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“Nope.”
“Lucas...”
“Sorry, beautiful. Keeping it.”
I shook my head. “Then you can’t see any of the pictures I take today.”
“Small price to pay.” He tucked his phone back into his pocket. “Now come on, let’s explore.”
We wandered through the rest of the structure, stopping for a drink in the courtyard before checking the time. I wanted to do some looking around at the stores and everything before they closed for the night. Everything seemed to shut down early here, and I understood why. In a place like this...there was more than enough reason to have most of the day to yourself to enjoy the sights and just sit on the beach somewhere and take in nature, the beautiful changing colors of the sky at sunset, and watch the stars appear overhead, listening to the sounds of the water crashing on the beach.
He’d reserved dinner for us. I handed him my tote bag to hold while I went through the market on my own, my cross-body bag with me, wallet in hand. There were stalls of colorful clothes and various types of food on offer, their fragrant smells amplifying as I passed by and they pulled me closer.
I moved easily, smiling and stopping at a few different stalls. I picked up a couple of colorful scarves to take back home with me as gifts for Marnie and the girls at the diner. I grabbed a hand-painted hat for Lucas and one for myself, then stopped by one booth and bought some chocolate goodies for later. By the time I returned to where Lucas was waiting, he was eating an ice cream cone and leaning against a pillar, clearly enjoying himself.
I walked up to him with a smile. “Did you do any Christmas shopping?”
“A little. More for everyone back home.”
“So what you’re saying is no Santa.”
I laughed. “Not yet. Probably got waylaid.”
“Not fair. I’ve been a good boy this year.”
I grinned, and we left. We walked for quite a while and ended up back near the floating market. We found our favorite vendor near her boat and bought a pile more fresh fruit to take back to the house with us. She smiled seeing the two of us together and added a few extra pieces to our bag before handing it over with a smile and a promise to stop by once more before we left for home.
I stopped and grabbed a couple of drinks from a nearby vendor and we kept moving. There was something relaxing about being there, and I didn’t think it was all to do with where we were, despite the fact the island was beautiful beyond words.
The energy of the place was so different, serene and relaxing on one hand and recharging on the other, I could happily spend months there just photographing everything and enjoying my time with Lucas. The thought was slightly alarming. I’d been using my camera more in the last while we’d been there than I had in the over a year since my internship. But I was suddenly inspired, suddenly feeling more comfortable, more confident behind the camera than I had in forever.
And that was something I may not ever be able to thank Lucas enough for.
We picked up a few things and headed back to the Jeep.
Lucas let us in and took the bags of food to the kitchen. I kicked off my shoes and left them near the door, grabbing my own bags and headed to my bedroom without him paying me much attention. I closed the door and set my purchases on the bed, looking at them all. I had a few things for Lucas for Christmas, but I was still on the hunt for something more, something special.
Although right now, I was thinking the hat was it.
I put everything back in the shopping bags and turned, stashing them in one of the empty drawers of the dresser to hide them away from prying eyes. I didn’t want Lucas to stumble upon his gifts early.
I went in the bathroom and started running a bath, needing to relax a little before putting on a swimsuit and sitting outside for the rest of the day.
There was a knock on the door, and I headed back to the bedroom, checking around to make sure everything was put away before I opened it.
Lucas stood there, holding a glass with a frothy pink concoction inside. “Hey, thought you might like a smoothie.”
“Good idea. I’d love one.”
“We did enough walking this morning.”
“Too much.” I took the glass from him. “I was just going to take a bath to relax a little. I’ll meet you outside in a little bit?”
“Sounds good.” He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. “Holler if you need me.”
I laughed.
“Hey, backs are hard to reach, you know.”
