Was she upset about that? He thought she hated Barrett. That was what Fraya had said...

She smiled. "Frack, I hated working for that guy. I guess I don't need to quit now." And she leaned over and gave him a big smooch on the lips. "Thank you."

He grinned and pushed her down into the pillows to kiss her properly.

When they came up for air, she said, a little breathlessly, "I have something I have to tell you. But I don't want you to freak out."

Dylan propped himself on an elbow. "Uh...Jesus. When you say something like that to a guy, you could give him a heart attack."

"I know. I'm sorry. But this is kind of...big."

His heart stopped then lurched into heavy thuds. "Are you pregnant?"

She stared up at him with those big, glowing eyes, her lips parted. She blinked. "My period is late. How the h.e.l.l did you know that?"

"We had s.e.x five hundred times with no condom. It wouldn't exactly be a surprise."

"Five hundred times. In your dreams, buddy."

He grinned, something soft and warm unfurling in his chest. "Oh yeah. Definitely in my dreams. I should be freaking out right now, shouldn't I?"

"Lots of guys would." She stared at him searchingly.

"I probably would have too, a few months ago. I mean, the idea of being a father is kind of terrifying. But Christ, Brooke. I love you. I want a family. I want a home."

"I don't know if I'm pregnant." She sank her teeth into her soft bottom lip and made him want to lick it.

"Right. Right. Okay. We'll deal with whatever happens. It's not like I didn't think about it, after what we did. But I love you and we're going to get married anyway."

"We are?" Her eyes narrowed. "What the heck kind of proposal is that?"

"Oops. Not good, huh? Okay, forget I said that. Just wipe it from your hard drive. I can do better."

Her lips curved into a s.e.xy smile. "Too late. You can't put the toothpaste back in the tube."

He burst out laughing and hugged her to him. "Christ, I love you."

"I love you too."

"Our lives are a big mess right now."

"Yep."

"But I don't care. I mean I care. But I realized earlier...none of it matters. What matters is, I have you."

"What matters is, we have each other."

Epilogue.

Four months later...

Brooke sat on the deck of the Surf Sisters' beach house. Little white lights twinkled everywhere, including on the Christmas tree in the corner, lining the deck railing and wrapping around the trunks of the palm trees swaying in the night breeze next to the deck. A bonfire on the beach flickered toward the dark sky, people sitting on the sand around it. The rush of ocean waves washing onto the sand was a distant murmur beneath the music pouring from the big speakers, currently My Chemical Romance singing "All I Want for Christmas is You". People all around her were having fun, drinking Laguna Dorada beer that Matt had brought, eating all the food laid out on the big table just inside the sliding doors, dancing and laughing.

Brooke sighed, lifted her drink and took a sip, watching Corey and Matt across the deck, their heads leaning close together. Matt lifted a hand and slid it around the nape of Corey's neck and her eyes drifted closed. He kissed her temple. Brooke smiled, her chest warming, but she also felt a pinch of envy and yearning.

"Hey Brooke, how's it going?"

Brooke looked at Jules Stockwood who dropped into the chair beside her. "Good. How about you? Are you all moved in? Moved out? Both?"

Jules laughed. "Yes. I know you aren't supposed to move into my old place until January first, but you can have the house sooner if you want."

Brooke smiled. "That might work. But Christmas is such a busy time. We'll see."

"Just let me know."

"You're a brave woman," Brooke said. "Living with two guys."

"I know." Jules rolled her eyes and took a drink of the red wine in her gla.s.s. "There are some advantages, mind you...two guys to fix things, cut the gra.s.s, change the oil in my car...double the o.r.g.a.s.ms."

Brooke choked on a laugh. She'd gotten to know Jules better since they'd agreed that Brooke would take over the lease on Jules's small beach cottage, which helped Jules out so she could move in with Mike and Carlos. "But how about double the laundry," Brooke said, grinning. "Double the socks lying on the bedroom floor. Double the towels in the bathroom. Two guys not cleaning up after themselves in the kitchen."

"Uh uh," Jules said, eyes dancing. "Mike is a neat freak. No worries there."

"I'm not a neat freak." Mike appeared beside Jules's chair and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Course not, babe," Jules said, laying her hand on top of his.

"Come on down to the fire," Mike said. "It's cold tonight."

"Okay. Coming, Brooke?"

"Sure." They all rose, but just then Brooke's cell phone buzzed in the pocket of her jeans. She pulled it out to see "Dylan".

Her heart b.u.mped and a smile broke across her face. "Dylan," she said to the others. "You go on, I'll be right there."

She hit the b.u.t.ton to talk. "Hi hon!"

"Babe. Where are you? Sounds noisy."

"Surf Sisters are having a Christmas party." She paused. "Wish you were here."

"Me too."

"How's Hawaii?"

"Done. Be home soon."

"As the Kahakai Pro champ." She grinned, turning away from the party and facing the dark beach.

"Yeah." She heard the satisfaction in his voice. "Just wish you could've been there to see me win."

"I know. Me too."

"You're coming with me to Australia in March," he said.

