“Sure, because you don’t have a paddle you can throw into the water for me to chase after,” Kendra said.
“Hey!” He splashed her. “Are you coming in with me or staying out?”
Kendra considered. Her legs and arms were getting tired, and she was thirsty, but she was having a lot of fun surfing, and it was hard to stop. Still, the prospect of hanging out with Lucas on the beach was more appealing.
“I’ll come with you.”
They paddled to shore, where they returned the boards to the surf shack and flopped down on the sand. They were close enough to the water that the waves almost reached their outstretched feet. Kendra absentmindedly sketched patterns in the sand with the tip of her finger — a heart, a smiley face, a star.
“I know you grew up in LA,” Lucas said. “Somehow without surfing. But were you an only child or do you have siblings?”
“I’m an only child,” Kendra said. She sketched a curlicue with her fingertip, the sand warm and a little damp. “And you?”
“I’m an only child too.” Lucas paused. “These are definitely things we should know about each other, or people will never believe we’re married.”
“True.” Kendra paused. “Tell me some more things, then. Where did you go to college?”
“UCLA.”
“No kidding!” Kendra sat up straighter. “Me too! But I guess we wouldn’t have been there at the same time.”
“No, I went to college when I was seventeen and graduated in three years, so I don’t think we had any overlap.”
“Still.” Kendra smiled and leaned back on her elbows. “Blue and gold forever!”
“Blue and gold forever,” Lucas repeated. “Did you like it there?”
“Oh, yes. It was great.” Kendra smiled. “I wonder what would have happened if we’d met there.”
As soon as she asked the question, she regretted it. After all, the only reason she and Lucas were even talking was that she’d been left at the altar and had run into Lucas at the airport. In any other situation, they wouldn’t have exchanged more than a few words.
“You know, I totally would have hit on you.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Lucas grinned. “You’re gorgeous and funny. Maybe that’s the story of how we met and got married. You know, the story we can tell if anyone asks.”
“Right, so we met in college, dated for some years, and now got married and are here,” Kendra filled in.
“Exactly.”
“What was our wedding like?”
“You’re the wedding photographer. You tellme.”
Kendra’s first thought was of the elaborate fairy-tale wedding she’d planned for herself and Aaron, but to her surprise, it didn’t sound as amazing as it had before. Instead, she pictured something else.
“It was just us and our closest friends and family,” she said. “We got married on a cliff by the ocean at sunset, then danced all night. Our reception area was decorated with fairy lights and jasmine flowers.” It was all too easy to imagine Lucas scooping her into his arms and kissing her softly as their loved ones erupted in cheers. Kendra could almost feel his hands on her hips and his lips on hers.
“That sounds beautiful,” Lucas said. “And then we flew off to our honeymoon.”
“Exactly.”
“And after this, we’ll go back to LA, I guess, and buy a nice downtown condo.”
“Or a beautiful house right on the beach,” Kendra countered.
“Sure. And we’ll adopt a dog.”
