Page 143 of Fire Island
We roll from the parking lot and onto the small street. After an age of the confines of our small coastal town, we find the highway.
“Hold on, mo ghràdh.”
She tightens around me.
I open the Indian up, full throttle.
We fly forward, and Evie squeals. We cruise over the winding coastal highway, stuck on each other as the wind whips past.
The woman I love is wrapped around me.
Every milestone in this life of mine has been marked by hardship. Now, by my own choosing, I will only count the good things in life.
Evie gave me that.
I’ve been living under one of the world’s brightest lights for two decades, and it wasn’t until this timid, kind, bighearted woman cracked me wide open that I stepped out of the shadows.
I slow the bike when the state forest sign comes up. Turning into the park, we roll into the secluded parking area, and I kill the engine.
Unclipping the chin strap, I tug my helmet off and hang it on the handlebar. Evie steps from the bike and hands me hers. “That was incredible!”
Her face is lit up, stuffing my heart even fuller with happiness. I slide back on the seat and pat the front of it. She moves onto the bike, her legs draped over my thighs. I clasp her face in my hands and sink my mouth over hers. Breathless, we part, and she gives me a shy little look.
“What?” I ask.
“So, I’ve been bursting to tell you this... Livvy loved my—our—story.”
“She did?”
“Yes, but?—”
I tilt my head and frown. “Do I need to send a strong-worded email to my cousin?”
She chuckles, and it almost sounds a little nervous. “No, nothing like that. It’s just that my name is attached to my fantasy series. So she said I needed a pen name. She suggested one, but I’m not sure it will work...”
“What is it?”
Her hand brushes my jaw as she breathes, “Evie McCreary.”
The grin stretching my face is ridiculous.
“Well, that figures, since you said yes, baby.”
“I did. I do.” She hangs her head. “But my parents?—”
“You saw them this trip?”
“Yeah. They were less than supportive because of...”
“The old man you’re engaged to?”
“It’s mostly my father.”
I slide my hands along her jaw, holding her gaze with mine. “We’ll figure it out, I promise.”
“No more of those, remember?”
“Alright,” I say, tucking a stray wave of hair behind her ear. “On a more productive note, Em and I started the refurb on Pearl while you were away.”