She made a face that he couldn't see. Australia was a twelve-hour flight away. But hey. She'd made it to Tahiti a few months ago. She could do Australia.

"Happy to be coming home for a few months," he said. "Gonna be so good to stay in one place for a while."

"I know. Miss you so much, hon."

The song on the speakers changed to U2 singing "Baby Please Come Home". With a grin she moved to one speaker and held her phone to it.

When she returned it to her ear, Dylan was laughing. "On my way, babe."

She laughed softly too. "Good."

"Are you on the beach?" he asked. "Or the deck?"

"The deck. I was just going to go down to the fire. Jules and Mike and Carlos are here, and Corey and Matt. Neve's here somewhere."

And then she frowned as she heard U2 singing in her ear. Through her phone.

She turned around and Dylan stood there across the deck. His smile was white in his tanned face, and he swept his dark hair back out of his eyes with one hand, his other holding his phone to his ear.

"It's f.u.c.king cold here compared to Hawaii," he said into the phone.

Her heart expanded so much she felt like she was going to burst. She looked at him for a long moment and then she started to cry. Smiling, she shook her head and shoved her phone into her pocket, then launched herself at him. He dropped his phone to a chair and braced himself, and she jumped him, wrapping her legs around his hips, her arms around his neck. He caught her by her a.s.s and then one arm slid higher up to hold her tight. "Babe," he murmured into her hair.

"Dylan. G.o.d, Dylan." She sobbed and held on tighter.

"Hey," he whispered. "Hey, I'm back. It's okay."

She nodded, her throat too clogged with tears to talk. Then she shifted in his arms so she could kiss him. Their mouths joined hungrily. She couldn't get close enough to him, fisting his hair in one hand. His tongue licked into her mouth and she gave another half-moan, half-sob.

"You weren't supposed to be here until tomorrow."

"Caught an earlier flight."

"It's hard," she said, still crying. "So hard to be away from you."

"I know, babe, I know, me too. But I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere until March. And we're moving in together next month-"

"Jules said we can move in right away. She's all moved out."

"Whatever. As long as we're together."

She nodded and squeezed him again. He lowered her so her feet touched the deck and Brooke became aware of people standing around them wearing big smiles. She gave a shaky smile back and swiped at her wet face with one hand.

Then Corey was there, her hand rubbing Brooke's back, leaning in to kiss Dylan's cheek. "Welcome home, champ."

Dylan grinned.

Matt was there too, slapping his back. Dylan tucked Brooke under one arm to greet everyone and accept their congratulations.

Then Jules pressed something cold into Brooke's hand. "If you want some privacy for a few minutes," she whispered to Brooke. Brooke looked down at the key. She met Jules's eyes.

"Thanks," she said with a grin.

If she could drag Dylan away from his adoring fans, maybe they could have a few minutes to themselves.

Someone put a beer in Dylan's hand, people kept talking to him, but he never let go of her and she stayed like that, her front pressed to his side, arms wrapped around his waist. Finally things calmed down a little and she manoeuvred him away from the crowd.

"Come on," she said, showing him the key. "Let's go look at our new house."

The cottage Jules had been living in was just up the street. Jules was moving to the house next door where Mike and Carlos lived. Matt and Corey lived on this street too. It was going to be awesome to live so close to their friends.

Matt and Corey had been amazing. They'd stood by Dylan after he'd failed the drug test and all the resulting craziness. And they'd been awesome to her when Dylan had been away. Matt was such a great guy, looking out for her, and Corey was so positive and encouraging when Brooke was sad and missing Dylan.

They followed the stone sidewalk around the side of the Surf Sisters' house and then walked down the narrow road, the music and voices fading away behind them. Colored lights and decorations twinkled on every house.

"It's small," she said, giving Dylan the key to unlock the front door. "But it's close to the beach. And it'll be ours."

"We'll need a bigger place soon." He led her into the dark house.

"What for?"

"For all the kids we're gonna have."

"Aw. Are you still disappointed I wasn't pregnant?"

He stopped in the middle of the empty living room. Hardwood floors gleamed in the faint light coming in the big front window. She moved to him and he slid his arms around her and pulled her up against him, pelvis to pelvis. She laid her hands on his chest, big and strong, and they looked at each other. "Yeah," he said. "You know I am." He touched his lips to her nose.

"It worked out for the best." She gazed up at him. "Since I got promoted and took over Barrett's job, it wouldn't have been a great time to tell them I was going on maternity leave. Plus..." She sighed. "I don't know if I can be a mom when you're away traveling so much. It's hard enough without you when it's just me, never mind a baby."

"I know." His hands slid down to her b.u.t.t. "One more year. Now I'm winning, I can make some serious cake."

She laughed. After his positive drug test, he'd been allowed to keep his championship but he had been suspended for a month for not telling the ASP that he was taking the Pantoloc, which meant he hadn't been able to compete in France this year. But after that, he'd won again in Portugal and just now, Hawaii.

"I've got bigger sponsorship deals," he said. "The prize money is good. We can buy a bigger house and be set financially. And I'll figure out what I want to do after that."

"Mike and Carlos offered you a job teaching surfing. And the Surf Sisters would probably hire you too."