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Finn walked over to a door leading out to what looked like a type of circular balcony surrounding the top of the lighthouse. “The view is better out here.” He squeezed her hand reassuringly.
“Alright.”
He led her outside, as the icy wind whipped against her face. The coat was warm, but her leggings didn’t do much to ward off the chill that swept through her body.
His arm wound around her and pulled her close. “Too cold?”
“Getting there.”
“We don’t have to stay long. Just wanted to show you this.” He pointed out to the distance. Beyond the dark waves, lights dotted the coast. All manner of colored dots glittered and flashed along the beach for the upcoming holidays.
“Wow.” Her breath created a fog in front of her, rising like smoke to the heavens above. Millions of stars littered the sky in between the few clouds left. The new moon was nowhere to be seen, making them stand out that much more. When comparing herself to the vast beauty of nature like this, everything else seemed so small, including her.
“It’s beautiful,” she said as another salty gust of wind lashed against them.
Finn reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Almost as much as you.”
Her breathing hitched before she burst out with a laugh. His low chuckle followed, sending a rush of warmth from her belly to her extremities.
“Too cheesy?” He smirked, the light from the lighthouse illuminating half his face.
“A little clichéd.” She shivered again.
“Let’s get you inside.” He guided her back to the small door and into the glass room. The crashing of waves was muted in here, and the sudden loss of wind lapping against her face was a nice reprieve.
He took off the backpack he’d been wearing. Unzipping it, he pulled out a small blanket. He laid it on the ground before gesturing to it. “Have a seat.”
She crouched, carefully getting to the edge so she could lean against the wall for back support. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to get back up by myself,” she half-joked.
“I’ll carry you down if I have to.” He winked before handing her a sandwich.
“What’s this?” She took it and unwrapped it.
“Figured you’d be hungry after the appointment.” He opened a thermos and poured a steamy cup of what looked and smelled like hot chocolate.
“Mmmm.” She greedily accepted the cocoa.
He chuckled. “Damn, if I knew you liked it so much, I would have brought more.”
“This is perfect.” She inhaled before taking a small sip. Creamy chocolaty sweetness burst to life on her taste buds. Her stomach growled for more than just liquid nourishment. Charli took a bite of the sandwich as Finn dove into his dinner.
“Thank you for feeding me.” She set what was left of her sandwich back in the wrapper and took another sip of her rapidly cooling hot cocoa.
“I like taking care of you.” His eyes met hers.
“I know you do. But sometimes . . .”
“I take it a step too far?”
She nodded. So, he did get it.
“Thank you for coming with me this afternoon,” he said, balling up the paper wrapper and tossing it into the backpack.
“It was enlightening.”
He sighed and angled his body so he could look at her. “If you’re up for it, I’d love to talk about some things with you.”
She drained the rest of her hot chocolate and set it down. “Okay.”
