I lean in to whisper in her ear. “You’re beautiful.” My breath fans her neck and I feel her shiver.
She smoothes a hand over her hair as if trying to tame it and bites into her plump bottom lip. “That may have been true this afternoon, but I look a little worse for wear now.”
I take her hand in mine so she stops fiddling with her hair. “You don’t know how irresistible you are at this moment. And that’s what makes you beautiful. And I’m not just talking about how you look, turtle girl. Everything about you has me enchanted.”
Her green eyes widen and glow under the moonlight. I could kiss her now. Lord knows I want to. She leans towards me with parted lips. My heart stutters in my chest as my face dips.
“Did we miss anything?” Sam whisper yells, a little out of breath. She must have run to the hut and back. Oli’s not far behind, but looks to be taking his time.
I clench my back teeth and pull away to fake smile at her.
Shelly shakes beside me with a silent giggle and shines the light on the nest. “Oh look. We need to film this for the blog.” She pulls her phone from her pocket and begins recording.
The dent in the sand widens, then a flipper emerges, followed by a tiny turtle's head, then a body crawling its way out of the sand.
“Come on, little guy, you’re doing so well,” Shelly says, as if her words are encouraging. Her animated face turns to me. “Isn’t it amazing?”
I nod in awe at this inspiring moment with this amazing woman beside me. “Hey, there’s another one.” I point to another dip as more turtles clamber out of the sand.
Chapter Eleven
SHELLY
After we watched the turtles emerge, eventually they made their way towards the ocean. Finn’s arm around me kept me warm as the temperature dropped into the new day.
When the last turtle was safely in the water, we said our goodbyes to Sam and Oli.
“Do you need a lift home?” Finn asks as we step off the beach onto the boardwalk that leads to the resort.
“No, it’s not far. I’ll walk.”
“I’ll walk you then. It’s the middle of the night. You can’t be wandering the streets alone at this time, Shell.”
I smile and slide my hand in his at his side, wanting to be close to him again. “You don’t need to worry. I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”
“But you don’t have to. I want to take care of you.” He interlaces his fingers with mine, causing tingles low in my belly. It’s been like this all night, as if I have a school of fish swimming around in there each time he touches me.
I want him to kiss me. He’s not like the other rich people in town. I’ve misjudged him, but to ask him to kiss me means I’m going to have to swallow my pride and admit I was wrong. Hopefully, I’ve given him enough hints tonight to show him I’m more than game if he wants to take the kiss I owe him.
“It’s so peaceful this time of night,” I whisper as we walk through the marina.
“Sometimes I come down here late at night and paint.”
“Your nighttime paintings are stunning.”
“I’ll get them mounted and framed and drop some off at the hut.” He points to the boats in the marina. “Do you enjoy being out on the water?”
“Yes, of course. I’m turtle girl. What do you think?” I giggle at using the name he gave me, which I’ve come to like when he calls me it.
“I’d like to take you out on my boat.”
I roll my eyes with a smile. “Is that another flex?”
He huffs out a laugh. “I just want another date with you after today’s disaster. A chance to get it right this time.”
“Oh, I think the day turned out well in the end. Don’t you?”
We turn onto the street that leads to the campsite.
