Sea Fever
Page 25
“Where?”
“The beach.”
Her toes curled inside her practical flat shoes. She knew what he was offering. They hadn’t had a lot of time alone these past few weeks. But tonight her work was done and Nick was settled safely at her mother’s. Regina had a clean bill of health from the new clinic doctor, and Dylan was looking at her as if she were the sun and the moon and his entire world wrapped up in one.
She slipped her hand into his. “Isn’t it a little cold out for a . . . walk?”
Dylan lifted an eyebrow. “I’ll see what I can do to keep you warm.”
Hands linked, they wandered down the grassy slope and over the shale. The sound of the children’s shouts and laughter blended with the surf. The land shimmered and shifted like the sea, glowing red and gold, as if a giant box of watercolors had spilled over the sky and dripped over the landscape. The kind of golden evening when the promise of fall charged the air and even a cynic could believe in happy endings.
A burst of foam ran up and faded at their feet.
“You know I love you,” Dylan said abruptly.
She did know. But hearing it still had the power to make her heart dance. “Yes.”
He stopped and cupped her face in his hands. His eyes were dark and direct. “It’s not enough.”
She frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“You told me once that you had a life before I came, and you’d have one when I’d gone. A life that includes Nick and your mother and the restaurant. You don’t need me, Regina.”
The blood rushed in her ears, louder than the surf. “Now, wait a minute . . .”
“You don’t need me,” he repeated, a glint in his eyes. “But I need you. You, Nick, all of it. I need you now.”
He kissed her. Almost dizzy with love and lust and relief, she kissed him back, her hands flexing on his arms.
“Um . . .” Oh, God, that felt good. “Here?”
His gaze, hot and intent, narrowed on her face. “Yes. This will do.” He dropped to his knees.
Regina caught her breath, reminded of their first meeting on the beach. She stared down at his dark head. Before she could point out to him that they were practically within sight of Frank and Jane Ivey— and their daughters and all the little Iveys— Dylan reached into his pocket. Something gleamed in the golden light of the sinking sun. A coin.
No, not a coin, a . . .
Regina trembled. A ring.
“This ring was lost at sea, and now it’s found. The way I was lost, without ever knowing it, for years.” Dylantook a deep breath. “But now I’ve found the life I want. The love I need. With you. Because of you.” His dark eyes shone. “Marry me, Regina.”
Joy sluiced through her. She tugged him to his feet and threw her arms around his neck. “Yes! Oh, yes.”
He caught her close, sliding one strong hand beneath her hair.
And there at the water’s edge, he kissed her.