She held her phone up in front of her, concentrating on the view. Maybe she’d take a video and post that to Facebook. A reel. That’s what they called it these days.
She really needed to be a little higher. Still watching the view on her phone, she stepped back toward the rise behind her.
Instantly, she realized she’d miscalculated where the rise was. Or how sturdy it was. Or something, because her foot crashed through the edge of the sand and she fell backwards onto her butt.
And felt the very distinct shape of a man’s hand underneath her left cheek. She yelped and tried to move but ended up in the man’s lap.
“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” she said, scrambling to get off the man she’d fallen on top of. She dropped her phone.
“It’s all right.” He snatched it out of the sand and held it out to her. “Here you go.”
She took the phone as she righted herself, his fingers calloused and rough where her fingers brushed his. “I’m really sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
“Me either. I was trying to grab a shell.” He smiled.
She was kneeling in the sand. She stopped trying to get up and looked at him. Bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun, he looked like he was cast in bronze. A statue of an ancient god, or at least as beautiful as one. “Hi,” she breathed out.
“Hi,” he said, eyes twinkling with light.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. How are you?”
She was struggling to find words was how she was. The man in front of her was gorgeous. Tanned and rugged looking, with touches of gray at his temples and a day or two’s worth of stubble that somehow made him better looking. “I’m really sorry. I guess I shouldn’t be on the beach after two glasses of wine.”
She immediately cringed. Why had she said that? She wasn’t drunk. She was fine. At most she was a tiny bit buzzed.
He laughed. “It’s okay.” He held up a beautiful, speckled shell between his thumb and index finger. “Pear whelk.” He palmed it and held it out to her. “For you.”
She took it. It was warm from the sun and his touch. “Thank you. I’m Cece.”
“Nice to meet you, Cece. I’m Jonas, but you can call me Joe.” He got to his feet and offered her his hand.
She let him help her up, then brushed the sand off her knees and backside. “Well, sorry again, Joe.”
“Did you come down to see the sunset?”
She nodded. The sun had just sunk out of view and the sky above was turning shades of pink and orange that defied description. “Yeah. I wanted to get a picture. I live so close and yet I hardly ever come to the beach.”
“I’m here a lot. I love it. You live in the Colony?” He laughed. “Sorry for asking so many questions.”
“It’s okay. Yeah, I do. You?”
“Yep. I live just up the beach. I’m on Hibiscus.”
Her brows lifted. “You live beachfront.”
He nodded. “Always been a dream of mine.”
“I live on Palmetto, just a few streets away.” She didn’t know why she’d told him that, but he wasn’t giving her any reason to think he was trouble. Not with a smile like that.
“Hey, you like bowling?”
She’d never been in a bowling alley, let alone picked up a bowling ball. “I love it.”
“How about we go tomorrow evening? Believe it or not, Starlight Lanes also has a great little bar and grill. We can grab a bite and bowl a few games. What do you say?”
“I…” She nodded. “I’d love that.” How was she going to learn to bowl in twenty-four hours?
