I unfold his hand until it’s lying flat, then I scoop up some sand and pour it into his palm. “You wore them down.”
He plays with the sand, then looks up at me, a little twinkle in his eye. “All the way?” He lets the sand slip to the ground, then grips my waist with both hands and pulls me toward him. “I couldn’t help but notice that one of the tour spots focused on the night we first kissed.”
“Yeah…”
He gives a little shrug that’s trying far too hard to be casual. “And I was just wondering if there might be any wearing down that still needs to happen.”
I try not to smile as I grasp his lapels with my hands. “You, my friend, have a one-track mind, don’t you?”
“I’ve been such a good boy for the past hour.”
With a small laugh, I go up on my toes, pulling him toward me. He dips his head, but his lips stop just shy of mine. “I love you.”
I breathe those words in, wondering if they’ll ever be less ofa miracle. I can’t believe he saw through all my flaws and all my prickliness. He knows the worst bits of me, and he still loves me somehow.
“Ask me,” I whisper.
His mouth brushes mine. “Ask you what?”
“Ask me the question.”
His lips pull into a smile. “Do you still hate me, Gemma?”
I press my forehead against his and shake my head slowly from side to side. “I love you, Beau.”
He lets out a satisfied sigh, and then his mouth covers mine.
Strings of hundredsof bistro lights hang between the two white tents on the grounds of the Belacourt Resort, creating a twinkling web under the twilight sky covering Sunset Harbor. Under one tent sit two dozen tables, each with a white tablecloth and three glass cylinders full of soft white sand and glowing tea lights. Most of the tables are empty now, since everyone has migrated to the other tent. Below that one, Mia and Austin sing a ballad on the stage in front of the dance floor, where two dozen couples are slow dancing.
On the side of the floor, my parents stand talking with Mark and Joy Palmer. It’s a modern miracle—and one I don’t take for granted. It’s all thanks to Beau. Let’s be honest. There was no way my parents wouldn’t love him.
Fingers slip through mine, and a hand steals around my waist. Lips press to the hollow below my ear, and I smile at the familiar scent that envelops me.
“Hey, wife,” Beau says.
My heart flips, and I turn toward him as he hands me a drink. I’ve been parched for a while from all the dancing, but now that he’s beside me again, I have my eyes on a whole different tall glass of water. If I thought I loved Beau most in a dark suit, it’s only because I hadn’t seen him in a beige linen one. Now that he’s a full-time cop, he’s in his buttoned-up, pressed uniform more than ever, which is why I love that he’swearing no tie and that the top button of his white collared shirt is undone.
“Hey, husband,” I say, setting the water next to the guestbook on the table beside me. On the other side of the table stands the infamous birdfeeder. It’s an eyesore in this otherwise gorgeous venue, but it was a non-negotiable for both of us. There’s not birdfeed in the well at the moment—instead, it’s full of folded-up papers where our wedding guests have left their well-wishes for us.
“Think they’d notice if we left?” His fingers toy suggestively with the button at the small of my back as his breath grazes my neck.
I shut my eyes and try to breathe, but I still haven’t gotten the hang of that when Beau touches me this way. “It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
Grams’s house—no, Beau’s and my house—is waiting for us. We signed on it a week ago but decided we wanted to wait for our wedding night to sleep in it together, though sleep might be a generous term.
“Beau!” Grams’s voice barks.
We turn as she makes her way toward us, hobbling with her walker. She’s gotten worse over the past few months, but she’s a fighter.
“Are you ready or not?” she asks him.
“Ready for what?” I ask.
Grams stares me down, and I put my hands up in surrender, looking at Beau.
“Just a quick little thing I promised I’d do,” he explains. “Should only take a couple minutes. Here, just come with us.”
I follow behind them as Beau tries to help Grams get her walker unstuck from a crack between the pavers and gets smacked on the arm for his trouble. He looks back at me with a smile.
