The shadow gets bigger and darker, and then—
“Itis!” she squeals while a waterspout erupts from the surface of the ocean. A moment later, we see its tail as it flips and heads back down under. “I’ve never seen a whale before.”
“Never?”
She shakes her head. “Have you?”
“Haven’t traveled much.”
“We’re sharing a first.” She smiles at me, then tucks a wild flying lock of hair behind her ear. The ponytail she put in earlier isn’t doing much to keep the wispy flyaways out of her eyes. “For all the places I’ve been in the world, I’ve never gone off the beaten path. It’s always museums and landmarks andsaferesort tours. But you’ve probably seen things back home that I can’t even dream of.”
“Ever go backpacking? Sleep under the stars?”
She shakes her head again.
“Want to?”
“In the snow?”
“We can.”
“That’s—” She cuts herself off with a laugh. “Very adventurous.”
“Crazy?”
“I saidadventurous.”
“Not what you wanted to say.”
“Excuse you. If I don’t call you crazy, you can’t call me boring.”
I lean in and kiss that smile.
Can’t help myself.
The number of years I’ve wanted that smile aimed at me, and now there’s no mistaking the fact that it’s all mine.
There’s no one else up here with us to smile at.
And when she cups my cheek and kisses me back, five hundred feet over the ocean, no fear, no worries, no cares—
This.
This is all I’ve ever wanted.
“Have you ever jumped out of a plane?” she asks.
“Nope.”
“No?”
“Won’t.”
“Why not?”
“Emma asked me not to.”
She tilts her head and studies me, getting brave enough to take both hands off the bar now. One keeps trying to control her hair.
