Claire turned her head. “Know what?”
“Everything about you.”
She didn’t answer at first. Just smiled, lips parting with surprise. No one ever said that. Not like that. Not with that much weight.
Jaxon didn’t wait for her to reply.
“I mean it. We talked on that flight, and I left like a damn idiot thinking it was just some passing moment. Then I walk into my spot—like always—and there you are. You don’t think that’s… I don’t know, something?”
Claire shrugged, but it was full of light. “You said you don’t live far from Wilmington. I didn’t realize our beach house was this close. It’s odd. But yeah… here we are.”
They kept walking, conversation spilling easy now—jobs, family, music, favorite foods, dumb stories from high school. Claire told him about the time shetried to cut her own bangs and ended up looking like a lawnmower got hold of her forehead. Jaxon shared about getting his truck stuck on the beach his first summer and having to call his sister for help—which she still brought up at every family dinner.
They laughed. A lot. And by the time Jaxon looked up and saw the sign for the 69th Street beach access, his brows shot up.
“Damn. We walked almost a mile.”
“Time flies when you’re charming,” she teased.
“I think you mean when you’re charming,” he countered.
They turned around, walking back slower now. Neither one in a hurry to break the spell.
But as the fire came back into view, Jaxon’s mood shifted slightly. The memory of the airport crept in, bitter and stubborn.
I can’t let tonight end the way Wednesday did.
They rounded the dunes to the sound of Taylor’s voice calling out. “We were about to send a search party! Y’all good?”
Claire laughed. “We got caught up talking. Didn’t realize how far we walked.”
“Some of the people here are heading out. Maybe we should too,” Carter offered, already pulling keys from his pocket.
Jaxon turned to Claire as the group began gathering their things. His voice was quieter now, more serious.
“I don’t want to end things like we did at the airport.”
Claire looked up, her expression open. “I agree.”
A beat. Then—
“Can I call you tomorrow?” she asked.
Jaxon blinked. She asked.
“Well,” he said, that grin tugging at his mouth, “you’ve got my number. Call anytime.”
She started toward the SUV, and he watched her go—each step sinking a little deeper than the last.
This time?
He wasn’t letting her be the one who got away.
8
Highlight Reel
Thewholeridebackto Caswell felt different.
