Everett narrowed his gaze, as if sensing her withdrawal. Without hesitation, he slid his hand across the picnic table and tangled their fingers together. “Is that what surfing teaches you?” he asked quietly.
The warmth of his grip comforted her. Kelsey didn’t seem to notice or care about the first public display of their connection. “Every day,” Rowan said.
“Sounds like I’m missing out.”
“Dad, you should learn to surf! Rowan can teach both of us!” Kelsey blurted, her voice a little too gleeful.
“Not sure I’m a great candidate for surfing.”
“Why not? I thought I was clumsy until I got on a board. Plus, you always say trying new things creates growth and better life lessons.”
“I meant new foods,” he said dryly. “Like ... fried avocado.”
“Gross,” she said. “No, surfing.”
Rowan bit down on laughter. “I don’t know if your dad is built for it,” she said, light and teasing. She tipped her head toward Everett.“He’s a fast walker, though. The rash guard would look good. We’re halfway there.”
He narrowed his eyes. “This is target practice! I see how it is.”
“Come on,” Kelsey begged. “Just once. You can go on a big board with me and Rowan. We’ll hold on to you. You won’t die.”
Everett wiped his fingers on a napkin as if he could remove the butter and the panic at the same time. “That’s a relief.”
She thought of Everett in the water, and a tiny part of her longed to see the moment. To try out a part of her world and see it the way she did. “Suit can’t get his hair wet,” she said, half smiling. “It might make him late to a meeting.”
He smiled like he couldn’t help it. “I don’t have meetings today. I blocked off the calendar. Miracles happen.”
He squeezed her hand, staring at her with dark eyes that promised things after dark. She refused to blush. “Let’s stretch our legs,” she suggested.
They dumped their trash and started a slow walk down the beach. Kelsey ran ahead. She found a piece of coral shaped like a heart and showed it to them like a trophy. Everett walked beside Rowan, step for step, letting the waves lick their ankles. His hand was still wrapped around hers. The weight and warmth of the connection kept surprising her. Kelsey glanced at them once, smiled secretly, and ran off again.
“Must have been nice growing up here,” he said. “You make it sound like a small town, not ... this.” He nodded to the expanse of blue, the tourists, the surfers sunning themselves like seals on the shoreline. A dog chased a ball like its life depended on it.
“It’s both,” she said. “You can know everyone and still get swallowed. There’s a choice. Probably like living in the city. Tons of people but you can isolate yourself.”
Everett nodded. “Exactly.” He glanced at her knee. The scar caught the light. He didn’t ask. She was weirdly grateful. Most people wanted the story like they were owed it.
Kelsey bounced back to them. “Dad, can we come again? Tomorrow? Or next week? I don’t care. I just want to come back.”
“We can make that happen.”
Kelsey nodded, satisfied. She took both their hands, lacing her fingers through theirs, small grip warm and sure. The three of them walked like that, a weird, new shape that felt ...
Right.
Kelsey spied something and dropped their hands, sprinting toward a cluster of kids poking at a tide pool. “Don’t touch anything that touches back,” Rowan called automatically. Kelsey waved without looking.
“She’s different here,” he said softly.
“How?”
“Looser,” he said after a moment. “Happier. Or maybe I’m projecting what I want.”
Rowan understood. She knew the look of a kid who had found a thing. She’d been that kid once, gangly and burned, her dad a shadow behind her making her feel seen and safe. She automatically touched the tat by her heart. “It’s not just the surfing. It’s your attention. Both are addictive.”
He tipped her chin up and captured her gaze. She ached to put her hands on his chest, rise on tiptoes, and kiss him. The flare of hunger in his dark eyes told her she wasn’t alone with her need. “I’m starting to feel the same.”
The statement landed hard between them, filled with buried need. She shuddered. What was happening between them? It was so fast, yet not. How could she feel as if she knew him intimately, when she truly didn’t know him at all? Rowan tried to back off, but he wasn’t done.
