The multi-million-dollar houses and impeccable gardens are to die for, of course. But the rich history in each town is something often left out when people describe the Hamptons.
Nate squeezes my hand and smiles over at me. “You love it, don’t you?”
I nod. “Can we walk around later so I can read all the historical signs?”
“Of course.” He picks up my hand and kisses the back of it, then easily parallel parks with the other, smirking, as I roll my eyes.
“Are you bad at anything?”
“Nope.” He opens the door, then jumps out. “You can wait here. I’m going to grab us some donuts and drinks. Then we’ll walk over to the water taxi that’ll bring us to the boat. Coffee or tea?”
“Green tea. Two?—”
“Two teabags, I know, babe.” He winks, then he’s off.
I roll down the window and add, “And a jelly donut, please.”
While he’s off doing that, I jump out, put Skye’s leash on, then start unloading everything from the trunk when a bag of fresh cherries falls out.
They‘re not even in season. Where the hell did he get these things?
“Ready?” Nate startles me.
I hold up the bag of fruit. “After all these years, I still don’t get it. Why is everything cherry-flavored?”
He leans in and pecks my lips, raising a questioning brow when he tastes my cherry-flavored lip balm.
“Oh, shush. Tell me.”
“Can’t I just have a favorite?”
“No, because I know there’s a reason. I can read you like a book.”
He sighs. “It’s because of Camila.”
My heart cracks at the mention of her name. “What does she have to do with it?”
“She was allergic?—”
“I remember.”
“Well, she wasn’t always allergic. So no one thought anything of it when we were sitting in Rosa’s garden and ate a whole bowl of red cherries. She reacted so quickly that we had to rushher to the hospital when she went into anaphylactic shock. The first thing she said when she was back to herself was that it was worth it because they were the best cherries she’d ever tasted. The next day, she forced me to eat the rest and describe the taste to her so she would never forget. From that day on, a liking for cherries and anything cherry-flavored slowly turned into a bit of an obsession.”
My insides smile at the thought of him and Camila as young kids.
I stand on my tippy-toes and cup the back of his head, smashing my lips hard into his cheek. “You are a good person, Nathaniel Davenport. Literally the best person I know.”
He smiles softly, holding my gaze for a moment, then leans in to kiss me lightly on the lips. We stand for a moment in our own bubble as the world around us slowly disappears.
He brushes my bangs to the side with his thumb, then leans in to kiss my forehead, then my dimples before wordlessly stepping back and leading me to the docks.
These are the moments I missed most when we were apart.
The small, meaningful moments, where no words are exchanged, and even in the silence, you could feel the deep, mutual emotions running through us.
I squeeze his hand, and he smiles back, his eyes shining with happiness, and I know mine match his.
We make it to the water, and that’s when it all comes crashing down.
