Page 70 of Yours, Forever

"Right, right. I think I can handle it."

"Good." He gazed up and down my body. "You look gorgeous."

I didn't often choose to wear a summer dress but, on my first beach day in two years, it was really the only option.

Children ran past us, delighted screams included. It didn't alter the energy between Max and me.

I returned the favor and checked him out. He wore a suit, of course, but only the pants in a dark linen color, a brown belt, and white shirt. A few buttons open at the top.

"You look hot." I blinked twice in surprise at my statement. It had escaped me. "I mean, you look overdressed."

"Should I be underdressed?" His grin shone with several extra watts of power.

"You know what I mean." I hoped. My face warmed up; I took the sunscreen from my bag. "A suit at the beach?"

"It's hardly a suit. Pants and a shirt. How is that different from what my friends are wearing? I promise you the jeans Gabe chose are warmer than this fabric. Want to touch? My thigh is within reach. My ass, though probably funny to onlookers who would simply think my wife is feeling frisky, is off limits."

I snorted. "But your thighs aren't?"

I squirted sunscreen on my hand and reapplied it to my face. Max imitated me, also reapplying sunscreen. Of course he did; he was the kind of guy to take care of his skin like that.

He still managed to smirk playfully, even as his fingers patted the protective lotion on. "I don't want people yelling at us that we should get a room, when all that means is me sleeping in my cozy twin bed."

"I'm starting to feel bad about that." I frowned.

"No need. But if at all possible, can we find room for my suits? They're getting quite packed in the closet. And if you're ready to talk to me about the Venturelli house…"

We turned to the rocky hill at the end of the beach in unison.

I sighed. "The Venturelli house is the one at the very top. Do you see it?"

"Yeah. It's big. I bet it's great up close."

"I've never been on the property, but have admired it from the beach a few times. Sometimes, I go up the hill and walk past it, pretending I'm looking for the peace of a stroll, but really just looking in through the stone and iron gates, and wondering what it might look like inside."

He gazed at the house for a few extra seconds, before studying my profile again. My heart beat fast, my emotions torn into polar opposite parts of my soul. On one end, the longing and hope that it could be home one day. On the other, the fear of letting myself dream of it, only to have the illusion trampled under a harsh reality.

I didn't do well when I let myself dream.

"Would you go look at it with me?" he asked. "If we get the keys and go check it out, maybe you'll know if we should go ahead and take our chance…"

A gust of ocean breeze moved past us— a blessing? a warning?— and it loosened a few of my curls. Ever so gently, Max put the strands back behind my ear.

We stared at each other, a heavy intensity passing back and forth between us. His eyes, open and patient, called for the answers tittering in the corners of my awareness.

"I think I could go see it with you," I finally said. "It's been empty for a long time. We could be the first to show interest in a decade. Maybe I won't like it…"

"Maybe you will. Maybe we'll buy it. Move in there together."

And if we did, for the next many, many months, my dream house would be full of Max.

I didn't get to risk the fantasy in my mind. A jarring presence broke our moment.

"Are you talking about the mansion?"

Hernán showed up by our side. Max and I closed battle lines instantly, arms around each other's backs.

"Hello, Hernán." I gave him a hard stare. "Why would you like to know?"