Page 114 of That Kind of Guy

The employee reached in and picked up the turtle, Sarabeth, whose arms and legs were splayed in the air. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” I scooped up the turtle and glanced at Miri, who nodded and gestured for me to step on stage.

A look of nausea came over Emmett’s face and his nostrils flared. His gaze darted between me and the turtle. “Miri’s organization is mostly run off donations, and um, she would like to thank the residents of Queen’s Cove for their generosity.” He swallowed, staring at the turtle in my hands as I approached.

He looked up at me and gave a slight shake of his head.No, his eyes pleaded.

I grinned wider at him.Yes, I nodded.

“On behalf of the Queen’s Cove town council—” Emmett gagged. “—I would like to present Miri’s Turtle Heaven with a grant of twenty thousand dollars.”

“Quick,” Miri said in my ear. “Now.”

I shoved the turtle into Emmett’s hands and his face morphed into an expression of horror. Don readied his camera, Miri stepped up to Emmett’s side and smiled, and on Emmett’s other side, Carter began to twerk against him. Don snapped the picture and gave us the thumb’s up while the crowd cheered.

“Stop that,” Emmett barked at Carter before practically tossing the turtle back to Miri. “Miri will be leading tours of the new facility all afternoon,” he said into the microphone. “Congratulations, Miri. I need to leave now before I throw up.”

Miri gazed into the eyes of her turtle with an adoring smile. “Okay.”

Emmett pulled me off stage and slathered his hands in sanitizer. “I hope you enjoyed that. I need to go boil my hands.”

I snorted as he grabbed my hands and smeared sanitizer on them. “You did great up there.”

He shuddered. “If Miri wants to open another turtle rescue place, I’m saying no.”

I smiled at him. “No, you won’t.”

He sighed. “No, I won’t.” He pulled out his phone to glance at the time. “What does your day look like? I had booked off the entire afternoon for this. Want to play hooky with me?”

A sly smile grew on my face. “Mr. Mayor, you’re a terrible influence on me. Always roping me into your grand plans.”

He stopped and leaned down so that his mouth was just above my ear. “Just wait until you see what we’re going to do tonight.”

A shiver rolled through me and my stomach fluttered. “I sure like being married to you.”

His eyebrows went up. “Good. Get used to being my wife because I’m not going back.”

We spent the afternoon at Castle Beach, sitting on a blanket that we kept in the car for this very reason, watching the waves and the sparkling water, listening to the birds chirp at each other. The sun gently warmed our skin and Emmett’s arm held me to his side while I leaned my head on his shoulder.

I glanced down the empty beach, then to the sea and the forest across the water. “This must be what heaven is like.”

“Anywhere with you, Adams.” His throat worked when he looked down at me. “Anywhere with you.”

A familiar figure appeared out in the surf. “It’s Wyatt,” I said, squinting and pointing.

Emmett watched for a moment. “Who’s with him? He’s usually solo.”

A second figure appeared, floating beside Wyatt. Their back was to me but I’d recognize that bright blonde hair anywhere.

“Is thatHannah?” I blinked. Hannah didn’t surf. Hannah didn’t leave her bookstore. Hannah could barely make eye contact with Wyatt.

Emmett made a thoughtful noise like,huh, and we watched them paddle off to another beach. I smiled to myself. Whatever was going on, Hannah would tell me when she was ready.

Finally, we headed home. Emmett would make a pasta and we’d sit out on the patio with our dinner and a glass of wine like we did many summer evenings. The second we stepped in the front door, though, Emmett ran up the stairs.

I was in the kitchen, pulling ingredients out of the fridge, when he reappeared with it in his hands and a huge grin on his face.

“Nope.” I shook my head. “Absolutely not.”