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“Water?”
“Yes, please.” I chewed on my bottom lip. “So, you two have been friends for a long time?
“Yeah,” he chuckled. “Since we got into the Navy, and then we were SEALs together.” When he’d told me what he used to do and that he was a SEAL, I could picture it. I’d almost swallowed my tongue when he’d shown me a picture of him in his uniform when they had returned from a mission. Dan was sexy and strong all the time, but that picture of him in a uniform was on a whole other level.
“You two make sense.”
“Yeah? How so?”
“It’s like my sister and me. We’re opposites, but we mesh well. Do you think they’ve met before?” I asked, and he frowned.
“Who?”
“My sister and Abel.” I had a feeling if they did, they would hit it off. Too bad that even though she was getting better, Abby was scared of her own shadow. Even before her accident. But I had a feeling Abel had a gentle side. A patient one that might do well trying to get her to talk and coax her out of her shell.
“Maybe.” He shrugged. “It’s possible. You guys keep telling me it’s a small town.”
“Yeah, true.” He walked over and handed me a bottle of water before taking my hand in his. We walked out to the balcony together and sat down with me on his lap.
“You okay?” he asked. I opened and shut my mouth.
It would have been so easy to say yes. To shove down the worry that had started to pile up over the last couple of days. Part of me thought I was being silly. We had been inseparable, and it wasn’t like he wasn’t attentive. But I could tell there was something on his mind.
Something he wasn’t telling me.
I had no idea how I knew that. We didn’t know each other perfectly, but I felt like I did.
“I’m going to miss you,” I whispered.
“What?” His brows bunched, and he searched my gaze. “I’m right here.”
“I know, but… but it’s almost been two weeks.”
“I’m right here, baby. Kitten, I’m not going anywhere.” For now. The unspoken words clung between us.
“You’re right.” I shook away the doubt and leaned into him. It wasn’t lost on me how it felt when we cuddled. Like two pieces of a puzzle coming together.
“You know, the first night I got into town, I came out here,” he shared, and I smiled. I liked when he talked about that night. I still couldn’t believe he’d seen me. That we had been so close yet not. Dan stood up and led me toward the rail.
“I was standing here with a beer.” He painted the picture for me.
“Mmm,” I sighed happily. I could picture it, too.
Dan’s arms wrapped around my waist, his front shielding my back from the summer breeze.
“I looked up at the sky. I was trying to figure out what the hell I was supposed to do with my life. I needed a sign, but the more I thought about it, the more it felt like I kept hitting a wall, a blank one.” His lips pressed against my temple. “I couldn’t believe how clear the sky was. Much like tonight.” I didn’t have to look over my shoulder to know he was looking at the star-littered sky above. His lips dropped to my temple, and he pressed a kiss there.
“Then…” His voice drifted off, and I waited, but he didn’t say anything more. My arms clung to his at my waist, nestling close, pressing the back of my head against his chest.
“Then what?” I asked. His arms tightened their hold on me.
“I saw a shooting star,” he whispered, and my body froze.
He saw it.
He’d seen it, too!
“I’m forty. I’ve seen a lot of the world. Beautiful things, terrible shit. Been in areas that…” He sighed. “Let’s just say, I’ve seen a lot, so much I shouldn’t have thought about making a wish. But when I saw it, I didn’t overthink it. I just made a wish.”
