Her eyes are wide as we walk side by side.
“That had to have taken forever,” she says. “Why couldn’t he buy new bricks? That would have made it just as beautiful.”
I think for a moment, listening to the soft thump of our footsteps across the bridge.
“Yeah, but going down to Home Depot to purchase bricks is far less romantic than battling dangerous voyages across the ocean.”
“Oh,” she glances up at me. “Is romance what you were going for here?”
“Clearly.” I chuckle. “Thanks for finally catching on.”
“I guess it is kind of romantic.” She exhales. “He gave the bricks new hope. They couldn’t hold up under the pressure, so he created a new dream so they’d always serve a purpose.”
I clear my throat. “Exactly what I was going to say next.”
She squeezes my hand. “I’m sure.”
I pull her to a stop next to the dip in the wall. She places both hands on the bricks like she’s trying to siphon from them the strength they carried across continents. But she’s already got it all. The perseverance, the beauty. I hope she knows that.
Wisps of dark hair billow softly behind her. She’s breathtaking. The view could be the most beautiful one to ever grace the earth, and I’d still choose to look at her.
I step behind her, resting my hands on the wall beside hers.
She takes the invitation and leans back into my chest. I drop my hands from the wall and circle them around her waist. I’m completely lost in her. In the soft skin of her cheek on mine, and the sweet smell that’s both intoxicating and frustrating, because I want to drink it in but know that will never be enough.
I don’t have to drive any further. This is home right here.
“Karli?”
“Hmm.”
“Will you go on a date with me? When we get back to Phoenix?”
She’s silent for a moment, so silent the horn from the yacht below nearly makes me jump out of my skin.
“Is this not a date?”
My whole body relaxes. “It could be, but I didn’t ask first.” I drop a delicate kiss on her neck.
“How dare you break the rules of propriety,” she snickers.
I kiss her neck again. “I’ll break all the rules for you,” I murmur into the soft skin above her collarbone.
She leans her head back, granting me further access to her neck.
I trail kisses up every inch of skin I can find. I brush the hair over her other shoulder, and she shivers as I work on the other side.
“Trent…”
I grab her hips and spin her around in my arms. I need her lips now. “Yes?”
“I’d love to go on a date with you. But only if you wear chain mail.”
“Who says I have it?” I totally have it.
“Something tells me it will show up.” She tiptoes her fingers up my chest, my chin, and stops at my lips. “And I want to know your middle name.”
“Sorry, we’re not close enough for that.”
