“Do you want to walk on the beach?” Isaac asked.
“Oh yes, please.” She clapped her hands together and beamed at him.
He smiled and gestured to the opening for the door.
“Will we close all the glass tonight?” she asked. She might have a hard time sleeping otherwise. The bedrooms and bathroom had normal walls and windows with shutters, but the main part of the house was so open with the retractable walls that it was almost unnerving.
“Sure,” he said.
They eased down the porch steps and through the palm trees, walking quietly along the beach in bare feet. She wondered how far this stretch of sand extended. “Could we run in the morning and see how far we can go?”
“You really like to run, don’t you?”
“Yeah. It’s the only break I take from work.”
“So you’re pretty much a confirmed workaholic?”
She nodded. “Pretty much.”
Isaac glanced down at her. “That’s crazy. The Cozy I remember was a lot of fun.”
“Life kind of knocks the fun out of you.” She frowned but changed the subject quickly. “You and your brothers used to call me Loony Lovegood.”
Isaac chuckled. “No,” he corrected. “Seth and Caleb called you that, but they fancied themselves Fred and George Weasley, so I wouldn’t put much stock in what they said.”
“What did you call me back then?” she asked.
He smiled secretively. “Cutie Cozy.”
She wrinkled her nose. Cutie? Definitely a childish nickname.
“Don’t you like it?” He shifted closer to her as they walked.
Cosette inhaled at that moment, and she sighed and leaned closer, taking a long sniff of him.
“Did you just sniff me?” Isaac asked.
Cosette tossed her head impertinently. “So what if I did? Smells are my life.”
He laughed. “So what do I smell like?”
“1 Million by Paco Rabanne,” she answered without missing a beat. “It’s a mix of cinnamon, citrus, and leather. It works well with your body chemistry, and I’m sure the average woman would think you smell nice.”
“That’s impressive. You not only recognize my cologne but know the scents in it.” His eyebrows rose, but then his brow furrowed. “Wait. You don’t think I smell nice?”
She shrugged and said in a challenging tone, “You could smell better.”
Isaac stopped and turned to her. “How’s that?”
She couldn’t resist smiling at his frustration. “You do smell ‘nice’, but I have a few cologne samples I’d love to try on you. I think my Military or Athletic lines would blend perfectly with your body chemistry, and then you would smell … irresistible.”
Isaac’s blue eyes seared into her. The sun had dipped and the night was falling, but those eyes still had plenty of light in them. “Would I be irresistible to you?”
You already are. She swallowed and managed to say, “Come on, let’s go play with scents.” Tugging at his hand, she turned toward the house.
Isaac followed along, and luckily, she didn’t have to answer his question.
They got back to the house, and she sat him down at the kitchen table. “Okay, wait here while I get samples and some supplies.”