Page 30 of When Forever Comes

His lips tilt up in a lopsided smile. “Too soon?”

There’s not an ounce of doubt about how I feel about West. So, I shake my head and he smiles.

He releases my hand to wrap his arm around my back and gently brushes his fingers against my bare skin. “We won’t rush this, but I can’t hold back when it comes to you.”

My heart does a double back flip, but when Dana clears her throat, I’m reminded that my sister is within earshot.

* * *

The three of us load into the fancy ATV parked in his private lot. I sit in the front with West and Dana sits in the back with our bags. We drive down the beach but have to duck into the woods for a bit before it opens back up to the gulf of Amber Island.

I hear the splashes before I see the dolphins leaping through the water and putting on the aquatic performance of a lifetime.

Dana claps and jumps out of the ATV the moment West parks under a group of palm trees.

“Dolphins!” She points at the mammals leaping through the air and pounds her feet like she’s a toddler who’s had too much sugar.

Before I have a moment to prepare myself, West pulls his shirt up and over his head, revealing a set of abs that would put Hercules to shame. My breath halts and my eyes take on a mind of their own as I absorb the majestic sight before me.

West crosses his arms over his chest and his muscles flexing does something to my insides, stirring to life something new and primal. Suddenly, insecurity tears me down. I’ve never been one of the skinny girls. Even in high school, I looked different from the other cheerleaders. But I didn’t become insecure about it until Brad and I started dating. He always had something to say about my figure, and his eyes wandered to other women who – I couldn’t help but notice – were thinner than me. Over time, an insecurity grew, and as much as I hate it, I can’t shake it.

Dana is already walking into the water in her bikini, her clothes shed somewhere on the shore, unable to hide her excitement about swimming with the mammals.

West must see the look on my face, because his smile falls, and he walks to me with purpose.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, brushing a hand down my arm.

“Look at you.” I motion to him and his perfection. “You look like… like…”

“Something straight out of Greek mythology,” my sister shouts. That girl must have ears as sharp as an elephant's.

West rolls his eyes.

“I didn’t realize you’d be seeing me in my swimsuit. Like, I knew you would, but it didn’t really hit me until now.”

“I promise to keep my hands to myself.” His gaze leaves a tingling warmth as it slides down me. I don’t need to see his eyes that are hidden behind his dark sunglasses; I canfeelthem.

“Keeping your hands to yourself won’t be a problem when you see me.”

He furrows his brow. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t look like a cover model forFitness Weekly. I’m more like a popped open can of biscuits.”

West doesn’t mask his laugh but when he sees I’m not joking, he leans forward, sliding his sunglasses on top of his head, as if he wants me to see the sincerity in his eyes. “You are perfect exactly as you are. I spent my entire morning devotional asking the Holy Spirit to give me perseverance through today because I knew seeing you in a swimsuit would…” He trails off as his eyes drift down my body and snap back to my face. “You are too beautiful.” He drops his sunglasses back into place.

“Close your eyes,” I command.

“What?” he asks.

“Close your eyes and turn around so I can get in the water. I can’t get in knowing you’re watching me.”

He pulls down his aviators, his blue eyes flashing in defiance. My heart skips a beat. His eyes have always been my greatest weakness.

“It’s the only way I’ll do it.”

Finally, he relents and turns away from me. “Fine. But I want it on the record that I don’t like it.”

I quickly shed my T-shirt and shorts. After kicking off my sandals, I sprint toward the water and meet up with my sister, who is already shoulder deep.

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