Chapter 10
WALKER
We’ve just pulled a hive for processing when I hear Naudi and her family pull up in her car.
They rode into town with Dad and picked up her car to drive back to Colley Point.
Not sure why she didn’t want me to go with them.
I respect her time with her parents, but I’m still concerned how things will go without someone there to run interference.
It takes almost an hour to finish processing the honey and wash up before I can go see how things went.
As soon as I step inside the house, voices carry from the kitchen. Anita giving direction and Arya laughing. That’s a good sign, but I don’t hear Naudi in the mix.
I lean against the doorframe just long enough to take it all in before stepping fully into the room.
Naudi sits at the island counter with a notebook in front of her as she writes something down. Her mother moves around the kitchen like a storm with a purpose. Everything she’s cooked so far has been amazing, so I have no problem with her taking over the kitchen. Dad doesn’t either.
There are jars and bottles of spices everywhere and pots lined up on the stovetop. Something rich and delicious-smelling fills the air. My stomach rumbles, reminding me I only had an apple for lunch.
“Samosas,” Anita rattles off. “We must have samosas.”
“I don’t know, Ma. I’m not sure that will go over with a lot of folks,” Arya comments.
“It is a country favorite. We include it,” Anita decides. End of discussion.
“Okay.” Naudi sighs and writes it down.
I’m not sure what’s going on, but I don’t think Naudi is totally on board. I bite back a smile.
Her mother turns and spots me at the door. “There he is. Come. Come.”
She takes Naudi’s hand, pulls her off the bar stool, and puts her hand in mine. “You two, go.”
Naudi frowns. “Go where?”
“Out,” Anita says, as if that explains everything.
“But…” Naudi looks back at what she’s been doing.
Her mother physically nudges us in the back, shooing us toward the front door. “You are engaged,” she tells us firmly. “Young people in love should spend time together.”
As far as endorsements go, I guess that was one.
Arya snorts. “She’s not wrong. We’ll finish dinner. You two lovebirds go have fun.”
Anita gives us another gentle push and doesn’t stop until we’re standing on the porch, and then she shuts the door behind us.
Naudi turns and stares at the closed door and then looks up at me.
I lift one shoulder. “I’ve learned it’s easier to listen.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “My mother threw you out of your own house. She really has taken over. I am so sorry.”
“No need to be. It’s fine. They are only going to be here a few more days.”
“Oh, no. About that… Can we take a walk? I have something to tell you. It might be better if you can hide my body after you off me.”
“It can’t be that bad.”
“Just you wait.”
“How about a walk on the beach?”
“You have a beach?”
“It’s an island.”
“That doesn’t mean you have access. I mean I can hear the waves, but I can’t see the water. Not even from my bedroom window.”
“I’ll take you up to the roof deck sometime. There’s a clear view from up there. The trees are in the way down here. That’s why you can’t see the ocean.”
She comes closer, curiosity pushing past everything else. “How do we get there?”
“You’ll see.”
I grab her hand and head down the steps.
We cut through the side path, past the edge of the flower fields where the colors have started to dim.
It’s almost time to cultivate and replant.
The ground changes underfoot from packed dirt to softer sand, the sound of the ocean growing louder with every step.
When the trees open up, Naudi’s steps halt. Her brows shoot upward and her lips part at the sight before her. The beach stretches wide in front of us, untouched, the tide rolling in slow and steady.
“This is yours?” she asks breathlessly.
“The ocean, no. But this section of the beach goes with the property.”
She shakes her head slightly, stepping forward like she doesn’t trust it to be real. “You keep surprising me.”
“Does seem like I do that a lot.”
She glances back at me, a small smile playing at her mouth. “Yeah, you do. Can we stick our feet in the water?”
“Sure.” I kick off my boots and socks and leave them near the edge of the sand. She watches for a few seconds then follows suit. Her shoes join mine, and a second later we’re running toward the surf, laughing like kids.
The water hits her feet and she gasps with a giggle. “It’s cold!”
“It is. It’s still early in the season.”
A wave rolls in, splashing us up to the knees. She throws her head back and laughs, but she doesn’t step back—she forges ahead. She is gorgeous.
“Come on,” she calls over her shoulder and reaches her hand out for mine. I take it. This is becoming not only natural but needed. I like the feel of her hand in mine.
Water swirls around our feet. We walk in silence for a few minutes, the rhythm of the waves filling the space between us. I can feel the dread rolling off of her.
