Page 61 of Pursued By My Grumpy Fiancé
“We haven’t even gone inside, yet. Come on.” He gestures me towards the front door and unlocks it so that we can step inside.
The inside of the home is equally as beautiful. Sand art covers the bare white walls of the entryway. Through an archway is a living room, complete with an enormous leather couch and a flat screen. I wander down the hallway towards a state-of-the-art kitchen. Stainless steel appliances are set in between sparkling marble counters and light blue wood cabinets.
“This is AMAZING!” I yell again, and I hear more laughter from Landon in the entryway.
I run back down the hallway and stop right in front of Landon, almost knocking him down. “I want to go to the beach.”
“Right now?” he asks, his brows pulling together.
“Yes! It’s such a beautiful day. And it’s so close.” I can sense he’s about to protest, so I begin to beg. “Please, please, please, please…”
I show him my best puppy dog eyes and finally, he relents.
“Fine, fine. Let me take these upstairs and we can go to the beach.” He drags the suitcases up the stairs and leaves me to explore.
I go back down the hallway and look out the sliding glass door next to the kitchen. The house backs right up to the beach, because of course it does. There isn’t a single soul on the beach, and it looks like we will have it completely to ourselves.
“It’s a private beach,” Landon says from behind me, causing me to jump.
I was so deep in my thoughts that I didn’t even hear him make his way down the stairs.
“Does your family own it?” I ask.
He shakes his head.
“Technically, the five houses that back up to the beach own it. Two of the other houses are rentals, so people are only there occasionally. One’s empty, and the last one belongs to an elderly couple.”
“So, we really do have the beach all to ourselves then,” I say as he opens the door.
Before I can react, he runs out of the house with his arms spread wide.
“Wooooooo!” he yells as he runs onto the sand.
I grin, close the door, and run off after him.
“Wooooooo!” I imitate him, but trip up in the sand and fall over. “Oops.”
He flashes me a goofy smile and walks over to help me up.
“So, what’s your favorite thing to do on the beach?” he asks.
“Hmm. I like to build sandcastles.” I respond.
He snorts and glances at me before realizing that I’m serious.
“Oh, uh, really? Sandcastles?”
“You got a problem with sandcastles?” I shoot him a look.
“No, no, of course not. It’s just that they’re uh…they’re for children?” He gives me a goofy smile as he kicks a bit of sand at me and runs off into the water.
“Oh, you’re gonna get it!” I shout as I run after him. The minute my thighs hit the water though, I change my mind.
“Oh, oh no! Cold, cold, cold!” I say as I leg it out of the water. Before I can fully make it out, Landon wraps one arm around my waist and pulls me farther into the water, completely submerging me.
I give a bloodcurdling scream, and he laughs.
“It’s a good thing this is a private beach, or people might be inclined to think I’m murdering you.”
