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Neither of them spoke, but understanding somehow flowed between them. She slowly reached up and touched his jawline, one of the only parts of him not covered by his costume. He closed his eyes and nestled into her palm, his five-o-clock shadow lightly scratching her skin.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
He opened his eyes. “What are you sorry for?”
She removed her hand, but he reached up and took it, placing it back on his face. A jolt shot through her, and her heart hammered. He’d taken off his glove.
Words swirled in her head, but she couldn’t think of the right ones to say. What could she say at this moment? She was sorry he had to go to the movies alone. Sorry she didn’t know what could make it better.
And sorry that she was lying to him.
A whisper of a wish echoed through her, one that she didn’t dare to acknowledge. She couldn’t wish to be with him. It was impossible. And yet, she couldn’t help wondering what it would be like.
“Nothing,” she finally said after the silence became too awkward.
“Don’t feel sorry for me. I don’t want your pity.”
“I wasn’t…” She swallowed. Words evaded her. It wasn’t pity that was growing in her. It was attraction. But she couldn’t tell him that. And she couldn’t act on it.
The moonlight played off the waves in the water. An urge to lighten the mood zapped through her and she stepped back, breaking contact with him. “Let’s go wading in the ocean.”
He gave her a strange look. “Wading? In this?” He motioned to his outfit.
“Well, of course you’d have to take off your boots.” She grabbed his hand and tugged him toward the water. “Come on.”
“But…”
She slipped out of her shoes and tugged her socks off while trying not to fall on her behind. Shadow stared at her a moment before following suit. She rolled up her pant legs and walked onto the wet sand. “Isn’t it a beautiful night?”
After tugging up his pant legs, Shadow joined her. “It is.”
The water rushed over their feet, and Riley squealed, the sudden cold forcing her to do a dance. She almost slipped and grabbed onto his arm at the last second. “It’s colder than I thought,” she said, unable to stop from laughing.
Shadow chuckled. “I tried to warn you.”
“It’s okay. I love the ocean. The feel of the sand between my toes, and the power of the waves. It makes me feel so small and yet is a comfort as well.”
“How so?”
“I don’t know. The sound of the water is so soothing. It calms me. It’s a constant in an ever-changing world. Although I wish the weather was this nice back home. I could take eighty degrees year-round.”
Shadow slowed his pace. “Wait. You don’t…live here?”
Riley froze, panic shooting through her. What had she done? She was supposed to be a temp. How could she have forgotten herself and let that slip? Shadow stared at her, waiting for a reply.
What was she going to say? She had to make something up. A plausible reason why she was on Grand Cayman working for a temp agency. But time had already stretched on long enough, without an answer. Before her brain could fully work up a plan, words began spilling out of her.
“I’m just here for a short while. I was…I mean, I got a job that transferred me here, but then that job fell through, so I’m working at the temp agency until I can get enough money to go back home.”
It felt like a really lame excuse, but Shadow simply nodded. “Where do you call home, then?”
She debated telling him a lie but couldn’t find a good reason to. “New York.”
“I see.”
The mood shifted, and Riley wondered if maybe he hadn’t believed her lie after all. She searched for something to say that would make things better but was left with nothing. Instead, she changed the subject. “Are you cold? Should we head back?”
“I’m not cold.”
