Page 101 of Passing Ships

I nod. “I thought you should know.”

“Is there anything else I should know?”

I love you.

The words creep unexpectedly into my head.

It doesn’t make sense. Love is not something I’ve considered. Like? Yes. Lust? For sure. Seeing each other again whenever we’re both in Sandcastle Cove? Most definitely. But love? Love means more than an occasional rendezvous. Love is constant. Love is sacrificing.

Love is retiring from the Navy and moving my ass to Atlanta, fucking Georgia.

My hand comes up and scrubs the hair at my jaw. I think I’ve finally made the decision I was avoiding for weeks. I know what path I’m going to choose.

“Yeah, I choose you, Amiya Chelton.”

Her forehead creases in confusion. “You what?”

“I’ve finally decided what’s next for me. And it’s you.”

A slow smile spreads across her face. “Does that mean you’ll use my number to send me naughty texts and dick pics this time?”

I chuckle. The woman has no clue. She’s like a lightning strike. Something I couldn’t have predicted and whose power over me I can’t control or fight.

I pull her in close. “It means, once I finish my current contract, I’m coming for you.”

She raises a brow. “Coming for me?”

“Yes, ma’am. I hear there’s a Coast Guard recruiting office in Atlanta,” I say.

Her feet stop moving, and she blinks at me.

“Legs?”

“What did you just say?”

“You’re infuriating. Unpredictable. You barge into strip clubs and prance proudly down aisles in a dress ripped to your fucking navel.”

Her eyes narrow, and she opens her mouth to say something smart, but I bring my finger up to cover her lips.

“Let me finish,” I say. “You’re unlike anyone I’ve ever met, and you’re everything I never knew I needed.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

I grin. “A little of both.”

“That’s fair,” she says. “You’d really quit and move to Atlanta?”

“For you, I’d move anywhere.”

“I was thinking of moving myself. You know, once I’ve assisted and loved Grandma through her final journey.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I mean, the ultimate goal is to live a life you don’t need a vacation from, right? I think Sandcastle Cove is the perfect place to build that kind of life, don’t you?” she asks.

As soon as the words leave her lips, I crush my mouth to hers, my hands threading into her hair, pressing her in tighter as her mouth opens beneath mine.

I pull back, and she opens her eyes.

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