The Coast is Clear (Breakaway Shores #1)

Izzy

Fire

“How are they possibly going to make a high-end dinner with a can of asparagus and marshmallows? I mean, that just seems cruel,” Zander spoke passionately, his hand waving toward the ceiling.

I pulled at the pillow behind me, leaning back in my bed. There was a boy in my bed. And I didn’t hate it. I’d really tried to lean into sleeping alone and enjoying the space when the boys actually slept through the night. But I liked having Zander next to me, his fingers interlocked with mine. “That’s the whole point of the show.” Zander scoffed, and I continued, “I would make a puree with the canned asparagus and add in fresh asparagus, too. Easy play.”

Zander chuckled. “But the marshmallows?”

“Use them in a sauce? Melt them down, maybe and do like a sweet and spicy thing? I’ve seen too many of these.” Which was true. There was something about the Food Network that was so comforting to me, especially after Jack died. I loved to watch these chefs make incredible food from ingredients that were sometimes just ridiculous.

“Now I’m hungry,” Zander said as he sat up.

“For what?” I sat up, running my hands over my soft leggings that I’d put on when I’d gotten cold.

We’d showered together, which had been amazing. I’d never thought that I’d love just showering with someone so much.

“I would settle for just a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.” Zander stood, stretching his arms above his head, which gave me a glimpse of his abdomen. The same tan skin that I’d washed a couple of hours ago.

“Let’s go.”

I checked on the boys on our way down. Christian’s fever felt a touch cooler, and Kingston was sleeping soundly. I was prepared for an early morning since they went to bed right after dinner. Zander was already in the process of making sandwiches for us when I got downstairs, and we ate in almost silence, standing close together.

Zander held his sandwich in the air and turned to me. “I would use the liquid nitrogen that that one guy is always using to freeze the marshmallows. Then, I would grind them up because they are always grinding things up. Then, I would fry it, maybe. It could be delicious on top of some scallops or a steak or something.” A smile filled his face, and he looked at me expectantly.

He was so excited about his idea, and all I could do was set my sandwich down with one hand and put my other on his neck, pulling him close to mine. “That’s so smart. I’d give you ten in gameplay.”

“Oh yeah?” Zander put a hand on my hips, dropping his sandwich on the paper towel. Our legs fit together as we stood, so there was no empty space between us. “What score would this get me?”

His lips skimmed across mine before moving down my neck. Zander’s hands settled on my backside, giving me a light squeeze. I fell into him, sparks erupting under my skin.

“Maybe an eight and a half,” I whispered against his hair, running my hands down the curve of his back. Zander’s head shot up. His eyes filled with a fire that made all of me warm. I pulled his face to mine, needing to feel his lips. The kiss was more urgent, his tongue finding its way into mine. He grabbed me, lifting me up, and I wrapped my legs around him. Our kiss didn’t stop, and I never wanted it to end. Zander brought us to the couch, sitting down softly. I adjusted my legs so I was straddling him, and Zander kissed my neck again. It set my entire body on fire. I pulled away to catch my breath and rested my forehead on his .

He ran his fingers up and down my back and let out a shaky breath. “Things escalated quickly there.”

As we sat there, entangled on the couch where my firstborn had been lying earlier, I thought of Natalie, which was a total buzzkill. But her comment about Zander earlier was still nagging me. “Question for a question?” I offered up, still pressed against him.

“Yeah.”

“Natalie said something weird to me today. She said you didn’t want to get married or have any kids, and that’s why you broke up. Is that true?”

Zander sat back and I met his eyes. He shrugged. “I was in a different place with Natalie, you know? I was getting ready to send Dee off to college. I think that I liked the idea of marriage, but maybe not with Natalie. Before her, I had a handful of other relationships. Some were longer, and a couple of them were really short. I dated women who knew who I was, the football star, so I’m not really sure they wanted to be with me, but just like what being with me put them around. I feel like since I’ve been single, I’ve really been trying to figure out what I actually want.”

“And you’ve been honest with me?”

He nodded, and everything about his face made me feel like he was being genuine.

“Okay, I have two questions now.” He stretched his neck, “What was Jack like?” The question took my breath away. I wasn’t sure why. I loved talking about Jack; it kept his memory present and very much alive. I loved that Zander was asking about him, and so I settled in. Telling him about Jack and about his favorite movies. How he loved to sing off-key to make me laugh. How he wrestled with Christian and stomped around the house so he wasn’t the only dinosaur around. How he had a little bit of an adrenaline junkie streak and would jump off every cliff that had a body of water underneath it. I told him that Jack hated when I left my clothes inside out and was the only one who ever vacuumed our house. I wasn’t sure how long I talked, but Zander’s attention stayed on me the entire time until my eyes started to get heavy.

He kissed me softly on the lips when I was done, shifting us so we could lie down. “I wish I could have met him. I’d thank him for loving you so much.”