“I’m shocked! Who wouldn’t want to watch men trying to beat the hell out of each other? What is wrong with society these days?”
He grinned. She wrapped her arms around her knees as she’d done the night before, but this time, he could feel her shoulder brushing against his own. “How did the photos turn out?” he asked. “The ones of the porpoises?”
Maria reached for her camera and clicked to the display before handing it to him. “I think this one’s the best,” she said. “But there are a few more. Just use the arrow button there to go through them.”
He stared at the image of the three porpoises. “It’s incredible,” he said. “It’s almost like they were posing.”
“Sometimes I get lucky. The light was just right.” She leaned toward him, her arm grazing his. “There are others that I’ve taken in the last month that I liked, too.”
He used the back arrow, scanning a long series of photos: pelicans and ospreys, a close-up of a butterfly, a mullet caught in midjump. When she leaned further into him to follow along, he caught the scent of wildflowers in the heat.
At the end of the series, she finally pulled back. “You should frame some of these,” he said, handing her the camera.
“I do,” she said. “But just the better ones.”
“Better than these?”
“You’d be the one to judge,” she said. “Of course, you’d have to come over first, since they’re hanging on my walls.”
“I’d think I’d like that, Maria.”
Maria turned toward the water again, a slight smile playing on her lips, and it seemed odd to think that it was only yesterday that he’d spotted her at the end of the pier. Or how well he’d come to know her in such a short period of time. And how much he wanted to know even more about her.
“We should probably get going,” she said, a note of regret in her voice. “Before it starts getting too dark.”
He nodded, feeling a stab of disappointment as they rose to gather up their things. They paddled back, reaching Wrightsville Beach just as the first stars were emerging. Colin helped Maria strap the boards and paddles to the top of her car before turning to face her. Watching her brush the hair from her eyes, he felt oddly nervous, something he could never remember happening with a woman before.
“I had a great time today.”
“Paddleboarding is a lot of fun,” she agreed.
“I wasn’t talking about the paddleboarding,” he said. He shifted from one foot to the other, and he had the impression that she was waiting for him to finish. “I was talking about spending time with you.”
“Yeah?” she asked, her voice soft.
“Yeah.” Colin was sure she was more beautiful than any woman he’d ever known.
“What are you doing next weekend?”
“Other than brunch on Sunday, I don’t have anything planned.”
“Do you want to go to that warehouse Serena told you about? On Saturday night?”
“Are you asking me to go dancing?”
“I’d like to get to know the less typical Maria, the one who can really be herself.”
“Because the quieter version isn’t your type?”
“No,” he said. “Actually, it’s just the opposite. And I already know how I feel about that Maria.”
Crickets were calling from the dunes, serenading them like nature’s orchestra. They were alone, and as she stared up at him, he stepped toward her, instinct taking over. He wondered if she’d turn away and break the spell, but she didn’t. Instead, she stayed in place as he moved even nearer, one arm slowly going around her back. He pulled her close, their lips coming together, and at that moment, he suddenly knew that this was what he’d wanted all along. He’d wanted her, in his arms, just like this, forever.