Page 35 of The Other Plan

After a long moment of silence, I burst out into laughter. “They won’t be back for a while. They’ve been going at it like rabbits all week.”

Evan and Jenna laughed.

“I wondered if they weren’t coming back,” Evan said as he finished his last sip of whiskey. “But probably better I stop now and get my ass home.”

“Yeah, me too,” Jenna quickly said and stood up. “I’ll come with you.”

“And waste like a thousand dollars of whiskey?” He gestured to her unfinished glass. “I don’t think so. Stay and finish your drink. I’ll call you in the morning.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but he just pulled her in for a hug and kissed her forehead. “Night boopiekins.”

When he pulled away, she clung to his arm for a moment before letting go.

“Nice to meet you, Carter.” He clutched my hand, and we shared a look before he hurried off to the docks.

Jenna and I stood in awkward silence for a few long moments as a cool breeze drifted over the water. It pushed up the soft waves that broke on the sides of the boat. I walked a few feet over to the edge, gazing down into the water to watch them.

“It’s beautiful here.” I leaned on the same railing I’d spoken to her at the day of the yacht party.

“Yeah. Door County is pretty spectacular. We have some of the most beautiful views in the world. It’s so peaceful here.”

Peaceful. That wasn’t something I’d felt in a long time. The city always buzzed with noise and commotion. It felt good to stand here and appreciate the stillness of the world surrounding me. The fresh air. The lapping waves. The night sky.

“There are so many stars.” I looked up at the black sky peppered with more stars than I’d seen in a decade.

Jenna walked over, placed her elbows on the railing beside me and gazed up. “When you’re in the city, the lights make it impossible to see them. But out here, there isn’t anything diffusing the light and blocking the view. They are pretty incredible, aren’t they?”

We stood side-by-side staring at the sky, and I remembered a similar time in Hawaii when she and I had laid on the beach and stargazed.

“Do you remember that night in Hawaii when we saw the three shooting stars and made wishes?”

There was a long pause before she answered. “Yeah. I remember.”

“That night was incredible.”

Flashes of our kisses and our naked bodies together crashed back into my mind. The sound of her breath in my ear whispering, “I love you too.”

“Do you know what I wished for?” I turned to look at her.

She moved her gaze to meet mine and shook her head.

“I wished that we would be together forever.”

Her eyes flickered with sadness and surprise, but she didn’t respond.

I turned to face her and stepped forward. This time she didn’t back away. “What did you wish for?”

Her mouth opened, but no words came out.

“Tell me. What did you wish for, Jenna?”

Her lips parted as she stared up at me. Finally, she whispered, “I wished for the same thing.”

My heart leaped in my chest at her admission. After her abrupt departure, I’d thought that it was only me who’d fallen head over heels, but it turned out she’d felt the same way too.

But now the question was, could she again?

I moved in closer, swallowing up the last of the distance between us. When she opened her eyes, I rubbed my thumb across her soft cheek and stared down into her eyes, igniting with the desire I used to know so well.