Andrew retrieved his backpack, a picnic basket, and a blue blanket that I hadn’t noticed before from the car’s trunk.
“What’s with the basket?” I followed him down the steps to the marina office building. Two men exited the building, chatting in Spanish, and strode toward the parking lot.
“Just in case we get hungry.”
I suspected that there was something more to the reason William had to stay behind. My stomach fluttered at the thought that it may also be a date.
Andrew stopped at the door and set the basket on the ground. “Wait here. I’ll get our boat keys.” He pointed the finger at me. “Don’t peek inside the basket.”
“Hmm, now I want to see what’s there.”
“Please don’t.”
Since the first kiss we’d shared two days ago, Andrew had found every opportunity to brush his lips against mine, or my temple, my shoulder, any part of my body he could reach. I’d seen couples like that who constantly touched and kissed one another, and I was sure they were faking it, making a show for the outside world. Now, wewerethat couple. And I loved every part of it and would never get tired of this.
In the building, Andrew talked to a plump, friendly-looking woman. He waved his hand in the ocean’s direction, and she laughed, shaking her head. He signed some papers and turned to face me, a mischievous smile tugging on his lips. And then he winked. The man winked at me. Not sure why, but that made me giggle, and the heat rushed to my cheeks. For the love of God, William was right. I was smitten with Andrew.
After a few minutes, Andrew glided towards me, dangling a boat key on his finger. “Call me your captain.” He snatched the basket off the ground and laced his fingers with mine. He had so much joyous energy in him, he practically bounced on his feet. “Let’s find our ride.”
The small motorboat wasn’t anything fancy; it needed new paint and maybe new seat covers, but other than that, it was in decent shape. And thankfully it appeared to have no issue staying afloat.
Andrew jumped in first, then helped me. As soon as I was in, he wrapped his arms around me, and my body instantly melted into his. I rested my chin against his chest and gazed helplessly into his eyes, wanting the comforting touch of his lips on mine. A question danced on the tip of my tongue.Would you like to continue us?
The breeze played with his wavy brown hair, and waves gently swayed the boat. His eyes searched mine. “You look like you have something on your mind.”
I smiled and buried my face into his chest, inhaling his cologne. Andrew tightened his arms and kissed the top of my head. The warmth I felt in the center of my chest wasn’t from the sun or Andrew’s embrace. How long could we stay like that? As if summoned, a mean wave hit our boat and we staggered sideways, breaking apart—the universe’s way of answering my question. It was time to get back to our search. Andrew started the boat, and I took a seat up front.
* * *
Waves calmly rolled in on the sandy beach that wrapped around the perimeter of giant rock rising out of the sea. Besides a small line of palm trees guarding the foot of the hill, the shoreline had sparse greenery. A stone stairway in the cleft steeply climbed up and rounded the corner.
Andrew tied the boat to a frail wooden dock which was missing quite a few planks and looked as if it could collapse at any moment. Leaving the basket behind, we gingerly stepped onto the structure. The end near the shore was in an even worse condition, so Andrew threw his and my shoes on the beach, then tossed his backpack, too. With his pants rolled to his knees, he jumped into the water and held his hands to me.
“I guess not many tourists come here.” I gripped his hands. Andrew’s free arm went around my thighs, and he hoisted me up. A squeak escaped me. “What are you doing?” I plastered myself to him for stability.
“I don’t want your feet to get wet,” he said. His thoughtfulness accelerated the flutter in my chest into full throttle. With my butt parked in Andrew’s grasp, he navigated to a dry spot near the staircase.
At the top, against a blue sky dappled with white clouds, a forlorn Árbol Hueco church—a four-wall building with no roof—stood in the middle of the field blanketed with green grass. An enormous mahogany tree to the left of the ruins overshadowed a fenced-in area with seven gravestones.
Holding hands, Andrew and I walked toward the graveyard, tall grass blades tickling my legs.
“Who are these people?” I asked, studying partially illegible words carved into weather-beaten stones.
“A man named Father Rodrigos and some of his family. I don’t know much about him except that he and his wife had five children. When she passed away, he remarried and had six more kids.” Andrew crouched near a stone and ran his hand over letters covered in moss. “Rodrigos was the last one to be buried here. After his passing, the remaining children moved to the mainland to live with their older siblings.”
“I don’t blame them. What a boring life to live on this island, with one tree and nothing else to do.”
“At some point, there were more fruit trees and a garden, sheep, and goats. I’m sure they kept themselves busy.”
A lustful smile pulled my lips up. “Are we going to get busy, too?”
Andrew gave me a cheeky grin. “I didn’t mean it in that way, but I like the way your mind works. I’m sure they had plenty of sex, but most of their days were spent working in the garden, taking care of the few animals they had, and doing other things to ensure their survival.”
I weaved my fingers into his. “Come on, let’s look for Pérez’s long-lost treasure.”
Like its roof, the church doors were missing, and we passed over the threshold into an empty and ghostly room. Only the remnants of an old fireplace remained visible. On the left side, toward the end, a narrow staircase led down to the underground level. Andrew stopped near the opening in the floor, turned on two flashlights, and offered me one. “Fancy going into the church cellar?”
“It wouldn’t be the first time.”
