Page 129 of Love on the Byline

“Not particularly,” she replied. “Just feel like a wetnoodle. Why?”

Spying the coverall she’d worn over her swimsuit the otherday, Ollie slipped out of bed and grabbed it. “Trust me?”

Sitting up, she smiled, confused. “Sure.”

He tossed it to her and picked his shorts off the floor.After pulling them on, held out his hand when Blake came around the corner ofthe bed.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“You’ll see.”

The house was quiet and dark when he popped into thekitchen. Ollie snagged a bowl of grapes he’d left on the island and broughtthem back to where he’d left Blake waiting for him by the pool.

The sky was already dipping into the deep golds of lateafternoon.

“The view here is stunning,” Blake said, staring out overthe water, “I bet it’s better at night.”

He reached down, glancing at her to make sure she was okaywith him taking her hand before he moved towards the pool. “I think the sunsetis better.”

“You’re from out in the country. Of course you’d thinkthat,” she teased, but followed him over.

He set the bowl by the edge of the pool and helped Blake outof her coverall.

“What are you doing?” she asked, sounding alarmed. Shelooked beyond him into the house.

“They won’t be back for hours,” he assured her. “Trust me.”He draped the garment across the closest lounger and then removed his shorts,tossing them alongside.

He took her hand in his and drew her towards the stepsleading down into the water.

“If this is ice cold I’m going to murder you.”

He laughed. “It’s cool, but not freezing. I promise.”

“You’re asking for a lot of trust, buddy,” she protested butfollowed him anyway.

The water was warm, as was the breeze, tinged with the scentof the ocean.

“Are we allowed to skinny dip out here?”

“It’s private property. I don’t think we’ll be arrested,” heturned back to face her, taking in the small smile on her lips and the way thesetting sun made her skin glow.

He braced himself against the edge of the pool, facing outto take in the view, and Blake settled herself next to him. Ollie wanted toreach for her and realized, with a start, that it was allowed.

He curled his fingers around her hip, grateful when shesqueezed into his side.

A few clouds drifted overhead, and the ocean stretched outbefore them like an endless possibility.

It was a stunning view, but that’s not what made his chestache with longing. He wanted this, more moments like this, with Blake.

“I have all of my grandfather’s notebooks,” she said as shelooked out over the horizon. “Boxes and boxes of little green booklets, likethe ones I use. He kept one for every assignment he ever did, more than one inmost cases. There’s a description of a sunset he experienced on the beach inIndonesia. It was about six months after a tsunami had wreaked havoc on thecoastline. He said the ocean lay sleeping like a blue dragon, but that it onlyhad to flick its tail and man would learn it wasn’t tame. That it had neverbeen tame.”

He turned his head to watch her profile, burnished gold bythe fading sun.

“We’ve been running around this past week trying tooutmaneuver people, dealing with the misdeeds of man, and then you sit and lookat this...” She shook her head.

“We don’t need a flick of the dragon’s tail to put thingsinto perspective,” he said.

Blake turned to him and smiled. “No. I guess we don’t. Justa taste of his tongue.”

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