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“This is so fun.” Alex’s enthusiasm reminded Graham of Erin’s excitement about spending time with Bryson’s team.
Minutes later, Jace stopped at the marker for a public boardwalk between two multi-million-dollar homes. Graham bailed out and jogged down the asphalt path to the boardwalk. He stopped before hitting the sand and scanned the beach.
A layer of dark gray clouds hung over the coast to the south. Though the sky was lighter further out to sea, he only spotted a handful of people on the beach in either direction. Using the binoculars, he zeroed in on the people, not spotting anyone wearing a jacket matching Piper’s description.
He strode off the boardwalk to where the tide had packed the sand, making it good for walking and writing. His first attempt at a heart turned out pathetically lopsided. Art never had been his best subject. Determining the coast was still clear, he moved closer to the water and started another to cover more territory in case she missed seeing the first.
Halfway through carving out the heart, his phone rang.
“We spotted her nearing our location now,” Megan said. “She’s still talking to Piper. You better hurry. We’re coming your way.”
He drew the other half of the heart and wrote their initials in the center before jogging back to the boardwalk. He picked a spot behind the sea oats for overwatch. Through the binoculars, he locked on the lone figure in a blue jacket, getting closer to where he’d written in the sand. He focused on Erin’s face. The wind made loose strands of her hair dance wildly, but her smile as she talked on the phone made her more beautiful than ever. He’d lost one woman he loved, but he’d fight to the bitter end to keep Erin in his life.
She headed to a sandcastle that had survived the rain and tide and walked around it, then stared into the distance.Turn around. Just come a little bit further. Where are you going?Did she see Reece and Megan? Surely, they hadn’t come out on the beach. He did a surveillance pass. There was no sign of them, but Erin headed back the way she’d come. And at a rapid pace.
He phoned Megan. “She’s walking back your way.”
“What? No! Why? Hold on. Piper messaged she’s headed back to try and beat the storm.”
He scanned the clouds moving up the beach and made out the telltale gray wall of rain. Why couldn’t it hold off another half an hour?
“We’re doubling back to the car and will pick you up on the street. Maybe we can make it to the boardwalk she takes to the condo before she does. I’ll call Alex and give her the revised plan.” Megan’s ability to adapt on the fly would have made her a good operator.
She had the weather radar on her phone when Graham got in the car. “If it weren’t for that sandcastle, she probably would have kept going. Piper said she couldn’t risk saying anything without letting her know we’re here.”
Reece parked in the lot by the tall, oceanfront condo building. Thank goodness Piper had been here on vacations with Erin enough to direct them from across the ocean.
They were already on the path to the boardwalk when Jace whipped into a parking spot. He and Alex caught up to Graham and Megan while they waited for Reece to do a surveillance pass in case Erin had sprinted.
Reece motioned him to hit the beach for a second attempt to execute this mission. “She’s down over half a klick. You’ve got two minutes. Three tops.”
ChapterForty-Seven
Erin triedto answer Piper’s barrage of questions about Chris Remington and what was next for the series as she hurried back toward the condo—despite her daughter continuing to simultaneously text a friend.
“The producer is good with you coming to Spain and Europe for two weeks at Christmas, right?”
“I may have to work a little, but it won’t be a problem.” Erin had already cleared that with Levi.
“Good. Then we need to get the trip planned.”
“What would you think about going to France from Spain?”
“I thought we were going to Italy.”
“If that’s what you want,” Erin agreed, despite the idea of going to Italy without Graham making her heart ache.
She was thrilled to see her idea make it to production and be part of the writing team, but that didn’t fill the void left since persuading Graham to take a break. It’d been over five weeks with no contact. Was he back or still in Africa? Wondering if he was safe and if their relationship could survive this separation had stifled all her creative energy. He hadn’t made her choose between him and her career, and she wouldn’t make him choose between her and his careerand family.
“I’ll contact the travel agent Lanie recommended and have her work up an itinerary,” she continued, looking down in time to stop before walking on a huge heart drawn in the sand. She stared at the initials written in the middle of the heart, unable to move or draw in a breath.
“Mom, what is it?”
Their initials. It couldn’t be a cruel coincidence.
“Graham?” Erin frantically searched the beach. She spotted a man in a camouflage jacket coming off the boardwalk. “Graham!”
After a few steps, he was running. Her tears made the smile on his handsome face blur. They closed the distance until their bodies melded together like the last two pieces of a puzzle.
