“Ah, Mer …” He wrapped her up tight and kissed her passionately. Their lifejackets kept them afloat but also kept them from getting as close as he wanted.
Hoots and hollers finally got them to stop kissing, but he kept her close and whispered in her ear. “We’re talking about this later.”
“I like the way we talk,” she said back. “So, I get to surf on your shoulders?” she asked.
He laughed. “Do you want to?”
“For sure. But … I’ve never surfed.”
“You surfed on my back in Mystical Lake.” He gave her a squeeze. “Don’t worry. I’ve got you.”
She grinned. “I know you do.”
Taylee slid his surf board into the water and said, “Are you two lovebirds ready?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Cruz winked at Taylee. “Did you and Cat set this up?”
“Yes, sir. Cat tracked her down late last night and convinced her to drive here. I got her the hotel and figured out her dramatic entrance.” She winked at Meredith who gave her a thumbs up.
“You’re getting another raise,” Cruz told her.
She gave him a grin and turned to the boat with the camera crew. The new guy was catching on quick. Scott and a teenage spotter from the camp were in Cruz’s boat. The teenager tossed them a rope.
Cruz pulled Meredith around in front of him and slid his arm underneath her jacket, savoring the feel of her firm abdomen. “Okay,” he whispered in her ear. “I’ll tell you what to do. You trust me, right?”
She glanced back at him. “Yes, I do.”
Cruz’s mouth went dry. He had a sudden vision of her saying those words in front of her dad and all of their loved ones back in Mystical Lake.
“You okay?” she asked.
“You ready?” Scott called to him.
“I’m okay,” Cruz said. “More than okay.” Somehow, he was rearranging his schedule to be in Mystical Lake more and talking her into hiring a manager for her shop so she could travel with him as often as possible. The next item on his list was buying a ring and hearing her say, Yes, I do, again.
He laid back in the water and held on to the rope with his right hand and her with his left, laying his heels on the board. “Okay, Mer, bend your knees up into your chest and put your feet between mine.” She complied perfectly. “Now hold on to the rope and the boat will pull us up.”
She clung tightly to the rope.
“Hit it,” he told Scott.
He pressed down on the board with his heels, and the boat easily popped them onto their feet. They were skimming down the wave, and Meredith let out the cutest scream. Cruz laughed and guided them with the rope into the smooth trough of the wave. This top of the line surf boat’s motor purred softly, and surfing speed was only around eleven miles per hour, so he could easily talk to Meredith without yelling over the wind or a loud engine.
“Okay, love, here’s the tricky part.”
She looked back at him, so beautiful and trusting and his, all his. He’d never been so happy in his life. “We kiss while we surf?”
“Sure.” He bent down while she twisted back, and they kissed.
He heard cheering on the dock, and the board wobbled. Cruz balanced them and clung to the rope with one hand.
She pulled back, and her face was determined. “Time for me to climb onto your shoulders?”
“Yes, it is. So, you’re going to crouch down and go behind me. Then just climb on up. Easy.” He’d done this trick with all size of people and sometimes a teenager and a small child at once, but usually they had more experience on a surf board. He was determined he and Mer could do it. He’d achieved everything in his life through his determination, and he wasn’t going to fail on this one.
“Easy,” she repeated but her voice was wobbly.
Cruz held on to the rope as she went low and between his legs. The board wobbled, but he kept the weight evenly distributed, counteracting each movement she made with his experience and balance. She stood slowly behind him. “Whew.”
“That’s definitely the hardest part,” he told her.
“You’re the eternal optimist, aren’t you?” she asked.
“Fake it till you make it, baby.”
She laughed. Then she grasped his shoulders and started climbing. Cruz fought hard and stayed steady on the board as her weight shifted them one direction and then another. She yanked backward as she tried to get one leg onto his shoulder. Only the balance he’d perfected through the years and clinging desperately to the rope kept them from plunging off the board.
“You got this,” he told her. “You’re doing great.”
She didn’t reply but wrenched on his head as she got her other leg onto his shoulder. She straightened and sat up as if they were ready for a chicken war. “Yes!” she screamed. “Yes, we did it!”
Cruz held on to the rope with one hand and wrapped the other around her left leg as she sat on his shoulders. “You’re amazing,” he told her.
“No, you are.”
“I love you,” he said.
“No, I love you.”
The teenager in the boat was laughing at them. “You two are cheesy,” he said.
They both laughed. “Just you wait,” Cruz told him. “Someday you’ll meet the most incredible woman in the world and be so in love you can hardly stand it.”
“Ah,” Meredith said above him. She bent down in front of his face and kissed him.
Cruz returned the upside-down kiss and forgot all about balancing their combined weight. The board shot out from under them. They flew into the water, both getting dunked. He surfaced and swam quickly to her as the boat stopped a short distance away and swung around to them.
“You okay?” he asked.
“That was fun.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in closer. “But this is more fun.”
Then she kissed him. Cruz completely agreed. His tricks were a fun thrill, but nothing was as thrilling, fun, or fulfilling as Meredith. Finally, he had what he’d always wanted in his life. Finally, he was complete, and the only voices in his head were heaven above and Meredith’s.
I hope you loved Cruz and Meredith’s story! Find all the Mystical Lake Resort Romances below and keep reading for excerpts of Only Her Cowboy and Only Her Blue-Collar Billionaire. Thanks for reading!
Hugs,
Cami
Mystical Lake Resort Romance
Only Her Undercover Spy
Only Her Cowboy
Only Her Best Friend
Only Her Blue-Collar Billionaire
Only Her Injured Stuntman
Only Her Beastly Fake Fiancé
Only Her Hockey Legend
Only Her Smokejumper Firefighter
Only Her Cowboy
Meredith looked across the park toward Main Street. Cat didn’t know if she was avoiding her gaze and her questions, but something had caught her gaze. She whistled low and murmured, “Hot cowboy at your six o’clock.”
Hot cowboy? Cat’s blood ran hotter even as cold chills pricked her skin. There was only one hot cowboy in this town and she didn’t want to look at or talk to him, ever. She slowly spun and there he was, easing out of his big old truck. Stetson Stillwater. She’d make fun of his too-typical cowboy name if it wasn’t so sexy and didn’t fit him so well.