“I wouldn’t dream of it—”
Luna was spun in a circle and swept up into powerful arms. “But I would love to.” Ronan smiled at her as he raced headlong into the water.
Disbelieving, she held her breath and tried to keep control of her emotions, a slight panic gripping her insides. “Ronan! You wouldn’t dare!”
He stopped, the water still not touching her back, with a wickedly handsome smile on his face. “Actually, I would.”
He kissed her before she said anything else. Temporarily, her mind went blank as the feel of his lips stole her thoughts. He pulled back, laughing. “Come on, Luna, we gotta get soaked.”
Ronan raced headlong into the icy waves of water, feeling her shiver. Kissing Luna in a spur-of- the-moment fleeting feeling, he followed. Much to his pleasure, she didn’t refuse it or him. Staring into her half-shocked, half-scared eyes, he kept moving until they were both covered in water to their chests.
“Why did you do that?”
“Run into the water? We used to do this all the time when we were young. Did you forget?”
She tried to move, her body floating in the water, barely held by his arms. As he adjusted his arms, not wanting to let her go, she turned to face him. “No, I meant the kiss.”
All humor aside, he studied her lips, eager to taste them again. “It felt right, so I did it.”
“Oh.” She smiled. “Well, now that we're wet, I’d like to get out before I freeze to death.”
“Aw, come on, your father was once a part of the Polar Cub Club. It's in our genes.”
Her hand touched his cheek, pushing away droplets of water, and her eyes looked longingly at his lips. Ronan didn't want to frighten her or ruin any second chance he might have with her, so he held still.
“So handsome. You’ve always been the most handsome man I’ve ever known. Your face, your smile, even the words you speak, and the sound of your voice are hypnotic and charismatic.”
Tightness gripped at his chest, and with the urge to kiss her again as her words sunk into his brain, he couldn’t move. As if frozen in time, he watched as she heaved a heavy sigh and then pulled away.
Their fingers touched for one more second as she pulled her body backward toward the shoreline. “Where are you going?”
“To the shore.”
“Stay another minute.”
She shook her head. “I can’t.”
After they both walked out of the water, Ronan spent the rest of the night watching her mingle with friends and strangers as the party continued. Shaun started a bonfire, and Ronan was put in charge of that.
“Hey, you seem kind of quiet. Something on your mind?” Shaun said.
“No.”
“I saw you and Luna out there in the water. You still love her, don’t you?”
“I never stopped. When I left that day, a piece of me stayed with her, even though I was gone. Now that we're both back in Enchanted Cove, I feel whole again. I know exactly where I belong.”
“And where is that?”
“Right beside her.” Ronan looked pointedly at Shaun, certain he understood.
Six
The event was a tremendous success, and another was hosted the following Wednesday night and Thursday. By the time Nicky’s friends showed up on Friday, Ronan had his sea legs back. Luna was still nervous about Jonah, but with Ronan beside him, she could relax a little.
It pained her to see them together, laughing and joking around and becoming friends. “You should tell him. He’s going to be mad either way, but it's not my place to tell you that.”
Even Nicky was on her back.
