After he had seen Sasha safely to her boat, Cal stayed on the beach. He knew he was once again avoiding the inevitable, but this time he’d rather meet the sun than bleed Elise. He knew what and how to do a bleeding, but it’d never been this close to his heart before. Elise sat down close beside him and, as a reflex, he pulled her into his side.
“Penny for your thoughts,” she asked as she snuggled into him.
He flexed his jaw but didn’t answer. Elise knew it would be tonight he’d told her, but that didn’t mean he wanted to bring it up again. He had tried to figure out another way, but everything led back to bleeding. Cal ran a hand through his hair and looked out over the water. Why couldn’t life just be as easy as that?
“Hey,” Elise moved into his lap, her legs incasing his thighs. She l
