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She nodded. “I’d love that.”
He climbed out and opened her door, and she walked to the steps before she bent and took off her boots while he took off his shoes. They left them on the top step—no one was around to take them—before walking down the concrete steps and onto the gritty, yet soft sand.
“That feels lovely,” she said with a sigh. It’d been too long since she’d gone barefooted.
“It does,” he acknowledged as he reached for her hand.
She pretended not to notice the electric charge that zapped through her, instead she concentrated on the receding water that rushed back toward them, wetting their feet past their ankles before it receded yet again then repeated the cycle.
She lifted her head into the breeze, admiring the millions of stars scattered like jewels overhead, twinkling high in the velvet sky despite the full moon’s brightness. “What is it about the beach that makes worries slip right away?”
“You have a lot of worries?” he asked, his fingers tightening on hers.
She huffed out a dry laugh. “Don’t we all?”
“Some more than others,” he said, turning to her even while drawing her toward him. “Care to share yours?”
“It’s nothing I can’t handle,” she said dismissively. The last thing she wanted was for their second date to turn into a pity party. She wanted to enjoy this one night with him, not think back about it and cringe.
His eyes assessed her, and though he looked as if he was about to question her, he instead said, “When my brothers and I were just kids, our parents used to book a caravan on the beach every year without fail. We loved fishing and swimming, so our annual holiday was something we always looked forward to.”
“Are your parents still around?”
“No. Thanks to a drink driver, they died in a car crash.” He looked like he was about to say more, then shook his head and said, “Life was never quite the same after that. It was only lucky us brothers stuck together and did everything we could to make our parents proud.”
“I bet they’re more than proud of their sons, you’re all so successful.”
He snorted. “Yeah, well. We discovered early on that money wasn’t as hard to make as we thought as long as we put the effort in.” He cocked his head to the side. “What about your parents?”
She flinched, then managed a smile. “My mother left me when I was too young to even remember her, and my d-dad,” she sucked in a quivery breath, “died almost eighteen months ago to a massive stroke.”
“I’m sorry, wildflower. You clearly still miss him.”
She nodded. “He was all I had.”
Liam drew her into his arms and she savored the closeness, the feeling of sharing the load. She didn’t realize she was crying until he stepped back and thumbed dry some of her tears.
She sniffled. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin the mood—“
“Don’t apologize. Of course you still miss your dad. I’m only sorry I didn’t get to meet him. He must have been an amazing man to have raised such a wonderful daughter.”
She hiccupped. “Now you’re j-just being n-nice.”
“I’m being honest.”
He bent his head and kissed her then, his lips soft and gentle. There was no taking or demanding, he was simply there for her, helping her to forget while creating new memories to hold onto.
She was startled when he pulled back, resentful almost that he’d stopped the one thing that had made her feel better again.
His stare held hers. “I won’t take advantage of you.”
“You paid for my time,” she refuted, her voice wobbly. “You’re hardly taking advantage.”
The began walking again, the sand squeaking a little under their bare feet and the ocean lulling them with its small swell that hit the sand and rushed over their feet once again before sucking back out to sea.
Liam bent and picked up something. She realized it was a large white shell that looked like a lacy fan. He gave it to her. “Present for you,” he said with a flash of white teeth.
She laughed even as she ran her hand over its rough texture. “I’ll treasure it.”
