Page 187 of Heal Me, Love Me

“Yeah.”

He reached across the table and brushed his fingers against mine. “I don’t regret coming here, though.”

“I know.”

“Do you?”

“Regret you coming here?” I turned my hand over and linked my fingers with his. “Never in a million years.”

“Not even when I complain about the weather?”

“Especially then.”

He laughed. “Liar.”

“It gets you hot and sweaty.” I winked. “I’m not seeing the problem.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“You moved here anyway.”

“Still deciding if that was smart.”

“It was.”

His thumb slid over mine. “Yeah, it was. I mean it, though. I miss the guys sometimes, but leaving Sacramento wasn’t the hard part.”

“No?”

“No.” He held my hand between both of his. “Being away from you was.”

I didn’t have a response that wouldn’t turn too serious for the middle of a restaurant, so I squeezed his hand and let him have that one. He squeezed back, then stole one more fry from my plate before the server dropped off the check.

After dinner, we walked toward the beach as the sun sank lower over the water. Once we reached the sand, we kicked off our shoes, rolled our pant legs, and Keaton carried his boots while I held my shoes in my free hand, our fingers still linked between us. The sand was warm beneath our feet, and the waves pushed in around our ankles before pulling back again.

For a while, neither of us spoke, and for once, the quiet didn’t feel like something we needed to fix. It had taken us years to get there, but silence between us didn’t always mean anger or distance anymore. Sometimes it only meant we were tired, comfortable, and standing together while the day settled around us.

I kept my pace even and my breathing as steady as I could. Keaton knew me too well, and if I gave him anything to catch, he would. So I waited until we reached a quieter stretch of sand, far enough from the restaurant that the noise faded behind us and all I could hear was the water moving around our feet.

I tucked my shoes under one arm and slipped the black ring box from my pocket, keeping it low against my leg before I stopped.

Keaton took another step before our linked hands pulled him back. He turned around. “Ro?”

I let my shoes drop beside my feet, then lowered to one knee before my nerves could get the best of me. The sand shifted beneath me, and my jeans got wet as the water pushed in around us, but I didn’t care.

“Baby,” he whispered, staring down at me.

“I know this probably explains why I was acting weird.”

A laugh slipped out of him. “A little.”

“I had a speech.”

“Did you lose it?”

“No.” I grinned and opened the black velvet box. “I just don’t need it.”

Keaton’s attention dropped to the ring, and I continued.