tobermory, Sean discovered Alex was a distance runner, too.

“You ran Western States 100? No shit.” Alex was impressed, and that puffed Sean’s chest a bit, he couldn’t deny it. “That’s hardcore. How’d you get an entry ticket?”

“Lucked into a qualifier win in Colorado. Had my best run ever—in Colorado. I didn’t finish Western States.”

“No shame in that. I watched the live stream this year.”

Sean rubbed his jaw as he thought about doing that. He was surprised that he wasn’t twisted up inside at the thought of watching a premier race from the sidelines. “I should do that next year. More and more races are going to the YouTube coverage, eh?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty slick.”

That gave him another idea for the running coach plan. As they arrived at Mermaid Cove, he pulled out his phone and sent himself an email so he wouldn’t forget.

Earlier they’d packed the car with a thick blanket to lay out on the rocks, a basket of towels and sunscreen, plus a couple of snorkel sets. Sean grabbed those, and Alex carried the picnic basket as the girls led the way—which Sean found hilarious, because Jenna hadn’t been here before, either, but she was in full county hostess mode.

He loved that she’d taken to the peninsula and made it her new home.

She stopped at the water’s edge and turned around. “Okay, who’s going swimming?”

* * *

Jenna wasn’t expecting Sean to set their stuff down, drop his cane, and peel off his t-shirt in that far-too-sexy and super distracting one-handed way of his. “I am.”

She swallowed her concern about that plan—because he was a grown up and fitter than her on his worst day.

He stopped as he got to her and lowered his voice. “Don’t look so worried.”

“I’m not so worried. Just moderately, normal-level of worried.”

“I won’t go out past where I can touch.”

And he smirked.

She gasped at him, and he kissed her before stepping into the bright blue water of Georgian Bay.

“Yes,” he hissed. “That’s the good stuff right there.” He rolled his head back and sighed. “You cold motherfucker, I’ve missed you.”

Well, who could argue with that?

Grace stopped beside her and winced. “Is it really cold?”

Alex went in next. “Yep,” he yelped, but then he grinned. “Come on in, sweetheart.”

Grace shook her head. “I’m going to catch a bit of sun first.”

Jenna dipped her toe in, then back right up. “Okay, so sun sounds good.”

Grace laughed as they stretched out on the blanket. “Besides, now I can get right to the real good stuff. How are things going? You look ridiculously in love.”

“We are.” Jenna didn’t care that she was blushing. “I really feel like I’ve got him back, you know?”

Her friend nodded. “I’m glad for you.”

Jenna looked out at the men, who were now lower in the water. As promised, Sean wasn’t that far from shore.

“I gotta say, given how you described his injuries, he’s doing really well.”

“He’s been working so hard on his recovery. The last two months have just been an explosion of ability. But don’t be fooled—he’s masking a lot, too.” She frowned, then sighed and puffed her cheeks out. “He’s just stubborn and independent. And he hates sympathy. Can’t handle it.”

“Sounds like someone else I know.”

Jenna laughed. “Maybe a little.”

“So without any sympathy, just friend to friend… how are you doing? Besides obviously getting laid like a queen.”

Jenna blushed.

“Damn, girl. Look at you. Zero to sixty in just a few months.”

“Zero to thirty, maybe.”

“Pardon?”

Jenna looked at the blanket and picked at invisible fuzz. Why had she said that out loud? “We haven’t…The intimacy is different now.”

Grace didn’t say anything. That. That’s why she’d said something. Because Grace was a safe listener and Jenna wasn’t going to talk about sex with her gentle therapist.

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s good.” Good Lord, her cheeks were hot now. “It’s great, really. He’s very…thoroughly attentive. But it’s in both of our natures not to dwell too much on the negative. That’s one way to spin it, anyway.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Grace nod. “What’s the other way?”

Jenna stuck her tongue out at her friend. “Neither of us is comfortable talking about where it’s not going well.”

“Why is that?”

Jenna didn’t know. She’d never had any problem talking about sex with any of her other partners. And when they were in bed, it was fine—she could talk about sex during sex with Sean. Tell him what she wanted and what she liked. “The stakes are higher,” she finally said. “They’re everything. I think with previous partners, it didn’t matter so much if I said the wrong thing, or we weren’t compatible. I never saw anyone as my forever partner. But Sean is it for me. I love him. He’s my other half, literally for better or for worse. And I don’t want to hurt him. I think he probably feels the same way.”

“Yeah. That makes a lot of sense.” Grace nodded. “And it’s probably unhelpful bullshit, too, since it’s causing you grief now.”

“Hey!” But Jenna laughed. “I didn’t want to hear that.”

“Yes you did. Otherwise you wouldn’t have brought it up. Just talk to him. Avoiding the topic doesn’t make it go away. Do you think he’s not aware that it’s not all hunky dory?”

No. He knew. And he was carrying all the weight of that responsibility when he didn’t need to. “Stop being so smart. It’s annoying.”

“Speaking of annoying…have you told your mother yet that you’re actually married to this boy you like in Pine Harbour?”

