The hotel bar sent down a cart to set up, along with a bartender and beach themed cocktails. I order a piña colada inside an actual coconut. Meghan and Paul toast us with theirs, and the four of us walk down to the water to dip our toes in. As usual, the Pacific’s water is frigid, but it’s a nice shock to the system, especially after the walk across the hot white sand.
We chat and smile, until Meghan complains that her feet are getting too cold. She and Paul promise to save us a spot near the fire, and they head back up, leaving me and Luke alone with the lapping waves. We walk back a few paces from the water’s edge, and he spreads out the jacket he brought with him for me to sit on. He just sits straight down on the sand himself.
“It is beautiful here,” I say, sipping my drink. He takes a long drink of his and nods.
“It is,” he says, but his eyes never leave my face. He doesn’t even seem to notice the setting sun or the beach around us. Nothing but me. It makes a curl of pleasure swirl through my body. I can’t help it. I start to smile, broad and unstoppable.
His words from earlier have been stuck in my head all day. I’d never share Celia. Does that mean what I think it does? That there really is something between us, that this whole thing is real. Luke isn’t just playing around—or maybe he started out playing around, on account of the silly bet. But now he isn’t. I know it, just as suddenly and surely as I know that what I feel for him is more than just a silly office crush, too.
We know each other. We get along and have for a year. And now, we both know there’s more to it than just flirtation. There’s real chemistry here, and real feelings, too.
He leans in to kiss me, and my toes curl in the sand, even as I slide one hand up to bury it in his hair. This time his kiss is soft and slow and sweet. So tender it makes my heart ache with want. When we break apart, both our faces are flushed, even redder than the setting sun is currently painting them.
We linger like that, foreheads pressed together, gazes locked, as the sun dips below the horizon. All around us on the beach, we hear people cheering for the sunset. But it almost feels like they’re cheering for us, like this moment is a little slice of what our life together could be like, if we made this more than just a one weekend affair.
It makes my head swim with happiness. It makes me want more. And I think Luke does too.
“This weekend…” He hesitates. Tries again. “Celia, I can’t tell you enough how much I appreciate everything about you.”
I smile at him, cupping his cheek. “Isn’t that what wives are for?”
He smiles back and tilts his head to one side to plant a slow kiss right in the center of my palm. “I just hope I’ve been a good enough husband to make up for it.”
“Oh, more than enough.” I trail my hand down to his chest, and let my palm rest there, feeling his slow, steady heartbeat. “I could get used to this,” I whisper.
But between the wind and the waves, I’m not sure I spoke loud enough for him to hear me. His gaze has drifted away from mine, out over the waves, like he’s considering the newly set sun and the pink painted wisps of cloud that still hover just above the horizon.
We sit in companionable silence for a few minutes, until I notice his drink is empty. Gently, I disentangle it from his fingers. He sees what I’m doing and moves to stand. “Let me,” he says. “Do you need another?”
But I shake my head, already halfway to my feet. “I’ll go. Same again?” I wiggle his empty beer, and he nods. Unable to hide my smile, which feels stupidly wide, stretching practically from ear to ear, I jog back across the sand toward the bar set up, my heart fizzing with happiness.
This weekend is the start of something. I just know it is.
When I finally reach the bar, Paul is already in line there. I look around for Meghan and find her chatting to some girls near the firepit, waving her drink around to demonstrate some point. Paul waves and smiles as I approach. “Luke sending you on drink duty?” He shakes his head and tsks. “What a lazy husband you’ve got.”
I snort. “Nah, I volunteered for this one. Needed to stretch my legs.” I fall into line behind him after depositing my empty glasses on the bar. I feel awkward for a moment, aware of Paul’s eyes on me, and remembering his comments earlier. But he apologized to Luke already, and he didn’t mean anything bad I’m sure. He just wanted a foursome, that’s all.