and carrying me to the edge of the water.
“Don’t you dare drop me,” I warned.
He grinned. “I would never, ever do that,” he said, as he released his hold on me slightly.
I squealed and held on tighter and he rolled me back to his chest. I cupped his face and kissed him, and he carried me away from the waves, setting me back on my feet so he could finish the kiss.
It was magical.
“If we’re going to make sunset, we need to get back,” Shadow said.
“We can watch the sunset here, right?”
He slid his hands around my waist and squeezed. “I think it’ll be better at the lighthouse.”
I gasped. “Oh my god, why didn’t you say so?” I grabbed his hand and tugged. “Come on.”
He laughed and snagged his boots off the sand as we made our way back to the bike. Once we were leathered and jeaned up again, Shadow drove us to the lighthouse. He’d prepped with blankets, waters, and snacks, so we watched the sunset wrapped together.
“I’d love to hear about Cleveland, if you feel like telling me,” I said.
I was currently sitting between his thighs, my back to his front, leaning my head back against his chest.
He was quiet for a few minutes and I forced myself not to fill up the silence. It was hard, because my way of making people feel better was to give pep talks. But I knew he was choosing his words, so I held my breath and waited.
“Dad was an alcoholic. Severe. He was a good man, but he just couldn’t quite get hold of those demons. And my grandparents were the king and queen of sweeping shit under the rug. Don’t get me wrong, I loved them the way kids should love their grandparents, but when you’re nine, you don’t fully grasp that giant bottles of Jack might not be an appropriate gift when someone’s trying to quit drinking.”
I bit my lip and nodded.
“Grandad was in his eighties, and Gran was pushing eighty herself, when they asked my dad to drive them to some appointment. They never made it. Dad was so wasted, he crossed the freeway median and was hit head-on by a semi. He was dead on impact, but my grandparents were apparently alive. Until a woman in a minivan slammed into them from the side.”
I gasped. “Oh my god.”
“So, I lost my dad and grandparents all in one day, and my mom lost her mind. That was our only family, other than my great-aunt, Trudy, in Savannah. We moved down here when I was twelve and Cat was ten to live with Trudy, but she died when I was seventeen, and by then I was already raising hell. Doom caught me breaking in to one of his dad’s renos and instead of turning me in, he put me to work.”
“Wow,” I breathed out. “He’s a good man.”
“He’s a fuckin’ great man,” Shadow said. “Mom thought the sun shone out of his ass until she lost her battle with breast cancer about six years ago.”
Tears leaked down my face. “You’ve lost everyone?”
“Not everyone,” he said, kissing my temple. “I have Cat. I have you, and I have my brothers.”
I nodded.
“Baby, I’m good. I know this is a sad story, but I do believe everything happens for a reason, and yes, I lost my parents in horrible ways, but I was never alone.”
I shifted and cupped his face. “I think you might be the best human I’ve ever known.”
He chuckled. “Wow, I’ve got you fooled.”
“Thank you for sharing that story with me, Nolan.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, kissing me gently before I settled back between his legs and stared out at the water.
“I never want to leave,” I whispered as he gave me a gentle squeeze.
“We could always sleep here,” Shadow said.
“Alas, I am neither a camper nor a glamper. I have to have a real bed.”
“Let’s get you back to that real bed, then. We’ll come back.”
“Promise?”
“Yeah, baby, promise. We’ll book a weekend.”
I shifted so I was kneeling facing him. “I would love that.”
He stroked the apple of my cheek. “Do you know how beautiful you are?”
“Not as beautiful as you,” I whispered.
He smiled, pulling me forward to kiss him. “Bullshit.”
“Thank you for today, Nolan. It was the best day I’ve ever had.”
“Me too, baby. And you’re welcome.”
I kissed him again, then we headed back to his bike. By the time we crawled into bed, I could barely keep my eyes open, rolling into his side as sleep