I am in love with them.
“Mack, I need to tell-”
“Lunch is ready. Let’s eat. I’m starving.”
I slam my mouth shut on my secrets that almost escaped. Mack gives Devon a look that tells him his timing sucks, but the two of them guide me down to the sand where we sit. Devon unwraps the chips and sighs.
“Sebastian and I used to get chips and sit here after we got back from working with Dad,” Devon says. “We’d crash here, exhausted, with a little bit of money that felt like a fortune and plan our futures. I never dreamed of this, but I wouldn’t trade it for all the chips.”
“Chips are not a currency,” I murmur.
“Sure, they are,” Devon says and winks at me.
Elijah returns, though he won’t meet my eyes.
We eat in relative silence. The waves pound the shore, and with Danger quietly digging holes in the sand, the day feels almost perfect. He lies in them and looks up with huge eyes before bouncing to a new spot, digging deep, and lying in that one.
It’s hard to stay upset or remember the impending trouble when he’s being so adorable.
When we finish, Mack runs the rubbish up to the bin, but I’m not ready to let this moment end.
“Shall we go for a walk?” I ask, indicating the beach that stretches away from the lighthouse.
“Sure.”
Elijah glances at me, then sighs and pulls me to a stop. “I’m sorry. I have issues with abandonment.”
“I’m not abandoning you,” I say quickly. “Never that.”
“I know that in theory, but it feels like it. It’s a me thing, just ignore me.”
“Never!” I smile and shake my head. “I said that to Mack earlier, too, the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’.”
Elijah grins, but I can still see how upset he is.
“I don’t want to make you unhappy, Eli.”
“You don’t-”
“I am already.”
“No, I’m unhappy because I miss you, not because of you.”
“You miss me?” I ask quietly.
He stares at me like his words have just vanished. After a long second, he finds it in a growl. “How can you even ask that? I missed you when you were on the other side of the room.”
“But-”
“No buts, I miss you. Period. I want you around all the time. I am unhappy being apart from you, even for a few minutes.”
I exhale roughly. “Eli.”
“You can keep saying my name; it’s not going to change the facts.”
He turns, and I reach out, grabbing his arm. We both freeze at the contact, our eyes clashing. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch sight of something shiny in the sand dunes.
“What is that?”
