Pushing through a line of dense brush, we came out of the forest to face a sheer rock wall rising into the sky farther than I could see. Up ahead, a boulder protruded from the mountain appearing to block the path. A deep roar vibrated through my chest, and I tightened my grip on his hand.
As we approached the boulder, the roaring grew louder, and a new scent permeated the forest—a refreshing, briny aroma that cut straight through the pine and cedar. Glancing over his shoulder, Jamie smiled broadly and then turned left into a narrow rocky passage. I couldn’t see around him, but an invigorating breeze flowed around us, the rhythmic roaring becoming almost deafening.
The ocean. The realization hit me just as he pulled me out onto a ledge, and the whole world opened up before us.
“Oh, Jamie.” Squeezing his hand, I leaned into his arm.
Cobalt-blue water met the cerulean sky, stretching infinitely into the horizon. Jagged moss-covered rocks broke the waves crashing along the coastline far below. It was the most spectacular thing I’d ever seen. Of course, the only other time I’d seen the ocean I’d been careening down a crooked Scottish road in the rain, Kenna driving like an escaped NASCAR lunatic. That first day in Scotland seemed a lifetime ago now.
“’Tis the northernmost boundary of Doon,” Jamie said reverently.
We were standing on an outcropping protruding from the side of a cliff, the narrow beach two hundred feet below us.
“It’s breathtaking.”
“Aye. I come here often to think. When I feel … auntsee.”
His pronunciation threw me for a moment, but when I realized he was saying antsy, I grinned up at him. He returned my smile but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“Do you feel that way often?” I asked.
“From time to time …” He trailed off, but I sensed there was more he was not saying. “Shall we sit?”
“Sure.”
Jamie lowered himself on the ledge, leaned back against the rock face, and pulled me down beside him.
I let go of his hand to situate myself. The cool stone cut through the thin cotton of my shirt as I leaned back. Arranging the fabric around my bent legs, I realized I was sitting over a foot away from him. I stared back out at the ocean, and contemplated scooting closer but decided it would be too obvious.
“Come here.”
Although it was what I wanted, I bristled at the direct order. This boy was a little too accustomed to getting his every whim fulfilled without question.
Looking over at him, I lifted my brows in challenge. “No.” Then I turned my attention back to the view.
“Dinna be stubborn, lass,” he practically growled.
“You’re the stubborn one. I’m fine where I am.” I shrugged and stared straight ahead.
“Please, come sit with me,” he said, forced sincerity dripping from every word.
I glanced at him, fighting the smile curving up the corners of my mouth, and said, “Better.”
Scooting across the smooth rock, I closed about half the distance between us. A slow smirk spread across Jamie’s face, causing his eyes to narrow. I tensed, wondering if he would pounce.
“I would like it verra much if you would come sit next to me.” He patted the ground next to his thigh, indicating where he wanted me to sit. Then he stared directly into my eyes, leaned forward, and picked up a lock of my hair, brushing the ends across the pad of his thumb. “Please, Verranica?”
Something warm settled in the pit of my stomach, my limbs going all rubbery. With a sigh, I closed the remaining distance between us. A girl could only take so much.
Promptly, Jamie wrapped his muscled arm around me and tucked me close to his side. His delicious scent enveloped me—clean pine and the wind before a storm, a combination that smelled perfect to me. Although I couldn’t remember ever being so glad to comply in my life, I threw out one last jab. “Happy now?”
“Aye.” There was a smile in his voice.
“Have you ever gone swimming in the ocean?” I asked, desperate to diffuse the sparks his knuckles created as they brushed rhythmically against my arm.
“I canna.”