I smiled, pointing at my feet, which were linked around the lower pole. “Don’t fret, Detective. I’m locked in. I sit here all the time.”
“You’re crazy,” he admonished.
Crazy about you.
The thought hit me out of nowhere and I forced myself to look away before Beckett could read it on my face. Damn it, I really was falling hard for this guy all over again.
“What the heck is that?” he asked, looking at me with a wrinkled nose. “Come here.”
I leaned over so he could pick at something in my hair.
“Is that…” he tugged gently, then examined the bright red flake that was now on his finger.
“Paint,” I finished for him. “I, um, didn’t shower before I came to see you.”
He smiled at me and turned to rest his back against the railing. His arm brushed against my knee, yet he made no move to pull away.
“I’m glad you felt comfortable enough to come to see me with paint in your hair, Ry,” he said softly, giving me a quick look, like he knew how that might make me feel. “Don’t ever hide yourself around me, okay?”
I wanted to tell him that I was trying very hard not to, but I couldn’t bring myself to speak. Instead, I looked out into the ocean, and gasped when I saw familiar movement in the water.
“Beckett! Look! A whale!” I pointed out in the distance.
Beckett turned, but stayed close enough that we remained touching. He followed my gaze but shook his head. “I don’t see it.”
“Just wait,” I said.
When I saw the spray of water again I bent quickly so I was right beside him, pointing in front of us. “There.”
He followed the line of my finger and inhaled sharply when he saw the dark coloring in the water. I could feel his hair brush against my face, causing tiny tingles to ricocheteverywhere.I shifted uncomfortably on the railing and pulled away, wondering if I should just climb down to put some distance between us. Beckett decided for me, walking a few feet away and stretching up on his tiptoes, as if that extra three inches would give him a better view of the whale.
“There it is again!”
I could feel the excitement radiating off him and giggled. A happy, excited Beckett was an adorable Beckett.
“There’s those magnifier things at the end of the pier. You know, the things you pay a quarter into to look out. I bet you could see it better.”
Beckett’s eyes lit up even more, and next thing I knew we were running, Beckett laughing excitedly the whole way.
“I haven’t seen a whale since I was in the army,” he admitted after a few minutes, his nose still pressed up against the tourist binoculars. “Do you want to look before it runs out?”
I laughed. “No, it’s okay. I’ve seen plenty. They’re pretty common here in the winter months. I’ll have to take you on a boat tour if you come back in February or March.”
I regretted the words almost as soon as I said them, wishing I had the power to snatch them back before they reached his ears. They were nothing but a dose of reality, ruining our happy moment.
Beckett pulled away from the equipment, glancing at his feet before looking back up at me. “I will,” he said with conviction. “Be back, I mean. We will make this work, Riley.”
I tore my eyes away before he could see the tears that threatened to fall. I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe we could find a way to not only keep in touch, but to remain friends despite living a few hundred miles away from each other.
The only problem was, I wasn’t surefriendswas all my heart wanted.
Beckett put a hand on my arm, turning me to him. I could tell he wanted to pull me into him, but I couldn’t let that happen, not when I was barely keeping myself in check.
I stepped away.
“I know, Beck. We’ll find a way.”
Disappointment and frustration were clear on his face, but he reluctantly let it go.
