Page 56 of Stranded

I just shake my head. We’re just around the corner from the wharf, where he’s catching the ferry to class, and my brothers and I are meeting at the coffee shop to catch up on life.

Which I’m pretty sure means grilling me about Ronan. I can’t help but notice that all of them are conveniently available, even though it’s a weekday morning.

“No,” I tell him. “I believe in you. Keep going.”

How fitting.

I have my own selfish reasons for saying that. If Ronan doesn’t practice, he’ll never get better. And I want him to see that hecanhaul his own stuff on and off Sunrise Island. Otherwise, thiswilljust be an artist’s retreat—not a practical, long-term home.

A home with me.

Ronan looks up at me with a little smile, and then it slowly becomes a grin. “Okay.”

He turns back to the road and accelerates again, quiet and focused this time. He sticks to the speed limit and avoids all the potholes for the rest of the short journey.

Finally, he squeezes the golf cart into a spot all by himself, and I can’t stop myself from beaming with pride.

“I did it!” Ronan turns off the ignition and beams up at me, flinging himself off the cart to pirouette behind it. “That was my best trip!”

“It was.” I clamber to solid ground, laughing quietly at how pleased he is. “Really good—mmph!”

Ronan flings himself at me, wraps his arms around my shoulders, and kisses me. His mouth slides across mine, hot and quick with adrenaline, sendingallmy blood rushing down south.

Holy shit.

We pull apart with a gasp, and I lick my lips slowly as I study his flushed cheeks and wide eyes.

For a moment, neither of us know what to do. Then a honk nearby startles us both.

It’s the two-minute warning for the ferry.

“Oh shit. Gotta go!” Ronan grabs his backpack and all the bags from the back of the golf cart.

I lean over to pull the keys out of the ignition, waving them at him. “Don’t forget these.”

“Oh! Sorry,” Ronan gasps. He obviously thinks I’m scolding him for leaving them there. I wait patiently, jangling them at him, and he blinks. “Wait. Do you mean…?”

I shrug. “I can walk home. You’re the one with all the stuff.”

Ronan beams at me, freeing up a hand to take them and tuck them carefully into his pocket. “Thank you,” he murmurs. Then he gasps, remembering his sense of urgency and scurrying for the dock. “Bye!”

I wave at the all-too-familiar sight of his retreating back, smiling as I watch him go.

A wolf-whistle nearby catches my attention. When I look over at the coffee shop, I see a bunch of familiar faces all at once.

Oh. I’m the last one here. And they’re all grinning like they saw everything that just went down.

“Well, well, well.” Carter holds out a coffee cup to me and claps his arm around my shoulders in a hug. I hug the rest of them, too—Zach, Drew, Murph.

Last but not least is Felix. My little brother doesn’t say a word, but he’s glowing as he wraps me up in a tight hug.

We’d take over the whole coffee shop if we tried to sit inside, so we set off to the sleep slope down to the beach. The nearby sound of the ferry engine tells me that Ronan made it just in time.

“Guess that boyfriend betrothal is going well, huh?” Carter grins.

“Yeah. Really well.” I settle down on a smooth driftwood log by the shoreline. A few of the guys sit on it, and others perch on the rocks and boulders nearby.

We’re overlooking the harbour, and I can’t stop myself from trying to steal a glimpse of Ronan on board the retreating ferry.

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