In the parking lot in front of the administrative building, Luke sat in his Rover with the windows down. The strains of a country song she didn’t recognize floated through the air. She headed toward the car as he slid out and walked around to meet her. Embry gave him a once-over. In flip flops, worn blue jeans, a black tee that hugged every muscle, and his eyes hidden behind aviators, he looked downright edible.

Luke practically rushed Embry, sweeping her into his arms and nuzzling her neck. “Hi, beautiful.”

All questions and insecurities melted from her mind as his arms tightened around her. “Hey there,” she said, kissing his cheek.

Luke continued to stand in the parking lot, holding Embry off the ground.

“Um, Luke? Can you put me down?

“Nope, don’t want to. I haven’t seen you all week. This feels nice.”

“It’s good to see you, too,” Embry said, wiggling in his arms, “but you’re cutting off the blood flow to my lower extremities.”

“Fine, we need all extremities in working order.” Luke set her down and shot her one of his stunning smiles. He helped Embry up into the SUV before leaning in for a quick kiss. “You look beautiful.”

“Thanks. You do, too.”

Luke chuckled then shook his head and walked around to his side of the car.

“What?” Embry asked, after he hopped in.

“You called me beautiful.”

“Well you are.”

“No, I’m a man,” Luke said. “We’re rugged and burly. You can’t just go around calling rugged, burly men beautiful.”

“Hah, whatever. I’ll pick another adjective so I don’t risk stealing your man card and damaging your burly, manly ego. You look sexy.”

Luke looked at Embry over his sunglasses. “Now that’s more like it. Buckle up, sweetheart.” He twined his fingers with hers and eased out of the parking lot.

“Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“You know how I feel about surprises,” Embry complained.

“Yep. Which makes it even more fun to surprise you.”

Embry let out an exasperated breath, released Luke’s hand, and crossed her arms.

Luke grabbed her hand again and pulled it to his mouth, brushing his lips across her knuckles. He shot her a sideways look. “You really want to know?”

Embry perked up, excited. “Yes, please!”

“Well I guess it’s not really a surprise. I want you to myself for a few hours, so I figured we’d drive around aimlessly. That way there’s no way Morg—”

“Don’t say it!” Embry lunged to cover Luke’s mouth with her hand.

“Don’t say what?” Luke mumbled beneath her hand.

“Don’t say her name. You’ll jinx us! She’s like State Farm. You say her name, and she appears out of thin air!” Embry said through her laughter.

She removed her hand from Luke’s mouth and settled back in her seat. Morgan had a knack for interrupting Luke and Embry whenever they were together. Whether she was inviting herself along for lunch, showing up unannounced, or calling, she always found a way to make herself known. Embry didn’t mind, but she was looking forward to some one-on-one time with Luke.

“That’s how she does it, huh?”

Embry nodded. “You really aren’t going to tell me where we’re going?”

“Nope.”

Embry looked around the interior of the car, searching for anything that might give her a hint.

“If you’re looking for hints, you won’t find anything in here to help you.”

Embry rolled her eyes. “Can I guess?”

“You can. But I won’t tell you.”

“You’re impossible.”

“And you’re adorable.”

“Well I hope you plan on doing more than driving around,” Embry scoffed. “There won’t be much to interrupt if that’s all we’re doing.”

Luke let out a hearty laugh then leveled his full gaze on Embry. “In that case, beautiful”—he said, resting his hand on her bare leg—”I’ll have to make sure we do something worthy of interruption.”

Embry felt the heat rise to her cheeks. “I think I’d like that.”

Luke squeezed her leg. He turned up the stereo, and the voice coming through the speakers was singing something about chillin’ on a dirt road. Embry fished her sunglasses out of her purse and settled into the comfortable leather seat. With the caress of the breeze on her skin and Luke tapping on her leg to the beat of the song, she thought she might just like country music after all.

They made their way south to Sunrise Highway and then headed east. After driving for a while, Embry wondered how far he intended to go.

“Where on earth are you taking me?”

“To your favorite place.”

“But my favorite place is—”

“Cupsogue Beach, I know,” Luke said with a smug grin.

“How did you … Morgan?”

“No, you told me on the phone a few weeks ago. You were talking about how much you missed the ocean when you lived in Gainesville and told me all about your favorite beach.”

Embry stared at Luke in wonder. “I can’t believe you remembered that.”

“I remember everything you say, beautiful.”

Embry’s face split into a huge grin.

Thirty minutes later, they were driving down Dune Road, surrounded by gorgeous beach houses and mansions. The smell of the ocean brought Embry back to her childhood and made her feel at home.

She took a deep breath, sucking in the salty air, and turned to Luke. “You smell that?”

“The ocean?”

“Yeah.” Embry let out a contented sigh and leaned her head back. “It smells like home. I haven’t been here since I moved back. Thank you.”

Luke remained quiet, but Embry saw a small smile tugging at his lips. They pulled into the parking lot, and Luke walked around to help Embry from the car. He pulled her into his arms, hugging her before setting her down. Then he opened the rear hatch and grabbed a blanket, two sweatshirts, and a small cooler.

“Ah ha!” Embry said. “There were clues in the Rover! I just didn’t look far enough.”

Luke shrugged, grinning. “You got me.”

Embry trailed a few steps behind him on their way to the beach, admiring the view. His faded blue jeans fit his ass perfectly, and the muscles in his back flexed as he walked. Luke stopped short, and Embry nearly ran into his back.

“Come on, pokey,” he teased. “What are you doing back there?”

She was totally caught and didn’t mind. “Admiring the view.”

Luke chuckled, shaking his head as he continued toward the beach. It was a gorgeous afternoon. The perfect ocean breeze made it just a bit chilly, but the sun was out in full force. They walked over the boardwalk and took the stairs down to the beach. Embry kicked off her flats and nearly squealed in delight at the feel of sand beneath her feet. Luke spread out the blanket and moved a few things around in the cooler as Embry wandered down to the water’s edge. She let the seawater wash over her feet as she stared out into the blue. She hadn’t had the time to even think about the beach since starting law school.

She couldn’t believe how much had changed in just a few weeks. When she came home for law school, she’d never planned to meet someone. Long Island was the last place she thought she’d find a guy worth her time. But somehow she found an amazing, intelligent, gorgeous man—her “southern sexy” as Morgan started calling him. She had no idea how it happened, but she was glad she had given him a chance.

Embry was startled out of her thoughts by Luke’s arms wrapping around her waist. “Hey, you,” she said.

“Hey, yourself. Deep in thought?”

“Yep.”

“Wanna share?”

Embry turned to face Luke. Looking into his eyes, she saw so much there, but she wasn’t quite ready to share what was on her mind. “Just thinking about how nice this is,” she said, pushing up on her toes and placing a kiss on his lips.

Luke kissed her back and grabbed her hand. “Come with me.” He pulled her back toward the blanket.

Luke sat down, his arms resting on his knees, and Embry settled between his legs, her back to his front. He swept her hair aside and rested his chin on her shoulder.