Page 42 of The All-Inclusive

Trent scoots to the side, his bare shoulder bumping my own. A current rolls through me, but I push that aside and focus on squeezing her arch. “How many times has she seen this?” I ask him.

He chuckles and glances behind him at the screen. It’s playing a scene fromThe Notebookwhere Ryan Gosling hangs from the Ferris wheel, hoping to win Rachel McAdams’s heart. “Five or six thousand times, I’m guessing.” The fondness in his voice has me rethinking my theory on Trent and emotion. “The first time she saw it, her grandma was in the end stages of Alzheimer’s.”

“Shit, I’m sorry.” Not sure if that has something to do with the film. I’ve never watched it before. “That’s a lousy way to lose someone.”

“It is.” She’s blinking back tears but still smiling. “It was the summer I turned fifteen, and my Grandpa took care of her right up to the end. Every single day, he brought in family photo albums and read to her from her favorite books. He was her hero.”

Trent’s nodding along like he knows the whole story. “I’d seen the movie with my mom, so I brought it over one night. We sat on the couch with Sara’s parents and watched it together.” He pauses while Jacques feeds her another bacon-wrapped fig. “It made her cry, but in a good way. Cathartic, you know? It’s always better when you feel like you’re not so alone in whatever rough thing you’re facing.”

“That’s the truth.” I’m a little surprised that he said it. I wasn’texpecting deep empathy from Frogman. “Did you guys grow up near Coronado?”

I’m assuming they live near the Naval Amphibious Base just outside San Diego. Most SEALs I’ve known stay someplace nearby.

Sara and Trent trade a curious look. “I live in Portland,” she says. “We’ve kinda been doing the long-distance thing, since we knew we couldn’t live together before marriage.”

“I’m gone all the time anyway,” Trent says. “Her family and friends are in Portland, so it didn’t make sense for Sara to relocate yet.”

“Not until after the wedding.” She frowns like they haven’t discussed how this plan might be changing. “I have a job lined up for the fall at a school near the naval base, and there’s military housing for married couples, but, uh…” She glances at Trent, letting her words trail off into silence.

Trent shifts beside me, his arm bumping mine as he studies the foot he’s massaging. “Yeah, uh.” He clears his throat. “Guess we have to talk about some things.”

“We do.” Sara’s voice takes on a tight edge.

Trent shoots her a pleading look. “Can you give me a few days to sort through some stuff?”

“Sure.” She sounds less than enthused. “Fine.”

“Great.”

Fuck.I didn’t mean to step on a landmine.

Time for a quick change of subject. “What’s on your non-sex bucket list at Crystal Bliss?”

Sara gives me a sweet smile of gratitude. “Maybe snorkeling. Trent’s big on diving, obviously. SEAL thing, you know?” Her fond smile lands on the top of his head, since he’s keeping his eyes on her ankle. “I’ve always been too scared to try it, but I saw a kayaking snorkel adventure in the app that sounds fun.”

“I’d be happy to take you.” That’s one of my favorite enchantments,even without the optional sex-on-a-beach addition. “Lots of great coral reefs around here.”

Trent looks up from stroking his thumbs over Sara’s tense calf. “Didn’t think you’d ever try snorkeling. You always said you were afraid to put your face in the water.”

“I’m allowed to change my mind, Trent.” There’s a quick flash of light in Sara’s soft eyes. “I was also afraid to disappoint my family by having sex before marriage, but I guess we’ve blown upthatplan.”

My eyes dart between them, watching their shoulders get tenser. I’m not sure whether to let this play out or run interference again. Might as well tackle this head-on. “You guys discuss your sex lives with your parents?”

Another sharp look zings between them. Trent speaks this time. “It’s mostly a one-way discussion.” He shrugs and glances away out the window. “As in, ‘Here’s what youdon’tdo unless you’re ready to be disowned.’ I’m paraphrasing, but that’s the basic gist.”

Jesus. “Really?” I glance from his face to hers, then back again. “And you’re okay with that?”

“That’s just how it is.” Sara frowns. “What about you?”

“What about me?” My thumbs stroke her arch and she lets out a soft little moan. “I’m not saving myself for marriage, in case there’s any confusion about that.”

They both burst out laughing, breaking the tension. Sara opens her mouth for another bacon-wrapped fig. “How did you grow up?” Her words come out muffled as she chews her treat and Jacques dabs her mouth with a napkin. “I take it your parents weren’t into purity culture?”

“Definitely not.” I had the world’s most easygoing parents but saying that now feels like rubbing their noses in it. “My mom is super sweet and laidback. My father died when I was three.” I pause as Sara gasps. “Same car accident that left my older brother with a traumatic brain injury.”

“The one with the special ed teachers.” She touches my arm. “I’m so sorry, Logan.”

“Thanks, but I honestly don’t remember my father much. I was so young.”

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