Declan tightens his grip on the bouquet, crinkling the brown paper.
“If the look on your face means you’re reeling a bit, then you’re not the only one,” he says with a sweet lilt in his voice.
He knows exactly what to say to disarm his chronic charm and put me at ease.
He extends his arm, holding the bundle of cotton-candy-pink and blue hydrangeas out to me. I take in a sharp breath at the sight. My favorite flowers, because I’ve always loved how they look like colorful cotton balls from far away.
“Wow,” I exhale. “These are beautiful. How did you even get them?” We don’t have many hydrangeas in Seabrook.
“I’m glad you like them.” He leans in and gives me a quick peck on the cheek, the brief encounter with his warm sandalwood scent doing my heart rate zero favors. “Shipping is a crazy invention.” He winks.
I stare down at the fluffy flowers in a stupefied state. Pretending not to like someone for over a decade starts to become second nature. And my body hasn’t caught up with the fact that I don’t need to anymore.
“These are gorgeous!” Aunt Lottie says, pushing past me to say hi to Declan.
“Hi, con,” Lottie says, patting him on the cheek. She has to reach her arm up to do so, his height towering over her by an entire foot. “Take care of my baby, okay?” she chides, pointing the infamous finger at him. But coming from her, it’s more endearing than fear-inducing.
“Yes, ma’am. I will.” Declan beams down at her, dimples flashing from his cheek and chin.
She pats him on the cheek twice before turning around and shoving me out the door. “Okay, con! Have fun!” She shoos me toward Declan and then slams the door shut.
“Woah! Well then!” I say, giggling as I fall into Declan’s arms.
“I guess that’s our cue,” he says.
“I guess so.”
“Alrighty, Little Bird. Right this way.” He steers me from behind as I keep my hands firmly over my eyes. We stomped through a grove of trees until we reached the edge.
“Okay, you can open your eyes now.”
I blink a few times, adjusting to see that we’re in the center of a semi-circle created by massive cliffs hemming us in. Beneath my feet is a small patch of sand that gives way to clear turquoise water.
“Uh-huh.” I scoff-laugh, momentarily dazed by the sight. “How did you find this place?”
“Google Maps is crazy useful, it turns out,” he remarks.
I drop the awe from my expression and pin him with a glare. “First ‘shipping is a crazy invention,’ and now Google Maps. Excuse me for being curious.”
“I’m kidding!” He laughs. “I found this place when I was on a run. I thought the trail was just a random dirt path, but it spit me out onto sand. And I knew instantly I wanted to take you here on our first date. Your curiosity is removing the smoke screen from all the romantic tricks I have up my sleeve.”
I snort a laugh. We gravitate to the center of the sand and choose a spot with a view of the ocean, moss-covered rocks towering behind us. It feels like we’ve been dropped into the soft cradle of the earth’s hands. A secret place, just for us.
“This is unbelievable. It looks like the magical cave from that Australian mermaid show,” I say, settling next to him. The sun has already set beneath the horizon. Faint silver streaks are cast over the moonlit water in its stead.
“I call it ‘secret beach.’?” His eyes twinkle with the childlikejoy at having shared the nickname with me. It’s horrendously cute.
“How long have you wanted to take me on a date?” I ask. “Or like… when did this stop being platonic for you?” I point between us.
He picks up sand and lets it fall through the cracks between his fingers. A slight smile tugs at the side of his mouth.
“Nowthatis a loaded question.” He looks over at me, arms wrapped around my knees like his.
“Why is it loaded?” I poke, hoping against all hope that his crush has existed for even a fraction as long as mine has.
“I think,” he starts, looking out at the waves. “It was less of a single moment, rather a string of repeated instances that snowballed until it was this huge thing that smacked me in the side of the head. And I knew I couldn’t resist it anymore.”
I’ve never felt blood pump through my veins so viscerally.
