When Stars Fall [EBOOK and PAPERBACK PUBLISHED]

33. Ellie - Present Day

I tuck my breasts into my teeny-tiny bikini and hope that nipple-gate doesn't happen on top of baby-gate. Or I guess child-gate? Although, my breasts might take the focus off Haven. My brain is fried, and I haven't even stepped into the glare of the sun, the glare of the cameras. Wyatt's right. They'll be there whether I see them or not. I hope we're good enough actors to make our relationship seem like all of this is routine, normal.

I make my way down to the water where Wyatt and Haven are laughing and screaming. Her high-pitched voice paired with his deeper tone is like hearing music for the first time. I want to stand and soak in the sound, relish every note.

For a moment, concealed by the trees, I close my eyes, take a deep breath and allow myself to pretend this life is normal. Wyatt's deep laugh reverberates around the cove below. My heart swells. His laugh, his genuine one, wakes up my body. I press my palm to my chest and rub, like the memories are a spot I can scrub out, as if the ache will just disappear with enough effort. Ten years of repressed feelings. They won't go away, nothing and no one makes me feel this way except the man himself.

When I step out onto the rocky shore, he spots me and swims over. He scoops me up and tosses me into the deeper water. I laugh as I fly through the air. I emerge to Haven's giggles.

"He's been doing that to me, too, Mom. It's so fun. He can throw me so far."

I smile at Haven and then stroke my way to shallower water. Wyatt takes Haven, counts her off and throws her out again. He does make it look easy. He wades over to me while she plays in the water, a school of fish looping around her ankles. Wrapping his arm around my waist, he guides me to his side. Bending his head, he whispers, "Relax. You're better than this."

Under my lashes, I glance up at him, and he sucks in a sharp breath. Rising on my toes, I kiss his cheek. "Better?" I murmur, letting our bodies slide together.

"Almost." He tugs me flush against him. His light eyes darken as he puts his hands on either side of my face. Gently, he kisses my forehead and then my cheek. When Haven gets close, he releases me so quickly I'd have stumbled if we were on land. Luckily, the water saves me from looking like too much of a fool. "Again?" he asks her, grinning.

"And again, and again, and again." Haven's smile matches his. "This is so fun."

He picks her up, the muscles in his back rippling. Over his shoulder, after he's released her, he says to me, "Haven said something about a tube?"

"Oh." I'm startled out of my thoughts about his thick muscles, his toned back, how good he is with our daughter, a natural, as though the years have fallen away. For a moment, I could almost believe we'd always been like this. My mind is going to places, to memories it has no business journeying to. "Um, I'll get it."

He takes my wrist gently, pulling me close again so his lips graze my ear. "Let me get it. If I look like I know what I'm doing, anyone watching will think I've been here a lot."

"Right." I stare at his chest, afraid to make eye contact. He'll know exactly what I've been thinking about if I look up. Reading me, when he was sober enough, was second nature.

"Ellie." His voice dips low, the tone weakening my knees.

Why does my name from his lips sound so much better than with anyone else? I glance up, unable to resist. My heart lodges in my throat. Our gazes lock, and I long to rise onto my toes, press my lips to his, see if the chemistry is still there.

He scans my face, a knowing smirk quirks up one corner of his lips. "Where's the tube?"

"In the little storage shed, on the far corner of the cliff face." My words are breathy. My voice hasn't sounded like that without me doing it on purpose in years. God, I could rip his clothes off right here. My eyes half flutter as he dips his head into my neck.