Page 60 of Too Far To Sea
“Wait. I’m coming down.” She pointed to the closest steps and scooted back from the edge. The steps were narrow and uneven. Dana kept a hand on the wall as she descended. McKay waited at the bottom.
When she reached the second to the last step, he said, “I’ll catch you.”
Dana paused. “I’m not jumping. I reread the scene not ten minutes ago.”
McKay reached up for her waist, his hands closing on either side spreading a warmth through her. “Not much of a jump and I can tell Jen I caught a beautiful woman on the Cobb.”
Leaning forward, she placed her hands on his shoulders and allowed McKay’s strength to lower her the last foot and a half. Her friends would swoon if they’d been watching. McKay didn’t back up or remove his hands when her feet met the ground. Dana searched his face. Was he trying to make this as romantic of a moment as every Jane Austen fan ever thought it should be?
His eyes lowered to her lips and back to meet hers. An invitation and unspoken question. Dana leaned closer, giving permission and acceptance.
McKay lowered his head and brushed his lips across hers. Once, twice, three times. The third time, she responded, pulling him closer. Letting him know she wanted this as much as he did. He’d come to Lyme Regis for her. He broke the kiss and rested his forehead on hers.
“Two trains and a taxi.” Dana’s thought slipped out of her mouth. “What?”
“I was thinking you took two trains and a taxi to find me.”
“Actually, I drove. But I would have taken two trains and a taxi if I had to.”
Laughter bubbled up in Dana. “I can’t believe you’re here.” She reached up and kissed him again.
Nearby, someone giggled.
Dana pulled back and looked around his shoulder. A teenage girl was recording them on her phone. She lowered the phone when she realized Dana was looking at her.
“That is the most romantic thing I’ve ever seen.” The girl’s Texan accent labeled her as a tourist. “Y’all it will go viral.”
McKay turned, keeping one hand on Dana’s waist. “I’m glad you found our kiss romantic. We’d rather have kept it private. Would you please delete that video?”
“But it would get so many views.”
Dana stepped forward. “I know it would. However, there are people in my life who I don’t want to see my first kiss with mynew boyfriend on social media before I get home from vacation. And my boss isn’t going to like seeing me in a viral video.”
The girl frowned. “Fine, I won’t post it.”
Dana didn’t believe her.
From the twitch in McKay’s eye, neither did he.
“May I watch you delete it?”
The girl stepped back.
“I have an idea.” Dana smiled at the girl. “Download the video to my phone and then delete it.Ifthis turns into a forever relationship, we will send you an invitation, complete with an airline ticket, to see us. I’ll give you the video back before the wedding and you can stitch it with a kiss you record of us then. And then you can post it with our permission. A guaranteed viral vid for you.”
The girl bit her lip. “How do I know you will keep your end of the deal?”
“They same way I know you didn’t quickly upload it to the cloud and plan to post it tomorrow. Trust.”
The girl eyed them suspiciously. “You might not know if I do.”
Dana held out her phone for the girl to see. “Do you recognize this phone?”
The girl’s eyes widened. “Where did you get that? It isn’t supposed to be out for two more weeks.”
“I work with Mr. Ogilvie. I test some of his products. One of the things he will be testing is software that will find images on the web, even in videos. If you post a video of me. I will know in minutes.” Dana paused, letting the idea sink in. Colin hadn’t invented any such software yet, to her knowledge. She would suggest it the moment she got back to Chicago.
“Ok, I’ll drop it to you.”