“I need to tell you something.”
“Alright.”
She takes a deep breath. Then the words come out in a rush. “My mother wants to have an engagement party.”
“Okay.”
She stares at me incredulously. “That’s it? That’s your reaction.”
“What were you expecting?”
“I don’t know,” she says. “Shock. Panic. Concern for your safety.”
“I’ve already met your family. I’m aware of the risks.”
That draws a brief laugh out of her. It doesn’t last.
“It gets worse,” she continues.
I glance her way.
“She’s not just talking about it. It’s happening.”
“How?”
“Poppy is to blame. I think. Really, I’m not sure at this point. It all happened kind of fast.”
She goes on to explain how Poppy had jumped in with a lie about already having an engagement party in the works.
I nod in agreement. “Sounds like Poppy.”
Naudi stops walking, but I take another step before realizing it and turning back to her.
“I’m sorry,” she says.
That catches me off-guard. “For what?”
“For what? My gosh, Walker. For dragging you into this. For making your life complicated. For not stopping it before it got this far.”
“I’m the one that started this, not you. I could have said no and put a stop to everything a long time ago. You didn’t do this. We did.”
“I feel responsible.”
“I knew you fell on my truck.”
Her beautiful full lips tip upward into a grin. “No, I didn’t.”
“Right. And you didn’t force me into this either.”
Silence stretches between us. The waves come in and roll back out around our feet.
“This doesn’t bother you?” she asks.
“It’s a party, and it sounds like there is going to be some fantastic food. That’s what you were writing down back in the kitchen. The menu, right?”
“Yes. Poppy mentioned the party, and my mother took over as usual. At least the food portion for now.”
She searches my face like she’s trying to find a break in my armor. Good luck, sweetheart. I’m right where I want to be.
“You’re taking this very calmly.”
“I usually do.”
“That’s not normal.”
“It works for me.”
She stares at me for another second and then shakes her head. “I don’t understand you.”
“I get that a lot too.”
That gets her again. A tiny smile. Then she takes a step back and into a hole just as the next wave hits. It’s a strong one. It hits harder than the rest and catches her mid-step. Her balance goes, her arms start windmilling, and I move without thinking and grab her. Or try to.
Her momentum carries both of us backward. Water surges around us, completely dunking us both. The cold envelopes us all at once, pulling a sharp breath from both of us as we land half in the surf, half in the sand.
For a second, neither of us moves a muscle.
And then…
She laughs. Bright. Uncontrolled. Real. I push up on one arm, water dripping from my face and shirt as I look down at her. “Are you all right?”
“I’m soaked,” she says, still laughing. “But I’m fine. Cold. But fine.”
I let out a long exhale, shaking my head. She could have reinjured her ribs or wrist, and I chuckle with relief.
She looks at me then with those soft, chocolate eyes. My gaze is drawn to her lips and hers to mine. There’s no way I can stop myself from closing the distance between us and taking her mouth with mine.
Her arms wind around my neck, pulling me closer.
Heat rises between us, turning the chilly water into a hot tub.
I run my hands through her hair, taking the kiss deeper.
A sound comes from the back of her throat, the sexiest damn sound I’ve ever heard.
My tongue slides over hers, savoring the taste I’ve come to crave.
I want nothing more than to keep kissing her, but she shivers and her discomfort has me backing up and leaving her panting beside me.
She gazes up at me then. We’re dripping and we’re both a mess, and neither of us seem to care.
“Now I’m really sorry,” she whispers.
The glint in her eyes should have given me some warning. “For what?”
A deluge of water smacks me right in the face. “Did you just splash me?”
Her head bobs up and down. Then a chuckle turns into a laugh.
“Oh, it’s on now.”
She scrambles to her feet and runs farther into the ocean, splashing water at me the whole time. I chase after her, lose my footing, and faceplant in thigh-deep water. When I come up, she’s laughing her head off.
The war is on. We play in the water like kids. I can remember my sisters and me doing the same thing. They would really like Naudi.
The engagement party doesn’t feel like a problem. It feels like the next step.
By the time we make it back to the house, we’re both shivering. I put my arm around her, and she burrowed into my side. I want to pick her up and hurry us inside, but I know that wouldn’t go over well.
Her hair clings to her shoulders, her clothes heavy, her cheeks flushed from the cold, and our laughing hasn’t quite stopped. I grab the door and hold it open for her. She pauses long enough to look up at me. “This was your fault.”
“My fault? How do you come by that?”