“Just wait.” I took a second to appreciate Maggie dressed like she was, sitting in my Porsche, looking like an absolute fantasy. I smirked and backed out of the garage, taking off up the driveway with the chirp of my tires.

She giggled. “Okay, I guess I see the appeal.”

I laughed.

We drove into town and parked on the main drag in front of the bistro. I helped her out of the car and offered her my arm.

I was king of the universe with Maggie on my arm.

We stepped into the quiet restaurant, following the host through the dim dining room and to a table for two with crisp white linens. I pulled out her chair, and she smiled at me sweetly as she set down her clutch and took a seat.

The restaurant was dark enough that the only light seemed to come from the cluster of candles on the table. I glanced around to see the faces of other patrons like islands in the dark around us. Our waiter materialized next to the table with a smile and poured our water, introducing himself and giving us a brief rundown of the menu before disappearing again, leaving us alone.

I sat back in my seat watching her look over the small menu, her brow creased just enough to know she wasn’t quite sure of herself.

“This all sounds delicious, but why aren’t there prices?”

I smiled. “The price is per meal. Just pick three courses.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Do I want to know how much it costs?”

“Probably not.”

She sighed and shook her head, red lips curved into a smile as she glanced back at her menu. “I don’t know that I’ve ever eaten dandelion before. And oxtail … is that actually …”

I chuckled. “Yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like.”

“Oh. Maybe I’ll stick to lobster, then.”

I glanced at my menu. “They’ll pair our wine, if that works for you?”

“I’m sure they’d do a much better job than I would.” She looked up at me. “I’m a little intimidated.”

I gave her a reassuring smile. “Well, here’s a tip. Everything here is amazing. It really doesn’t matter what you choose.”

She seemed comforted. “I suppose that makes sense, what with the unspeakable price tag and all.” She laid her menu back on her plate and reached across the table for my hand. “Thank you, Cooper.”

I took her hand and ran my thumb across her knuckles. “You don’t have to thank me. I’m just glad you’re here. This has been …”

Her face softened. “I know,” she said quietly.

I put on The Smile, skirting the topic like I’d promised. “Not that either of us doubted I could convince you to come.”

Maggie laughed and squeezed my hand. “No, I’m just a sucker for you. I’m generally much more fastidious in my decisions.”

“Oh, I know. We’re old buddies, the rules and me.”

“Never stops you from trying to break them though, does it?”

One week. This is it. Don’t let her go. I pushed down my rambling thoughts and shrugged. “I didn’t break them. Just bent them a little.”

The waiter appeared again and took our order, removing our menus with a smile and a quiet whoosh before he was gone once more.

I steered the conversation away from us and sat across from her, hanging on every word, every smile, as a small part of me held its breath, not knowing how long our moment would last. I watched her face when our food came, as she took each bite and moaned ever so softly, the light in her eyes sparking with adventure.

It was too perfect, too good. The taste of reality she’d given me before we’d left the beach house had shaken my confidence, the reminder that our lives were waiting for us back home — West, her rules, her past. It was a reminder that I didn’t know how she felt, didn’t know what she wanted.

I didn’t know if I was ready to find out.

I wasn’t ready for the day to end, but it would. The clock would tick and tick until the seconds piled up and turned into minutes, into hours. And then it would be tomorrow.

I didn’t want tomorrow at all.

I hung on to the hope that I would be enough for her. That she’d take a chance on me. I knew she felt what I did. I just needed her to want to feel it. I needed her to say yes.

I wasn’t prepared for anything other than yes. I couldn’t fathom it. I couldn’t imagine a universe in which Maggie wasn’t sitting across from me looking like everything I’ve ever wanted.

If no was the answer, I’d keep trying because I couldn’t walk away from her. Especially not now.

We walked to the ice cream shop after dinner, eating our cones in my Porsche like the irresponsible youths that we were. I took her hand and towed her out of the house and down the trail to the ocean. Her shoes hung on her fingers with the moonlight in her hair, on her skin, in her eyes as we walked along the shore, letting the waves wash over our feet.

She held my hand, shifting her fingers against mine as if she were paying just as much attention to the places where we touched as she was anything else, which was a lot. Maggie just experienced life that way — she was an open vessel, pouring the world into herself as if she’d never fill up.

I pulled her to a stop on the beach, and she looked back, confused for only the blink of an eye before she smiled and stepped toward me, reaching up to cup my face and kiss me. She breathed me in, and I breathed her, our lips tender and insistent.

My arms were around her. Her body was against mine. My heart was in her hands, and I knew.

There would never be anyone else.

She smiled up at me, turning to walk away without breaking her gaze as she tossed her shoes up the beach and reached for the hem of her dress. Her fingers hooked under it, and she pulled it up over her hips, over her ribs, over her head. She had nothing else on.

I tossed my shoes in the direction of hers and tugged at my tie, unable to get my clothes off fast enough as I watched her step into the ocean in the moonlight. I followed her in, reaching her once she stopped past the breaks where it was calm.

She turned to face me, and I reached for her, slipped a hand around her waist and pulled until our bodies met, her soft skin against mine. Her legs wrapped around me, and as she dragged her hands through the water, a soft glow trailed through her fingers. She did it again, and we watched in wonder at the magic of it all. When she looked up at me, her eyes were too open, too much.

I love you. Don’t leave me.

But I couldn’t speak. Not with words. So I told her the story of my love with the rest of me. With my lips and my hands. With a touch and a sigh. I loved her, and I didn’t know if I could keep her. But I would try.

I would never stop trying.

I made the silent promise with the ocean in my ears and her arms around my neck. And when I slipped inside of her and took her mouth, took her body, I could feel her heart, feel her soul. I only hoped she could feel mine too.

Maggie

My face was buried in his neck, my body humming as he pulsed inside of me. We were wrapped in each other, cradled in each other’s arms in the moonlight, my body his completely.

My heart reached for him with every beat.

I closed my lips over the salty skin of his neck, eyes closed and heart open. The day had been a dream, but the night — the night had shown me something I hadn’t even realized I’d been hoping for. It gave me a glimpse into what it would be like to be with Cooper. What it would be like to love him. What it would be like if he loved me, too.

I didn’t want to let him go.

His hands slipped into my hair, his lips finding my shoulder, and I leaned back so I could see him. The shadows cast half of his face into the dark, his blue eyes so full of moonlight that they almost glowed. Those eyes were full of adoration. I knew mine said the same.

His eyes disappeared behind a flutter of dark lashes as he leaned forward to kiss me, a kiss full of devotion and quiet worship, and I gave him the same, this beautiful man who showed me what it meant to be cherished.