Chapter 12
Love Like
Neither of them could take another bite. Full from both the food and the moment, Claire leaned back in her chair, breath catching slightly as the breeze danced across her skin.
Jaxon stood, gathering plates with a quiet confidence that made her stomach flutter all over again.
“Don’t worry about a thing,” he said with a soft grin. “Give me a few minutes to take these inside. I have something to show you.”
And just like that, he disappeared toward the house, arms full of dishes, leaving Claire alone beneath the golden glow of the pergola.
She let herself exhale.
The view in front of her—moonlight casting shadows on still water, trees swaying in rhythm with the tide—was stunning. But her mind wasn’t on the water.
It was on him.
She didn’t know how this night became what it was. She only knew that she didn’t want it to end.
The screen door creaked open. Claire turned to find Jaxon walking back toward her, the same calm purpose in his step. Without a word, he reached for her hand and led her through the backyard toward a narrow dock that stretched into the sound.
At the end, two wooden chairs faced the water, their backs to the world.
As they walked, the wooden planks beneath their feet echoed faintly in the quiet night. Jaxon glanced over at her.
“Do you remember when you asked me where I was headed?”
Claire smiled. “Yes.”
“I said I was headed to where the tide meets the sand. Well—this is it.”
Claire tilted her head, brows furrowing. “What do you mean this is it?”
They reached the end of the dock.
Jaxon took both of her hands in his. He gently spun her in a slow turn, then pulled her close, his arms sliding around her waist, holding her there—grounded, steady, his eyes locked onto hers.
And then he whispered—
“While at the end of this dock, and only at this time…When the tide is just right, you can see the darkness from the sound. The way the moonlight reflects off the water causes the sand to sparkle like a bed of diamonds. This is my favorite spot. This is where the tide meets the sand.”
Claire’s chest ached.
Not in a bad way.
In the kind of way you feel when someone cracks your soul open with nothing but words.
And then he said it—
“This is how I want to love.”
“I want my love like the tide and the sand. As the tide rises, it brings in new things to make the sand better—more beautiful than it already is. When the tide recedes, it takes with it all things not meant to be there. The love I want is renewed and added to each day. It’s where all things not meant to be get washed away.
While the beautiful things remain…and keep growing. ”
Claire didn’t speak.
She couldn’t.
No man had ever said something like that to her. Not even close.
She just stared at him—this man with the poetic mouth and the gentle hands, who was standing there telling her the kind of love she’d only dreamed of, as casually and confidently as if he were reading his grocery list.
Her heart dropped into her stomach.
He’s not like anyone I’ve ever met.
And suddenly, the words of that waitress floated through her mind again.
He never takes women with him. He always says, “have a good night.”
Yet here she was. At his house. Under his lights. In his favorite place. In his arms.
What makes me different? she thought.
Before she could get lost in it, Jaxon interrupted her spiral.
“Would you like to sit for a while? You really can’t beat this view.”
Claire swallowed the knot in her throat and nodded. “Sure.”
She sank into the chair beside him, still trying to process the weight of what he’d just shared.
“This place is beautiful,” she said, glancing out across the water. “Is this your family’s home?”
Jaxon shook his head, pride flickering in his voice. “No. This slice of heaven? It’s all mine.”
Claire looked at him, stunned. “Seriously?”
“Oh yeah. I got this place by pure luck a few years ago.”
She tilted toward him. “Okay… what’s the story behind that?”
He turned slightly in his seat, smiling at the memory.
“I came to the island for work a few years back. Two weeks. I was helping open the new finance office. Didn’t plan to stay longer than that.”
Claire leaned in. “But you did.”
“I fell in love with this place,” he said, eyes scanning the horizon like it was a living thing. “Told corporate I wanted to stay. They let me keep the office, so I packed up my apartment in Charlotte and never looked back.”
He chuckled.
“About a year in, I was still renting when my receptionist told me a property was going into foreclosure. Came out here, stood at the edge of this dock, looked at this view—and I knew. I didn’t care what shape the house was in. It had to be mine.”
Claire smiled softly. “And now it is.”
“Five years later,” he said, “and here we are.”
“You feel like you’re from here,” she said. “Everyone loves you. I just assumed…”
Jaxon shrugged. “That’s the thing about this island. It has a way of turning tourists into locals.”
Before Claire could respond, her phone started buzzing in her pocket.
She winced, pulling it out and glancing at the screen. “I’m sorry,” she said quickly as she answered.
Jaxon expected a short check-in. A quick update.
Instead—
“Seriously?”
“I can ask.”
“Damn it, Sara…”
Claire sighed and hung up. “I’m so sorry.”
Jaxon was already grinning. “Where do you need to go?”
Claire shook her head. “Is there any way you can take me to Tides Rising? Apparently, the girls went back and had too many drinks. They can’t come get me.”
Jaxon laughed. “I had a feeling. I figured they were either calling to save you—or they went a little heavy on the mojitos.”
“I don’t need saving,” Claire insisted, but her voice was gentle.
“Didn’t say you did,” Jaxon replied, standing with a stretch. “Come on. I’ll take you back. Besides… it gives us more time to talk.”
As they walked toward his truck, Claire glanced over.
“How come you call it ‘the grill’ and not ‘the bar’?”
Jaxon smirked. “Because Mike owns it. And even though there’s no dinner crowd after 8, he hates when people call it a bar. Says it sounds cheap.”
Claire laughed. “So it’s a pride thing?”
“Exactly,” Jaxon said as he opened her door. “And around here? Pride is currency.”