Page 57 of Viper

“Thirty-six.”

“Well, you’re only five years older than me. That’s still young. At least I hope.” She grimaced.

“You’ve got plenty of time. All right, so three kids and living in Pittsburgh. Is that where you see yourself?”

“Three? Well, I always thought two, but who knows.” Her voice carried whimsically on the breeze.

Several long locks of her hair fluttered around her face. She looked so damn pretty and sun-kissed he wanted to just stare at her.

They reached the sand and Paige kicked off her sandals then picked them up. The sun was low on the horizon, and a few ships and boats speckled the sea. Children frolicked on the beach, splashing at the shore and building sandcastles.

Paige let go of his arm and ran to dip her toes in. “The water’s so nice.”

The evening was hot, but the sea breeze was cool on his face. He kicked off his sandals as well and walked toward her. They searched for seashells and found some crabs and other sea life.

They continued to walk until they found a tide pool. Paige pointed out a sea urchin. “Ohmigod, look at this little guy!”

“That looks like it’d hurt.”

She crouched to examine the creature’s spiky orange-and-black body. “Yeah, you don’t want to touch it. But it’s pretty cool.”

He knelt beside her. Hermit crabs scuttled over the rocks, some no bigger than his thumb. Algae and barnacles were clustered over the rocks enclosing the tide pool.

Paige hiked up her dress around her thighs and sat on the edge of a rock. She stuck her feet in and talked about the various creatures, her face alight with excitement. She was like a kid on a field trip. So damn cute and engrossed in what she loved. His heart swelled listening to her.

“Did you know hermit crabs can live up to forty years?” she asked, picking one up by its shell as it scurried near her. She placed it on the other side of her leg, and it ran toward a crack in the rocks.

“No shit?” he said, amused.

He sat on the edge and dangled his feet into the water. He leaned back, sticking his palms into the sand behind him, and continued to watch her study all the little critters in the tide pool. His fingers touched a stick. He picked it up and scrawled her name in the sand.

She looked over, a wide smile on her face. Using her finger, she drew an ampersand followed by Troy. Then she wrapped their names in a giant heart and crinkled her nose at him. “There. Fixed it.”

He laughed. “It’s perfect now.”

She rolled in her lips, her eyes filled with wonder and yearning.

Dusk had turned the sky a deep purple, and the sun had disappeared from sight. An orange glow was visible only near the horizon.

He cleared his throat. “Ready to go?”

She pouted. “No.”

But she stuck out her hand for him to take. He stood, pulling her with him, and they walked over the sand. For the last twenty minutes or so they’d been in their own little world. In that time, the beach had grown quiet. Only a few stragglers roamed in the waves bubbling up on shore. Two families hiked toward their cars, their arms laden with towels and beach gear.

He tightened his grip on Paige’s hand and picked up the pace. His gaze darted through the darkness for signs of trouble, but they made it to the sidewalk without any.

“I guess we lost track of time,” she said with apology.

He gazed over his shoulder before shifting his focus in front of them again. They weren’t far from the apartment building. Another block or so.

Cars flew past with music bumping. Someone honked. A man on a bicycle whizzed by them near the curb. Troy edged Paige out of the way as the cyclist rang his bell.

Asshat.

“Sorry. He came out of nowhere.”

She curled her fingers tightly against his hand “Don’t be sorry. We’ll both feel better once we’re in⁠—”