Caught in the Undertow (Hawaiian Crush #6) (18 page)

“Well, we need to keep practicing.”

“I do need to work on a few things,” he said as he rubbed his nose against hers.

“I beg to differ.”

17

“What are your plans for spring break?” Henry asked.

Sydney picked at her fruit.
“Nothing. Coen and I will probably just be lying around the house.”

“You mean, you’ll be having sex all week,” Ren said with a smile.

“We do that anyway,” Sydney said.

“We take our sex lives very seriously,” Coen said.

“You always have to be on top of your game,” Henry said.

“Literally,” Coen said with a laugh.

Sydney sighed. “I wish we were doing something fun.”

“Let’s go hiking,” Coen said.

“That does sound adventurous,” Sydney said.

“We can sleep on the mountain,” Coen said.

“No,” she said. “I like sleeping in a bed too much.”

He smiled. “And we can do other things too.”

“Yeah,” she said.

They finished their classes for the rest of the day then went home to shack. Sydney was relieved to have a week off. She was getting sick of homework, lab reports, and waking up early for school. It would be nice to lay around with Coen.

Ever since Dan passed away, Coen had been in a much better mood. He acted like he was on a very potent strain of Prozac. Sydney didn’t mind his delight. And she didn’t care that her stepfather was dead. It was a blessing to her. Her mom was obviously upset, but Sydney decided to let it go and forget about it.

Coen came home a few hours later.

“How was work?” she asked.

“It was good. Casey is still diligent in her training.”

“Jeremy hasn’t bothered her?”

“Nope,” he said.

“That’s good.”

“What do you want to do tonight?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” she said with a sigh. “We can watch a movie and order a pizza.”

“That’s funny you said that.” He opened his backpack and handed her a DVD.

“You got
The Count of Monte Cristo
?” she asked happily.

“I saw it on sale and I know it’s your favorite movie.”

“Thank you,” she said with a smile. She tore off the plastic and opened it. An envelope fell out. “What’s this?”

He shrugged. “Open it.”

Sydney eyed him suspiciously before he opened the fold. She stared at it for a long time. “Australia?”

He sat down beside her and took her hand. “I know it’s your greatest dream to see the Great Barrier Reef.”

She covered her face and dropped the envelope. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

He smiled, happy to see the delight on her face. “No. I’m taking you on a real honeymoon. We would have gone before but I hadn’t saved enough money at the same time.”

Tears were in her eyes. “Oh my god.”

“And I didn’t
need to buy a wedding ring so I really don’t have an excuse.”

She wiped her eyes and jumped into his arms. “I can’t believe this.”

“I’d do anything for you, baby. Just seeing that smile makes it all worth it.”

“I’ve wanted to go since I was a little girl.”

“I know,” he said. “You’ve told me many times.”

“You have no idea how much this means to me.”

“But I do.” He rubbed his nose against hers.

“I just can’t believe this is really happening. I need to pack!” She jumped off his lap then ran into the bedroom.

He laughed then followed her, watching her shove everything into suitcases.

“When are we leaving?”

“Tomorrow,” he answered.

“I need to move fast,” she said. “Does everyone know?”

He nodded. “They helped me plan the details, like the flight and the hotel. And the boat arrangements. And Nancy and Thatcher insisted on getting us a honeymoon suite at a renowned hotel. I kept saying no but they wouldn’t accept it. So now I have some extra money to take you out.”

“That’s so sweet.”

“Henry paid for a breakfast one morning,” Coen said. “I told him but he insisted. And Derek and Paola gave us their free passes to a few museums, not that we’ll use them.”

“I can’t believe they did that
…”

“They want to make sure this honeymoon is everything you deserve.”

“Coen, we already had our honeymoon. Every day is our honeymoon.”

“But now you get a real one.”

She hugged him. “You’re the best husband in the world.”

“I must be doing something right, then.”

“You do everything right.”

He rubbed his nose against hers.
“Because you’re my seahorse. We’re stuck together for life. It’s my job to make you happy.”

“No, it’s our
job to make each other happy.”

Lying in the Sand

(Book Seven of the Hawaiian Series)

Cheyenne and Bryce

Available Soon

About the Author

E. L. Todd was raised in California where she attended California State University, Stanislaus and received her bachelor’s degree in biological sciences, then continued onto her master’s degree in education. While she considers science to be interesting, her true passion is writing. She is also the author of the
Soul Saga Trilogy, The Alpha Series, and her bestselling novel, Only For You, the first installment of the Forever and Always Series.
She is also an assistant editor at Final-Edits.com.

By E. L. Todd

Soul Catcher

(Book One of the Soul Saga)

Soul Binder

(Book Two of the Soul Saga)

Soul Relenter

(Book Three of the Soul Saga)

Only For You

(Book One of the Forever and Always Series)

Forever and Always

(Book Two
of the Forever and Always Series)

Edge of Love

(Book Three of the Forever and Always Series)

Force of Love

(Book Four in the Forever and Always Series)

Fight for Love

(Book Five in the Forever and Always Series)

Lover’s Roulette

(Book Six in the Forever and Always Series)

Happily Ever After

(Book Seven of the Forever and Always Series)

Sadie

(Book One of the Alpha Series

Elisa

(Book Two of the Alpha Series)

Connected by the Sea

(Book One of the Hawaiian Crush Series)

Breaking
Through the Waves

(Book Two of the Hawaiian Crush Series)

Connected by the Tide

(Book Three of the Hawaiian Crush Series)

Taking the Plunge

(Book Four of the Hawaiian Crush Series)