Page 61 of On the Run
I laughed and rubbed my nose against his neck. “And you’re gonna tell her that’s an amazing idea, but maybe not for this particular party?”
“Yes, probably,” he grumbled. “Because it’s more expedient—”
“But it isn’t. Not at all. It’s because you, Toby Elford,care. You actually like the lunatics on this island.”
For a long minute, Toby seemed to ponder this, and then he admitted, “I don’t dislike Whispering Key. I didn’t expect to be able to say that, but there’s a certain charm in people embracing you immediately. It’s a far cry from New York.”
“Yeah? How long does it take to fit in there?”
He chuckled lightly. “I’ll let you know when it happens.”
I turned us in a wide circle, so Toby’s legs fanned out, making ripples in the water. “So why not move? You can do your job anywhere, right? Why not relocate to Whispering Key? I mean,” I added quickly, “a placelikeWhispering Key.”
“Thereisn’tanywhere else like Whispering Key. At least not that I’ve ever encountered.”
“So stay here, then.” I tried to sound casual, like my heart wasn’t beating out of my chest at the idea of keeping this thing between us going for longer. “I mean, there’s no reason you can’t stay even after Mason comes back, right?”
“For a little while, I suppose. I might have to, depending on how things work out back in the city.”
Haveto was not the same aswantto, and I realized I wanted him to want to be here, even after whatever bullshit with his ex-boyfriend… or ex-boyfriends… or whoever the hell he was running from… was over. I wanted him to choose this place. I knew this thing between us was only temporary,but I wanted him in my life anyway.
“You still haven’t told me what’s going on in the city,” I reminded him, and his body tensed in my arms. “But isn’t there something you can do to fix the situation with the two guys? Or will it resolve itself?”
“Eh. Time will tell,” he said vaguely.
“You could tell me what’s going on. I would help you with anyth—”
He shook his head firmly. “No, Beale, I couldn’t. It’s a… a relatively minor personal problem that has nothing whatsoever to do with you, okay?”
“Yeah.” Logically, I knew he was right, but it felt instinctively wrong, like some ass-backward part of me wanted everything that involved him to involve me, too, just because we were sleeping together. “Okay.”
“Besides—” Toby shot me a sly look over his shoulder. “—if we start talking about all the shit I’d rather not talk about, then we’ll have to talk about all the stuffyou’drather not talk about.”
I wondered if he turned the conversation away from himself all the time on purpose or if it was instinctive. Still, I bit.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
That sly look again. “Do youreallywant to know?”
“Why not?” I turned us in a tight circle again. I couldn’t think of much I wouldn’t want to discuss with Toby. “If I don’t like it, I could always drop you,” I teased, holding him tighter.
“Well, I was thinking about your career concerns.” Toby gripped my arm, like he wasn’t quite sure if I was teasing. “You remember when we were plover-spotting the other day, and I said something along the lines of, ‘Beale, fake conquistador of my soul, what does a plover look like?’ And then you showed me what I should be looking for, including the forehead markings that say they’re down to mate?”
“Of course that’s the part you remember,” I said irritably. Leave it to Toby to actually find maybe the one thing I reallydidn’twant to discuss with him. “Yeah, so?”
“So… if you hadn’t shown me, how would I have known what I was looking for? I could have been counting bald eagles.”
“There are no bald eagles here,” I scoffed.
“The Universe doesn’t magically give you things,” Toby continued, undeterred. “You tell it what you want, right? What you visualize is what you get.”
I scowled. What was he getting at? I mean,obviouslythat was the way things worked. I’d visualized myself happy and fulfilled alot. But the Universe took its own sweet time.
“I told you before, everyone has an opinion on what I ought to be doing for a career, but Ilikedoing lots of different things. I’m happy doing lots of things. Until I know what the path is—”
“No, no, no. Beale. Precious. Thatisthe path. That’s my point. You’re there. Revel in it. Glory in it. Thisisyour grand future. You told the Universe you wanted a bunch of things, and it provided a bunch of things. The future ishere.”
I frowned at the water. “I don’t think it’s that easy.”
