“Then it’s settled. Let’s go for that walk on the beach I promised you.”
“You two know you’re wearing suits, right?”
“This was last minute. We didn’t bring anything else. We already took off our jackets. We’ll ditch our shoes. It’ll be fine.”
Minutes later, the roar of the waves calls us. We leave our shoes on the patio and begin descending the wooden steps down the cliffside to the sandy beach below.
“I forgot to bring towels. Go ahead. I’ll meet you on the beach in a minute,” I say.
“Okay, but hurry, if you don’t want to miss out. I’ll be wiggling my toes in the sand at the bottom of the steps,” she teases.
It doesn’t take long to find two beach towels and return to the staircase. I pause when I see Brooke digging her toes into the sand. Her head is tipped back, eyes closed, breathing in the fresh, slightly salty air as she soaks up the last sun of the day. The sunlight hitting her hair adds golden highlights to her auburn hair. It glows like fine copper.
She glances over her shoulder, looking up at me. I wave and hurry down the stairs wanting to reach her as quickly as possible.
Planting my foot on the last step, my focus is on Brooke, planning to pick her up and twirl her in the sand.
As I toss the towels onto the beach, my body lunges forward, narrowly missing Brooke. A pained “Ouch!” escapes my throat as I face plant in the sand.
This can’t be happening.
17
BROOKE
Ihurry to Stuart’s side. “What happened?”
He rolls over, a grimace on his face. “There’s something stuck in the bottom of my foot. God, it hurts.” He winces, grasping his foot and angling it toward his face.
Reaching for his injured appendage, I calmly take over. “Lean back. Let me take a look. Ah. I see the problem. You have a giant splinter lodged in the bottom of your foot.”
He’s biting his upper lip, trying to be the manly guy who pretends pain doesn’t bother him. I hate that he’s hurting, but he’s so incredibly adorable when he’s vulnerable. “Can you pull it out?” he asks, gritting his teeth.
“I think so. Hold still. Let me take a closer look.”
Examining the area, I see that a sliver of dark wood from the steps is stuck in a thin line under his skin. I decide not to tell him that the splinter is the diameter of a thin toothpick. It makes me cringe. I can’t imagine how much it’s hurting him.
And it’s not going to be easy to remove because the wood broke off near the surface of his foot. It’s barely exposed, but hopefully, my fingernails will be able to grasp it.
A long minute later, I hold up the offending splinter, exclaiming, “That was a big one. It must have hurt like hell.I’ll help you back upstairs. We’ll find some antiseptic and a bandage.”
“No. It feels much better now. Let’s go for our walk in the sand before the sun sets.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
“Only if you agree to let me clean and bandage it when we go back upstairs.”
“If you insist.”
“I do. You’ve been looking after me enough. I’d rather you weren’t hurt, but it’s about time that I can do something for you. Now, wrap your arm around me and take some weight off that foot. I don’t want you making it worse as we walk.”
“You’re so adorable. You know I probably weigh twice what you do, right?”
“Don’t worry. I work out. I’ve got you.”
“If you only knew,” he sighs.
