“Nothin’s wrong with you, Sal.”
“Face it, Luke. My brain is broken.” Without warning, Sal slaps her temple. “Work. Work. I just want it to work, Luke.” Her voice turns pleading. “Why won’t it work?”
Luke pries her hand away from her head, keeping her wrist still. “Stop. Stop it,” he says, his voice coming out rough. He grabs Sal to his chest, holding her tight so she can’t hurt herself. She shakes against him. But she’s not crying, her entire body livid with rage and fury.
She leans back to look at him, her eyes shiny, her lips flat and white.
“What if I never remember anything?” She extends a hand. “How is all this fair to you? Everything we’ve shared is gone. Every memory between us. I can’t remember our wedding, or your first tour, or our first date. And you have to live with that.” She lets out a disgusted growl. “I’ve been selfish only thinking of myself.”
He chuckles. “Sal, that’s the last thing you are.”
“Maybe so, but ...” She gives him a doubtful look. “Doesn’t it make you sad? All our little moments ...” Her eyes go shiny, her voice turns soft. “We lost so much.”
Luke’s throat constricts.
“It ain’t easy,” he admits, grazing a thumb against the delicate arch of her cheekbone. “It’s hard as hell and I hate it. The thought of you not rememberin’ our life together, it tears me up inside. But ...” He gathers Sal’s hand in his. “I didn’t lose you, Sal. That’d be my greatest pain.”
A tear slips down her cheek.
His hand trembles as he brushes it away. He leans close. “Besides, your brain is really, really beautiful, and I love it, and you, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
A small laugh escapes Sal. She bumps her shoulder to his. “Why are you so good at this? Cheering me up?”
“Darlin’, I’ll make you happy for the rest of your life if you let me.”
“I will.” She turns her body into his. Puts a hand over her heart and whispers, “I really will, Luke.”
Then, his lips are on hers, desperate for her touch, her taste.
Sal grabs at his shirt, a willowy gasp of air escaping her before she inhales his mouth. His hands knot in her hair as he hauls her against his chest. All of Sal’s warm curves pressed tight against him.
The kiss is relentless, insistent. Finally, they withdraw, panting.
Heavy-lidded, breathless, Sal stares at him. “I’ve been wanting to do that all day.”
Luke dips his head to nip the top of her shoulder. It’s red from the sun and hot on his lips. He nuzzles his nose against her neck, feeling Sal’s arms wrapping around his waist. The curve of her hip, the caress of her gentle hands, is enough to send him into oblivion. Is enough to have him thanking God he can call her his.
“You’re getting burned.” His voice is a husky murmur.
“We could cool off?”
He grins. “What do you have in m—”
Luke’s next word is cut off abruptly as Sal shoves him into the river. She leaps to her feet, howling with laughter, and then jumps in after him.
Luke pops out of the water, sputtering, followed shortly by Sal. All he can do is stare, watching the water roll down her velvet skin as she laughs and laughs. The most beautiful sound in the world.
With a wild holler, he grabs Sal up in his arms. She squeals in delight as his hands wrap around her slim waist to lift her in the air.
“You done me wrong, darlin’! Now you pay!”
He tosses her high, watching as she splashes into the water.
When Sal emerges, shooting up like a rocket, she gracefully flips herself onto her back to float. She tilts her face to the sun, to the sky.
And then she screams. Joyfully. A release.
They swim until the sun sinks below the horizon. Until a small tendril of smoke gets Luke’s attention.
Luke swims over to Sal, catching her up in his arms to kiss her. “Let’s get back. I gotta surprise for you.”
Her eyebrows rise but she says nothing. Only lets Luke carry her back onto the muddy bank.
When he sets her down, she looks up at him. “Thank you,” she says. “For being honest with me. For making me feel a million times better.”
His gut twists.
But he steels himself, watching as Sal walks away, barefoot, dancing up the muddy bank to the grass.
Tonight. He has to tell her everything tonight.