“The castle you built. You drew all over the cardboard and made it look like a real castle.”
She laughs and waves away my suggestion. “That was just silly. I was playing with Skyler.”
“Do you think you could make other things with cardboard?” I hadn’t stopped thinking about what Levi had said about manufacturing and selling them.
“Like what?” A large wave hits our legs, and she grabs hold of my arm and laughs, doing a little dance in the water.
I smile. She has a childlike quality that I find adorable. She’s being free with me right now, and it’s refreshing. I like how her touch feels, but she pulls away too soon.
“What about a clubhouse or something?” I say.
Her eyes light up. “Ooh, yes. Or a rocket ship, or a car? A train would be fun, I could make different train cars for it.” She whacks my arm. “Or how about a lemonade stand? Skyler would love that.”
I smile at her enthusiasm. “Yes. Do you think you could make some designs for me?”
She wrinkles her nose. “Designs?”
“Like, draw them out. Make patterns for those things.”
She cocks her head to the side. “I could build them if you give me enough cardboard.”
I nod as I step over a pile of seaweed that has washed up on shore. “That would work. I could get someone to make patterns from the prototypes.”
She stops and turns to me. Her face is lit in the moonlight, and I love the freckles that sprinkle across her cheeks and how her nose turns up at the end. “Prototypes? What are you talking about?”
“I think Levi is right. I think you could make these and sell them.”
She laughs and shakes her head. “No way.”
“I’m serious. This could be a great business.” Some strands of her hair have come out of her messy bun, and I itch to push them gently back behind her ear.
“I can’t do that. I know nothing about owning a business. And I’d need money to do that. I have no money.”
My gaze slides over her features. I ache to touch her, but I’m afraid of how she would react. “Have you forgotten what I do for a living?”
She presses her lips together and contemplates my words. Finally, she shakes her head. “I can’t ask you to invest in me.”
“I invest in people all the time. People who have great products and great ideas. People who I know won’t let me down. You have all of that.”
She turns from me. “No, I don’t.”
The mood has shifted, and emotion that I don’t understand clouds her voice. I reach out and grab her wrist, gently pulling her toward me. “Kiki,” I say. I don’t know what I’m doing, but the second she turns back to me, and I see tears in her eyes, I pull her to my chest.
She stiffens for a split second before she melts into my embrace. I hold her close to me as my heartbeat hammers loud in my ears. “What’s the matter?” I whisper softly into her hair.
She doesn’t say anything, but she’s quietly crying, and I don’t understand what I did to upset her. I feel bold, and I press my lips to the top of her head. Her hair smells like lilacs and the ocean. I breathe in her scent.
“I’m sorry if I said something offensive. I didn’t mean to.”
“No, you didn’t,” she says into my chest.
I hold her until she stops crying. I gently stroke her back. I’m unsure if it helps her feel better, but I don’t know what else to do, and I hate to see her upset like this. I want to know what’s wrong, but I’m getting the feeling she isn’t going to tell me.
She finally pulls back from me, and I let her go. I look into her watery eyes. They mirror the ocean, deep blue, and hold emotions I can’t understand. Unable to control myself any longer, I reach up and tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. I slowly cup her jaw, sliding my hand over her skin. It’s soft, and I glide my thumb over her cheek. It feels so good my breath catches.
She closes her eyes and leans into my touch. My thumb catches a tear as it falls down her cheek. “Please don’t cry,” I whisper. “Whatever it is, I’ll fix it.”
Waves lap at our feet as we stand in the moonlight. Kiki opens her eyes. “I wish you could, but you can’t.”
