“You do.”
I take a long sip, and Cal makes me another one without asking.
“You should stop playing games.”
“I’m not taking directives.”
“Just know time is limited, New York. You’ve gotta start living the sweet life before it passes you by.” He squeezes my shoulder.
The Coconut Crush I empty makes the decision for me. I cross the yard toward Wendy. She’s flushed from dancing in the July heat, and when she turns and sees me coming, the corner of her mouth lifts.
“Dance with me,” I say, holding out my hand.
“People will see.”
“And?”
She interlocks her fingers with mine, and I pull her in close to me.
We sway to whatever Josie cued up, and her head rests against my chest. Her hair smells like coconut, and her arms tighten around my waist. I close my eyes wanting to soak inthe moment. This woman and this island are the best things to happened to me in years. I press my mouth against the top of her head and breathe her in.
Fallon catches my eye from across the yard and raises her beer. Each time she looks at me, it’s like she’s trying to figure me out.
“Walk with me,” I whisper in Wendy’s ear.
We stroll toward the beach. The party sounds fade as the sand takes over. Surf competition banners snap in the wind. The sky bleeds purple at the edges, and the ocean catches the last strip of orange before it disappears.
My arm settles across her shoulders. She doesn’t move away.
“Fallon and I made a deal,” she says. “If she enters the surf competition, I enter. She signed us up before I could talk myself out of it.”
I look down at her. “You’re competing?”
“You’re the reason I’m doing it.” She takes a sip, and the words come out fast, like she’s trying to outrun them. “You made me realize how much I’d missed being in the water. I spent years telling myself I’d quit because the environment was toxic, and that’s true, but I’d also quit because I was afraid I wasn’t good enough. You never let me sit in that.”
I pull her closer and press my mouth against her temple, and her skin is warm from the sun. “You were nevernotgood enough.”
The first firework launches from a barge off the coast. Red and white sparks spread across the sky, and the boom rolls over the water a second later. Gold and blue follow, crackling outward, and the light catches in Wendy’s hair.
My arm tightens around her, and she leans back against my shoulder. Her body fits against mine, and the B&B glows behind us, lit up and packed with people. Her sister’s celebration worked.
The woman in my arms smells like rum and coconut, and I hold her like August doesn’t exist.
“What are you smiling about?” she asks.
“I’m the happiest I’ve ever been,” I tell her.
“Me too,” she says, and it’s music to my fucking ears.
Knowing how close I was to missing this experience makes me want to laugh. As soon as the celebration is over, I have to tell her everything. She has to know.
The firework finale starts, and the sky cracks open with a display of shimmering gold and silver. The booms come so fast, and the beach lights up. Wendy turns toward me. Her brown eyes catch the light, and the gold flecks in them sparkle. Her hands frame my face, and she rises onto her toes. I’ve lived a lifetime of control, and none of it matters because I’m about to kiss this woman in front of the entire island.
Our eyes close, and I move forward, only to?—
“Wendy?” a deep, confident voice says, and it’s followed by a laugh.
Her fingers drop from my face, and she pulls back away from me. My hands fall from her waist, and the moment slips through my fingers.
