A quick and easy smile bloomed across Liv’s face right before she cracked up. She had the kind of laugh that traveled and touched anyone within earshot. Sure enough, a couple strolling by smiled over at them. “Wh…what did she say?” she managed to squeak out between giggles.
“She said, ‘Really?’”
“Wait. You mean like really, really? Or really, dumbass?”
“Really, really.”
Liv burst out laughing again and this time Danny couldn’t keep himself from joining her. They laughed until she slipped her hand from his and palmed the sides of her pretty face. “My cheeks are hurting from laughing so hard.”
Mission accomplished.
They returned to eating their burgers in happy silence. Daylight hung by its tail behind billows of white clouds. Danny watched and listened to the waves wash onto shore.
A little moan from Liv drew his attention away from the water. “You have to try this,” she said. “It’s the best burger I’ve ever eaten.” She put it up to his lips, eliminating any opportunity for refusal.
He took a bite. Put bacon on anything and it tasted good. “Not bad.”
“Not bad? Your taste buds obviously need an upgrade.” She narrowed her gaze on the corner of his mouth. “You’ve, uh, got a little honey there.” She pointed to the spot.
Without taking his eyes off hers, he licked the crook of his mouth. “Thanks.”
Her focus stayed on his mouth a second too long. He heated from the inside out, wishing he’d thrown on a T-shirt instead of a sweatshirt. Was she remembering the same thing he was? The night in the kitchen when their lips had accidentally brushed?
They looked away at the same time. He finished his burger, she hers, and he threw their trash away. “Walk down to the water?”
“Sure. Breath mint?” She pulled a small tin of mints from her purse.
“You’ve never offered me a mint before. What’s up with that?” He plucked two tiny green candies from the container and tossed them into his mouth.
“Just being courteous.”
“After you.” He gestured with his arm toward the beach.
They walked in pleasant silence. Seagulls tiptoed into the retreating waves. A cool breeze carried the scent of the sea. Up ahead a little boy with trunks that almost reached his ankles stood at the water’s edge, his dad, Danny guessed, beside him. Danny couldn’t make out any details, but seeing their silhouettes did enough to signal his brain he could have that if he let himself.
“I’m excited for that,” Liv said softly. She stopped walking at the same time he did, a simultaneous recognition to soak in the sight of the small boy.
“The minute I could walk, I walked into the ocean. No fear at all,” Danny said.
“Me, too. The beach is one of my few really good memories of my childhood. My mom would bring a book and an umbrella and watch me play in the sand and water all day. She always put a hat on my head and I always refused to wear it.”
The dad scooped the boy up and spun him in a circle. The child’s laughter drowned out the sound of the surf. Danny turned to Liv. The tail end of daylight cast a glow around her in one-of-a-kind beauty and he found himself tucking her hair behind her ear as she looked up at him with similar appreciation.
When her gaze moved to his mouth, he was a goner.
He ignored the voice inside his head reminding him she was his best friend and once they crossed this line they could never go back, and gave her two seconds to say something to change his mind.
One, two…
She took a step back.
One kiss. One kiss to get it out of his head and put it to rest. She might have placed another foot between them, but Danny saw the indecision in her eyes. He inched closer anyway, unwilling to let her go without one more try. It was a jerk move, but if he didn’t get to taste her he’d go insane wondering.
He cradled her neck in his hands.
“Danny.” He liked how breathless his name sounded on her lips.
“We have to. I’m going out of my mind, Liv.”
She half gasped, half sighed, a pleasure-and-pain kind of sound he wanted to turn into one of satisfaction. They had to get this crazy new attraction out of the way so they could go back to being just Liv and Danny. “Make it terrible,” she whispered.
He smiled. “I’ll do my best.”
“To make it awful,” she reiterated.
“Prepare yourself for the worst kiss ever.”
Her small smile made itself at home inside his chest. He lowered his mouth to hers. No tongue, he told himself. Keep it innocent. Safe.
But the second their lips touched, innocence and safety got buried in the sand because he liked her mouth on his. Liked watching her eyes flutter closed. Liked the feel of her palms on his chest and how her body leaned into his.