Page 10 of Pax

“Easy,” he smiled.

“Easy for you to say. I’m terrified,” she murmured.

“Of me?” he asked as they walked down the steps and across the street to the beach.

“No. I don’t think so, anyway. I mean, not you personally.” She let out a long breath and shook her head. “Honestly? I don’t know. I don’t know why I’m suddenly scared of a man I’ve known nearly my entire life.”

“If I can do anything to make you feel more comfortable, safer, let me know,” he said, squeezing her hand. “I want you to feel safe with me.”

“I do, Pax. I always have. It’s just that everything feels different now. I can’t get over the fact that my parents didn’t tell me about what was going on in the business.” Pax stopped, spreading a blanket on the sand for them to sit and relax. She took a seat, and he pulled the other blanket around her shoulders.

“Won’t you get cold?” she asked.

“It’s a little chilly,” he smirked. She lifted a corner of the blanket and draped it over his shoulders. “We’ll have to sit closer.”

“That would be such a chore, Pax. I mean, you’re sexy, you smell good, and you look like you’re made of granite.” Pax could only laugh.

“Well, thank you, but that all applies to my twin as well.”

“Oh, no,” she said, shaking her head. “That does not apply to Brax. He’s different.”

“How? I mean, we’re twins. Identical twins.”

“Brax has always been different to me. I’d see the two of you together and know instantly which one was which.”

“How?” he asked again.

“Brax never made my knees shake,” she whispered.

“I make your knees shake?” he laughed.

“Pax, come on. Don’t tease me. You had to have known. Geez, I was always talking to you at school. I came to all your games. I visited you when you broke your foot in baseball. I brought those terrible chocolate cupcakes to you.”

“Oh, yeah. Those were terrible,” he grinned. “But I ate every last one of them.”

“You did? Why?”

“Because you made them for me,” he smiled.

She just stared at him, and then he nodded toward the water. The sun appeared to be melting into the water, a puddle of color mixed with blue and gray water. Pax pulled Deanna closer to his warm body. The truth was, he never got cold, but if it made her sit closer to him, he’d pretend he was freezing to death.

“It’s so peaceful right at this time,” she whispered. “Look. Look at all the people on the beach, all looking at that one thing. It’s something that happens every day, and yet we all act as if it never happens, like it’s a once in a lifetime thing.”

“Maybe for some it is,” he said, nodding toward the groups of people. “When I was deployed, Brax, Mav, Saint, and me would always stand and watch the sunsets if we could. It made us feel connected to everyone back home.”

“That’s great that you had that with one another, that you weren’t alone,” she smiled. “I’ve never been anywhere.”

“What? You never traveled?”

“Nope. I went right from college to working for Dad, then working for the firm, and then you guys. I just never had the urge. Mom and Dad were pretty frugal, and we didn’t take extravagant vacations. We’d go to Biloxi or Gulf Shores. Once, we went to Houston, but it was always within driving distance. No flights.

“I was okay with it for the most part. I like New Orleans. It’s always been home for me, and I always knew I would make it my home.”

He took all that in as the last of the sun disappeared, plunging the beach into a rich purple shade, then a grayish purple, and finally complete darkness other than a few fires.

He stood, grabbing the blanket and tossing it over his shoulder. He gripped her hand once again and then leaned forward, kissing her lips sweetly. He just couldn’t resist kissing the woman he’d dreamed of on a beach at sunset. It was written for them.

“Was that okay?” he asked. She smiled, nodding.

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