“Good. I thought it could be fun. Something new for us both.”
“I can’t wait to be floating and stuffing my face full of food with you.”
He sends me a look, chuckling. Hank hands Landon the keys. “Here they are. Take good care of her. I’ll be back a little before eight p.m. You two enjoy.”
“Thank you, I’m sure we will.” I beat Landon to it.
Hank smiles and heads toward another boat as we both turn around to get a look at our ride for the night.
“Ready?” Landon asks with sparkling eyes, reaching for my hand.
I take it, squeezing his fingers. “If you are, then I am too.”
He gets on first and I follow after him, unhooking the boat from the dock once we’re both on. Our hands don’t separate until we’re in our seats. Sitting on the floor is a small ice chest and picnic basket.
“Fancy,” I say, peeking through all the stuff Hank left behind. Sandwiches, fruit, veggie sticks, cheese, meats, crackers, champagne, and bottles of water. Looks like he has the whole thing covered.
“So, who made the sandwiches? Hank doesn’t strike me as a kitchen kind of guy.” I lay my feet out on the back seat.
Landon rolls his eyes and drowns me out with the roaring engine of the boat. I laugh and he drives us out to the middle of the lake. The short ride is nice and the water hitting my face doesn’t feel as cold as I thought it would. We’re still a long way from summer, and I’m so ready to be done with the cooler days, but I let him convince me to come anyway. This is fun. Being alone with him away from others is a plus.
He shuts off the boat and lowers an anchor to keep us from drifting off too much. I reach for the glasses and champagne, not opening the bottle until he’s plopping down beside me.
“It’s beautiful out here.”
“Yeah.” I look around, taking in the breathtaking sunset and how the remaining light bounces off the water. The sky is amixture of pinks, reds, and yellows. “It’s the perfect night for this. Thanks for bringing me.”
“Well, my boyfriend canceled so—”
I whack him softly in the chest with the back of my hand, cutting off the rest of his words, and he chokes on a laugh.
“Oh sure, and I’m the one with the bad jokes.”
“Who said I was joking?” He waggles his brows.
The cork shoots forward with a pop and I quickly guide the rising champagne to one of the cups. After filling both, I hand one to him and set the bottle on the floor. Scooting closer to me, he sips his drink, and I don’t care about anything else but him at this moment.
“What?” He tilts his head. “Why are you looking at me all funny?”
“I love you, you know that?”
Smiling, he lowers his glass. “I do.”
“Very much.”
“Is that so?” His mouth inches closer to mine.
“Si.”
“Good thing I feel the same way then.” It’s always been me too, right back at ya, or ditto. Not once the actual words. But I don’t need to hear them to know he feels them. His eyes say it all and so does the way he kisses me. Our lips touch and loud clicking sounds go off in my ears. My heart quickens as panic rises in me at the strong smell of burning rubber, and before I can say anything, an explosion has us flying out of the boat.
Water wraps around me, filling my lungs. Limbs aching and head fuzzy, I swim to the surface. Landon’s eyes are closed as he floats away from me. Pain stabs at my body and the side of my face burns. I reach for him, but before my fingers can grab onto his arm a piece of the boat hits me in the head. The blow is so hard I lose consciousness and everything fades away from me—the lake, the world, and him. I see my mom’s face below, she’s frowning and reaching for me, right before I fully shut my eyes.
Loud blares of a siren add to the throbbing pain in my face and head. My eyes slowly open and everything is a blur. Obscure figures amble around me and hard plastic is being shoved on my face. I slap it away, trying to sit up. Strong hands hold me down and their voices make it sound like they’re talking under water.
“Landon,” I say too quietly at first.
“What?” someone asks from nearby. The first word I’m finally able to make out.
