Her eyes looked into mine. “I love you, Luke.”
Pulling out almost all the way, I pushed back into her hard. She threw her head back and began calling out my name as I felt my own release explode. I lifted her and gently pulled out as I set her back down onto the sand.
Our breathing was out of control as Libby leaned against the wall with my arms on either side of her head as I attempted to catch my breath.
Libby finally smiled the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen. “That. Was. Amazing.”
I laughed and nodded my head. “Sure as hell was.”
“I want more.”
My smiled faded as I stared at her. “W—what?”
She nodded her head and wrapped her arms around my neck. “Last night and this morning was more than I could have ever dreamed of. This though—this was beyond amazing. This was sexy as hell and I want to do this as much as we possibly can.”
I let out the breath I was holding and smiled. Thank God she wasn’t meaning she wanted to be fucked again, because my guy was exhausted from last night, this morning and our little fuck fest just now.
“I’m pretty damn sure I can arrange for a lot more fucking time in between the lovemaking.”
Libby kissed my lips and quickly pulled them away. “I’m starving now!”
Libby and I quickly got dressed. Reaching down, I picked her up and carried her back out to our picnic. We spent the next hour eating, talking, laughing, and discussing the future—our future. Together.
THE COLD WATER ran over my head, causing me to let out a moan with the relief it provided from the heat. “Damn it’s so hot out,” I said as I wiped the sweat from my forehead.
“Welcome back home, son. One week at the beach and you turned into a pussy.”
I turned and looked at my father and shook my head. “Pussy? I’m out here, aren’t I? Where the hell are Colt and Will?”
My father shrugged his shoulders as he laughed. “I told them to take the day off.”
My mouth dropped open. “What? Why in the hell would you do that?”
Looking over at me, my father winked. “I wanted to talk to you.”
Hell. This wasn’t going to be good.
Walking over toward him, I picked up the fence pullers. “About what?”
He grabbed the wire cutters. “Libby.”
I stopped moving. I watched as my father went about his work as if nothing he just said should cause me to worry. He told Colt and Will to take the day off. He had me out here working in the damn heat of the day. He wants to talk about Libby. I began spinning around, looking for Josh. Was Josh here?
“What in the hell are you doing? What are you looking for?”
I spun around and looked at my father. “Is Josh here?”
My father lifted his eyebrow. “Should he be here, Son?”
I stared at my father. “Um, is that a trick question, Dad?” I looked around again before looking back at my father. Rolling his eyes, my father mumbled something under his breath. He threw down his wire cutters and walked over to the back of his truck. He opened the cooler and pulled out two beers. Tossing one to me, he motioned for me to sit down.
Beer. Alone time with my dad. Something was fixin’ to go down.
“Dad, just come out and say it.”
He popped open the beer and took a drink. “Tell me about you and Libby.”
Walking over, I jumped and sat next to him on the tailgate. I couldn’t help but smile. “Ah hell, Luke. I’ve seen that goofy-ass smile before.”
Turning, I looked at him with a questioning look. He threw his head back and laughed. “I’ve seen it on my own face.” Nodding, I tipped the beer back against my lips. “It sure took y’all enough time to get together.”
My smile faded. “Yeah, that would be my fault.”
Raising his eyebrows my father asked, “How so?”
I shook my head. “Where should I start? I was afraid of my feelings for Libby, so I acted like an asshole. I pushed her away and into the arms of another guy. I hurt her more times than I care to think about.” Glancing at my father I asked, “Should I keep going?”
He smiled and let out a throaty laugh. “Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, that’s for sure.”
I chuckled. “I’m going to take that as a good sign though. Seeing how happy you and Mom are, Lib and I would be lucky to have a love like yours.”
My father smiled and his eyes sparkled. Anytime I mentioned my mother to him, his eyes lit up. “May I offer you some advice?”
“Yes, always, Dad.”
He took another drink of his beer and looked straight ahead as if he was recollecting something.
He inhaled a breath and slowly blew it out. “No matter how bad things seem to be, never give up on your love. Fight for it with all you’ve got, Luke. There were times your mother had me wanting to pull my hair out—many, many times.”
I laughed as I took another drink of my beer. “I feel a ‘but’ coming.”
Nodding his head, my father said, “Your mother saved me, Luke. I tell her all the time if it hadn’t been for her love, I’m not sure what I would have done. Life without her is not an option.”
Looking straight ahead, I let his words sink in. “I feel the same way about Libby. I think I’ve been in love with her for so long, the idea of actually doing something about it scared the hell out of me. I kept thinking if it didn’t work out I’d not only being losing the love of my life, but I’d be losing my best friend as well.”
Laughing my father shook his head. “It’s like I’m listening to my younger self.” Turning, he looked at me with a serious look. “Do everything in your power, Son, to never hurt her again.”
Swallowing hard, I nodded my head. “Yes, sir.”
He nodded his head and looked away. “I know you won’t, because if I don’t kick your ass first, I know Josh will.”
I let out a nervous laugh. “Yeah, for some reason Josh scares the piss out of me now.” My father threw his head back and laughed his ass off. “Trust me, someday, when you have a daughter, you’ll understand.”
My heart dropped to my stomach. I had never thought about kids before. Ever. That was the last thing on my mind. The idea of having a baby with Libby filled my heart with excitement. I smiled as I pictured Libby pregnant.
My father jumped off the tailgate and pointed at me. “No. Stop it right now, Luke Johnson. Right now.”