Jenna threw her napkin at Grace’s head. “No.”

“You might want to do that some time before the grand babies arrive.”

“I regret inviting you up here.” But she didn’t, at all, because Grace was exactly the echo of reason she needed right now.

It was time to put on her big girl panties and have some tough conversations.

But first, she needed to swim with her love in an ice cold lake.

And then they’d go in search of fish and chips served by pirates.

* * *

After an afternoon in the sun, and dinner on the picnic tables outside Castaway Pete’s they came home and opened a bottle of wine.

Sean liked Jenna’s friends—no surprise—and the conversation flowed smoothly. But something was bothering Jenna.

“What’s on your mind?” he finally asked when they had a few minutes alone in the kitchen.

“Grace reminded me that I need to update my mom. About us.”

“Ah.”

“Time kind of slipped away from me and now it’s been a while and…”

And her mother was a mother, and worried. Maybe more specifically than other mothers. Sean didn’t know what to say. “Do you want to call her tonight?”

“Maybe.”

“Let’s go put on a movie. And if you decide to slip away, I’ll know why. Do you want me to be there or would that be more awkward?”

She sighed. “It’ll be a whole thing. I’ll do it on my own.”

So he gave her a supportive smile when she excused herself mid-movie, but after twenty minutes passed, he left Grace and Alex watching in the living room and followed Jenna onto the back deck. Now he was worried she was trapped in a difficult conversation.

When he eased the door open, she wiggled her fingers at him, but the rest of her body was wound tight and stressed out.

So was her voice. “Mom, I hear what you’re saying, but—” He sat in the chair next to her and held out his hand. She took it as she exhaled roughly. “I’m thirty. I’m not—”

She gave him a pained look and pulled the phone away from her ear. She pressed the mute button. “I haven’t been able to get a complete sentence out for the last ten minutes.”

“Offer for us to come and visit her. Or she can come here, if she’d like. We can pay for her ticket.”

Jenna shrugged weakly. “Maybe.” She un-muted the phone and held it back to her ear. And listened, for quite a while.

“Are you done?” she finally asked. “I kept it a secret because I knew this is exactly how you would react. I apologize for not telling you sooner.” Her eyes went wide. “Well, I’m glad you didn’t come out here. That would have been difficult when he was recovering. But you could come now, if you’d like. We’d be happy to pay for your ticket.”

Sean tapped his chest.

Jenna shook her head, but he nodded. Yes.

She sighed. “Mom, Sean’s sitting next to me, and he wants it to be clear that he’s offering to pay for your ticket, not me. Although I would, too.” She laughed. “I know, I told him no, but he doesn’t understand.” She looked at him. “Kowalczyk women pay their own way. It’s a rule.”

He grinned at her. “That’s a good rule, but I’m still offering.”

“Yeah, that’s him. No, you can’t speak to him.” She rolled her eyes. “Because we are in the middle of an argument, Mother. Yes, an argument. We do not agree that I am a responsible, grown woman who can make her own decisions in life.”

Sean tried to fill in the gaps of the conversation from the squeaks of noise coming from Jenna’s phone. “You may be a grown woman but that doesn’t stop you from making mistakes.”

“Sean isn’t—Mom, come visit. Okay?”

“We’ll see.”

“Or not. Your choice. We can also come to you. Sean loves the west coast.” She took a deep breath. “He’s run a lot of races out there. And you know he’s a fan of the prime minister’s, too. Maybe we can visit when the PM is in his home riding.”

Sean covered his mouth to keep his laugh from barking out. It had taken her twenty-five minutes, but she’d stooped to emotional manipulation.

Jenna was kind and sweet and perfect, but even she had limits when it came to parental intrusion into her personal life.

Sean approved.

She was grimacing as she hung up the phone. “I’m going to hell for misdirecting her like that.”

“But was she suitably impressed by the reminder that I once let the nation’s leader kick my ass in road hockey?”

“Let?”

He grinned. “Losers never share their secrets.” He pulled her tight and brushed his lips against his ear. “Except with their wives, of course. No, he won fair and square. The guy has game.”

“Now I’ve boxed us into having to go visit her.”

“But you were right—I do love the west coast. We’ll go as soon as you can get some time off.”

“In September, maybe. I have a client due at the start of the month, but I think I can block a week off at the end.”

“It’s a plan.” He kissed her mouth softly. “Anything else on your mind tonight?”

She hesitated before she shook her head. Just for a second, the tiniest of freezes. “No,” she said. “Nothing else I want to talk about tonight.”

Not exactly the same thing.

Sean stretched his legs wide and patted his thigh. “Come here.”

She crawled into his lap and he wrapped his arms around her.

“We should get back inside,” she whispered.

“Yeah.” But there was something on her mind that she didn’t want to talk about tonight. His brain hadn’t lost the ability to parse the difference between words. “Soon. I just want to hold you for a minute.”

He couldn’t, wouldn’t push her to talk.

But he could and would try even harder to be all she needed.