In the Likely Event(74)

Or maybe that was right now, watching her smile down at the water, the sun kissing her bare shoulders in her sundress.

“So, what are you thinking for next year?” she asked.

“We haven’t even been here a full day and you’re asking about next year?” I slipped my hand into my pocket, fumbling with the little box I’d brought along. “I’m still thinking about renting those WaveRunners or going for a hike later.”

She tucked her hair behind her ear and grinned up at me. “It gives me something to look forward to. I mean, it took us two years just to get here, so who knows how long it will take us to get another trip.”

“Solid point.” I glanced around at the beauty of the island, the lush vegetation, pale sand, and aqua waters that no picture could capture. “I’m still surprised we made it here.”

“Me too.” She glanced down my torso, her gaze heating in a look that made me wish we’d stayed in the bungalow. Not that I was making any assumptions. I’d happily keep my hands in my pockets if that meant I’d have a week with her. Her brow furrowed, and she stepped in front of me, stopping me in my tracks. “What’s that?” She trailed a fingertip down a scar barely visible in the sleeve of my tattoo.

Of course she’d noticed. I couldn’t get anything by Izzy. Whether or not she chose to ask, to open topics I didn’t want to discuss, to poke for answers, she noticed.

“Nothing to worry about,” I assured her.

She shot an arched brow at me.

“It was a piece of shrapnel.” I shrugged. “Right around when I went back after Mom’s—” I swallowed, and her gaze jumped to meet mine. “It was really nothing. Four stitches and some antibiotics.”

Her lips pursed, and her grip on my arm shifted so she could run her thumb over it. “I feel like you have more of these every time I see you.”

“That’s because I do.”

“And you’re okay with that?” Her hand fell away, and her face fell.

“It’s my job.” And if what I did over there made it even slightly safer for her to sleep at night, then it was worth it.

She looked away, and my stomach lurched. “How many years do you have to serve for the military to pay for college, anyway?”

“Oh, I’m way past that.” I regretted the words the second they left my mouth. “Speaking of passing things . . .” I brought out the small box from my pocket. “I’m not sure I’ve said congratulations for graduating law school yet.”

Her eyes widened as I held out the velvet box. “Nate . . .”

“Take it. It’s not going to bite you, Iz.” I grinned.

“Don’t do that.” She glared at me, then stared at the box.

“Do what? Buy you gifts?” I shook the little box right in front of her pert nose. “What else am I going to do with the massive amounts of hazard pay I’m racking up?”

“Flash that little dimple of yours like it’s going to distract me.” Two cute little lines appeared in her forehead.

“My dimple distracts you?” Shit, I needed to use that to my advantage more often, which would require actually being able to see her more often.

“Stop changing the subject. What is that?” She pointed to the box.

“You could open it and find out.” I couldn’t stop grinning now.

“Nate.” She sucked in a breath. “It’s just that it’s a small box. A really small velvet box, and you and I have never defined whatever this is, and that’s been okay with me, but I really need to be prepared if that box is the box, and normally I’d just laugh it off, but we’re in Fiji, on the beach and—”

I laughed. “Relax, Izzy. It’s not a ring. I wouldn’t do that to you.”

“Oh good.” Her shoulders sagged. “Wait.” She jerked her head back up to look at me. “What do you mean do that to me?”

I cocked my head to the side and tried to smother my smile. “Is it always this difficult for you to accept a gift? I mean, the last thing I’d ever do is shove a ring at you and ask you to give up everything you’ve worked for without giving us a chance to build something first. That wouldn’t be fair to you.” And I wasn’t sure she’d say yes, anyway. She’d probably never admit it, but she craved her parents’ approval on a level I wasn’t sure she even realized, and I was far from their ideal husband for their daughter. No trust fund. No political connections.

“Oh.” That oh sounded entirely different from the first one, but I couldn’t decide if it was in a good way or a bad way.

“Present, Izzy. Present.” I shook the box.

“Thank you.” She plucked the box from my hand, and I memorized the moment. The excitement in her eyes, the soft bite of her teeth into her lower lip, the way she bounced slightly on the balls of her bare feet.

Feelings I couldn’t comprehend exploded in my chest. How could I need this woman so much and see her so little? How could she mean everything and yet exist in a completely different world from the one I lived in?

She opened the box and gasped, her shocked gaze leaping to mine. “Nate, you shouldn’t have.”

And there I went, grinning again. I never smiled as much as I did when I was with Izzy. “I absolutely should have. I’m incredibly proud of you.”