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"You're welcome."
She sat down again, and her eyes roamed over the colorful beach buckets lined up beyond the firepit, the muted glow from the hurricane lamps casting flickering shadows across them. She’d noticed them a while ago, but he hadn’t said anything about them, and her curiosity was piqued.
"What are those buckets all about?" she asked, attempting nonchalance.
“Why don't you go and see what's under them?"
"Please tell me you didn't get me anything else."
"I didn't, but I do have something to give you."
"And it's under the buckets?"
"Um…yes. Kind of."
She rose from the blanket. "Are you coming with me?"
He lightly grasped her hand and kissed her palm. "I'll wait here."
She looked at him skeptically, but walked to the first bucket and lowered herself in front of it. She turned to glance at him, and he motioned for her to lift it.
She did, and saw several small, dark periwinkle shells in some sort of formation.The letter I. Her pulse jumped inexplicably, and she could feel his eyes on her as she lay the bucket down in the sand and moved to the second one.
As she placed her hand on it, she realized she was shaking, and when she lifted it, she saw more periwinkles. This time, their formation was unmistakable; they were in the shape of a heart.
Her heart pounded so furiously she found it difficult to breathe, and she didn't dare turn around to look at him. Instead she laid the bucket in the sand and moved to kneel in front of the third. Her hands shook so much she was tempted to sit on them, but she placed one on the bucket and slowly lifted it. Her breath caught when she saw the wordyou,spelled out in periwinkle shells.
Three buckets, three words. I love you.
She turned, expecting him to be watching from the blanket and surprised to see he was only a few feet away. He dropped down to his knees in the sand and took her hands in his.
"I told you I was giving you something," he said quietly, looking into her eyes. "I'm giving you my heart, Elizabeth. I’m giving youallof me. I know this is happening fast, but I know how I feel. I love you."
A heartbeat passed, and then he kissed her. She wrapped her arms around him, holding onto him for dear life, feeling as though her heart was about to leap from her chest.
He brushed the curls from her face that the light breeze insisted on blowing right back. "I know what you're thinking, that it’s–that it’s too soon, and—"
She held her fingers to his lips. "It's not too soon. Itishappening fast, but it's not too soon." She stared into his warm, loving brown eyes and took a deep breath. "I love you too."
He pulled her into his embrace and she heard a sigh come from deep in his chest. She laughed, and he sat back to look at her, his warm hands sliding into her hair before cupping her cheeks. He smiled widely, revealing those heart-stopping dimples, and she fought back the tears that threatened.
"This is working out much better than I’d hoped," he said, and they both laughed.
A tear slid down her cheek, and she relished the feel of his thumb as he wiped it away.
"Happy tears?" he asked quietly.
She nodded. "Happy tears."
* * *
A little while later…
They stood at the water's edge, wearing towels—and nothing else.
"Oh, come on," she teased. "Who's the chicken now?"
"But it's freezing!"
"Only when you first get in. Once you get used to it, it’s fine."
"Youdoknow what cold water does to a man’s…parts, don’t you?"
She smiled. "I do. Lucky for you, I've seen your parts when they’re warm.”
She kissed him and he glanced at the fire, still burning brightly. "I suppose we can generate some heat on the blanket after."
"We can generate heat in the water, too…if you would stop being achicken."
He dropped his towel. "Last one in is a rotten egg."
