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“If you couldn’t tell, it’s not a place I go a lot.” I wriggled on his back, trying to keep my feet out of the water.
“Stop splashing,” he told me, tapping my thigh with his fingers. “We’ll go slow.”
“If I die because you wanted to swim in our underwear, I’m going to haunt you forever and make your life hell.”
“Duly noted.” Slowly, he began the trek back to the beach. His steps were slow and careful, and this was exactly why my mom always told me to stay out of the water at night. “Nothing like a potential shark to kill a boner.”
“If it didn’t, I’d be worried.” I slid off his back to my feet and instantly winced. “Ow.”
“What’s up?” He looked at me, the concern on his face illuminated by the moon.
“My foot hurts.” I put my weight on my right foot.
“Hold on. I have my phone in my pants pocket. I’ll put my shirt out for you to sit on so I can look.”
He moved before I could register that he was leaving me standing at the very edge of the water.
Wait—no.
“Adam!” I hopped on my right foot onto the sand. “Don’t leave me with the shark.”
“Jesus, Poppy.” He laughed, running to me right before I fell over. “It’s not gonna come up that high. Come on.” He wrapped an arm around me and guided me over—still hopping—to where he’d laid his shirt on the beach.
He helped me down and got my dress, pulling it over my head to cover my boobs. He even did the zip up for me as I pulled my hair around and squeezed water out of it.
“Let me put my pants on.” He did that quickly then pulled out his phone. Using the flashlight to get some light, he gently took my left foot in his hand and tilted it to see. “You’re bleeding.”
“Great. So I was the reason for the shark.”
“Absolutely. It was entirely your fault we were almost eaten.” He half-smiled. “I can’t see anything in it. Does it sting or just hurt?”
“Just hurt.”
“All right. Here.” He rested my foot on his and, using the sleeve of his shirt, touched it to my foot.
“What are you doing?” I pulled away.
“Poppy, it’s just a shirt. I need to stem the bleeding before I take you inside and get a Band-Aid or something, okay? It’s right in the arch of your foot.”
I sighed. “I bet that happened when I went down.”
He nodded. “Probably when you fell the second time. You wouldn’t have felt it because you were too mad at me.”
“So, it’s all your fault instead.”
“If that makes you feel better.” He peered up at me, smiling, then checked my foot. “Okay. If I carry you, we can probably get there before it starts again.”
I groaned. “Driving home tomorrow is going to suck so bad.”
He gave me a sympathetic nod and stood up. Adam turned off the flashlight and tucked his phone back into his pocket, then bent to pick me up. I made sure to grab his shirt and both our shoes before he lifted me. He held me against his body with one arm behind my knees and the other around the top of my back.
“This isn’t how I planned this night to end,” I muttered grumpily as he carried me up the beach.
His laugh was light and low and oh-so-delicious. “You know what, Red? It wasn’t my plan, either, but it makes total sense, don’t you think?”
In a weird kind of way, he was right.
It did make sense.
CHAPTER TWENTY – POPPY
Goodbyes Are For Suckers
I felt sick.
I didn’t want to say goodbye.
I shifted on my feet as Adam opened the trunk of his car. I’d been re-bandaged this morning and taken painkillers to make the drive home as easy as possible, but right now, knowing he was leaving, the pain in my foot didn’t come close to comparing to the pain I felt in my heart.
And it was stupid pain. Not stupidly painful, but straight up stupid pain. I knew this would happen. It was written in the stars from the very beginning. This hadn’t been a first date or a precursor to something longer or more serious.
Yet, I’d allowed myself to cross the line into falling for him. I know—four days. It sounded stupid, but we’d been together almost constantly. You put any two strangers with an attraction together and they were bound to feel things.
I just hoped I hadn’t fallen too far and that I’d be over this in a week. That was all I was holding onto as Adam slammed the trunk and walked over to me.
He reached out, his fingers trailing across my skin as he pushed hair from my face and tucked it around my ear. “I had a really great time this weekend.”
“Me, too,” I said softly. “It was fun. You know. Apart from my foot getting cut open and Aunt Blythe stripping at breakfast.”
