Toward the French doors.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

Jacob didn’t answer. He kept walking then dipped down to open the door.

Out we went with me crying, “Jacob! What are you—?”

I didn’t get it all out. He made it to the edge of the pool, pulled me from his body even as I tried to keep hold and easily tossed me right into the water.

Fully clothed.

I came up spluttering, pulling my hair from my face and shouting, “Are you insane?”

Standing at the side of the pool, hands on hips, smiling, Jacob declared, “Just sayin’, anytime you mention socializing medical care, you get tossed in the drink.”

“You are insane!” I yelled, swiping an arm across the water in hopes of splashing him but I was too far away and thus failed.

He kept smiling.

Then he yanked his shirt over his head and I watched with some awe as he bent his knees and took off. His long straight body knifing through the air, it sliced into the water as he executed a perfect dive.

God. He could even dive perfectly.

In jeans.

Or maybe it was perfect because it was hot he was doing it in jeans.

Or maybe it was just hot because he was joining me.

I treaded water as he swam under it and came up in front of me, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me to him as he did.

I again grabbed his shoulders and wrapped my legs around his hips.

“I’m glad we’re moving to my house,” I announced. “I don’t have a pool so when you don’t want to concede a valid, and I’ll just note, accurate point, you can’t toss me into it.”

“Emme,” he said.

“What?” I snapped.

“Take off your sweater,” he ordered.

I watched his face in the tranquil, revolving colors of the pool lights and noticed my man was not in the mood to discuss political ideology.

Suddenly, I wasn’t either.

So I pulled off my sweater.

* * *

An hour later…

Jacob powering inside me, my back to the wall of the pool, my face in his neck, our soggy clothes strewn around the pool deck, my legs wrapped around his hips, he stated, “This summer, we’re puttin’ a pool in at your place, south side.”

“Okay,” I breathed instantly.

“And we’re not namin’ our puppy Josephine.”

He kept powering up as I pulled my face out of his neck in order to look at him.

“What?”

He rammed in, I whimpered, he stopped so I whimpered again.

“We’re namin’ her Daisy Mae.”

I felt my eyes get wide as my legs quivered and I repeated my question from earlier, “Are you insane?”

“Nope.”

“A Rottie,” he stroked, I stopped talking, he did it again and stayed planted so I kept going, “is,” he pulled out then drove up again, I bit my lip then powered on, “a noble breed. We can’t name a noble dog Daisy Mae.”

He ground up and that felt so good my hand slid into his wet hair and fisted.

“Josephine doesn’t go with Buford,” he told me.

“So?” I asked.

Keeping one arm around me, his other hand slid over my belly, down and in.

Then his thumb hit me.

My head fell back and my entire body quivered.

“She’s Daisy Mae,” Jacob declared.

“Please move,” I whispered.

“I will, you agree she’s Daisy Mae.”

He was. He was totally insane.

Or he was intent on driving me that way.

I righted my head. “That’s not fair.”

His thumb twitched and I moaned.

“Daisy Mae,” he repeated.

“Ja—”

His thumb slid away and my eyes went wide as my arms and legs tensed around him.

“Jacob!”

“What’s our dog’s name?”

“Please move,” I begged. “And I want your thumb back. We’ll talk about this later.”

His lips came to mine, they were curved up and his eyes were dancing. There was something about having Jacob buried deep inside me, the warm waters of a pool lapping around our na**d bodies, and his eyes dancing with humor that was completely and totally amazing. A moment to remember. Forever.

Have mercy.

“Say it. Daisy Mae,” he ordered.

“Right. Okay. Whatever. We can insult her by calling her Daisy Mae.”

His smiling mouth took mine, his tongue sliding inside, as his thumb honed in and he surged out then up, again planting himself deep but this time doing it without stopping.

I forgot about Daisy Mae.

I forgot about everything.

And it would be fifteen glorious minutes before rational thought came back and it occurred to me I didn’t really care our puppy was called Daisy Mae. That was actually kind of cute.

And more, I was super happy we were putting in a pool at my place.

But I was never going to tell Jacob that I hoped it was heated.

* * *

Thirteen months later…

The door opened and I saw my dad stick his head in.

He jerked his chin up.

I grinned at him then looked across the room to see Faye, as planned, had my mother’s undivided attention.

Mom would freak if she knew what I was doing.

When my sister got married, she’d done the same thing.

Mom and Dad let their kids live their lives but when it came to their weddings, they stepped in, or I should say Mom stepped in, and demanded tradition. A church. A white or, if necessary (as I deemed it was), ivory gown. A reception line. Formal photographs. Proper speeches. And Jacob had been told in no uncertain terms that if he shoved his piece of wedding cake all over my mouth, Mom was confiscating his snowmobile.

Last, and most important, the groom didn’t see the bride before the wedding.

Therefore, I’d spent the night at Jacob and my house, Jacob spent his at Chace and Faye’s since he sold his place when he’d moved into mine six months ago.

But I had something I needed to do.

And I was going to do it.

Lifting my skirt in my hand, I hustled to the door.

Dad and Krys were outside when I got through.

Krystal was carrying a wooden box I’d dropped by Bubba’s a few days earlier. She was also smiling.

Dad was deep breathing.

“My baby girl,” he whispered.

I looked up to him, saw the bright mixed with admiration in his eyes and grinned.

“Do I look okay?” I asked, throwing out an arm.

He nodded, his throat visibly convulsing.

My grin became a smile. I wrapped my arms around him and got up on my toes to kiss his cheek.