Love Bug (The Prescotts Book 3) by Tara Wyatt (electric book reader .TXT) 📗

left, the ocean glimmering in the moonlight to their right. He’d taken her to his favorite restaurant in Montauk, one that specialized in seafood and Italian and they’d gorged themselves on scallops, roasted Brussels sprouts, lobster linguine, and lemon cheesecake. They’d walked the one and a half miles to the restaurant and now were headed back home, and he didn’t mind the walk. It was a beautiful evening and a little exercise was welcome after how much they’d eaten.

As they walked, the evening air fresh and warm around them, the waves lapping rhythmically against the sand, he realized that he’d become a lot less intense about food since getting together with Willa. He’d let himself deviate from his carefully planned diet almost without thinking, he was so focused on enjoying being with her. On watching her enjoy the meal. On savoring the food he’d denied himself for so long because he wanted to share something with her.

And guess what? The sky hadn’t fallen. He’d let go and let himself enjoy something and nothing bad had happened. Granted, he always pushed himself harder in the gym the morning after one of their dinners out, but that seemed to be keeping things stable. He’d found a kind of balance that he hadn’t known was possible. He’d always been an all or nothing kind of guy, so finding this middle ground was refreshing.

Around Willa, he didn’t feel the need to keep such a tight grip on everything, he realized. And he knew it was because he’d never trusted someone in a romantic relationship enough to actually let go. To let them see the real, authentic Max and know that they wouldn’t go anywhere. The women he’d dated in the past—before Sophia, because he hadn’t dated anyone seriously since her—had been into him for his money, for his looks, for his lifestyle.

Willa was just into him. Period.

He glanced over at her, the stones in her necklace glimmering in the moonlight. He’d gone into the jewelry store a few days ago planning to buy her something to wear at the gala this coming Thursday, but he hadn’t been sure what until his eyes had landed on the pendant with the hazel-colored stones, almost the exact golden green shade of Willa’s eyes.

After he’d picked out the necklace, he’d wandered to another section of the store, walking slowly in front of the cases of diamond rings, wondering which style she’d like. He’d pictured her small, delicate hands and had decided she wouldn’t like anything too big, and everything in the store had been a little too much for what he thought she’d prefer. But then he’d spotted it: a rose gold ring with a round diamond surrounded by smaller ones nestled into the dainty leaves surrounding it, making it look like it was blooming. The gold had been scraped and worn to give the appearance of woodgrain. It looked like something out of a fairytale.

It was perfect. But he’d talked himself out of buying it, knowing it was way too early in their relationship to be looking at rings. They’d only been together for a month. He was just browsing, letting himself imagine what he might pick out someday in the future.

He’d gone back and bought it the next day.

Willa would probably freak if she knew that A) he’d bought an engagement ring a month into their relationship and B) he’d dropped $90,000 on it, but he wasn’t planning to propose, like, tomorrow. He’d hang onto it until the time felt right.

Until, say, maybe June. Or July. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to wait much longer than that, even though he was conscious of not driving her away by moving too quickly. He didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize what they had, and he’d do whatever it took to protect it, even if that meant waiting longer than he wanted to tell her he wanted to be with her for the rest of his life.

They walked in comfortable silence, nodding at the other pedestrians walking home from dinner or out for an evening stroll. It was quiet. Peaceful. Serene, with the moon shining and the waves lapping softly against the shore.

“You’re quiet,” she said, giving his hand a squeeze. “What are you thinking about?”

“You,” he answered simply.

“What about me?”

“That I love you and you make me happier than I’ve ever been in my life. That you’re beautiful and amazing and I’m the luckiest man on the planet to be with you.”

Her lips twisted into a smile and she squeezed his hand again. “Funny, I was just thinking very similar things about you.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Mmmhmm. That you make me feel delirious with happiness. That you’re sexy and wonderful and I can’t believe you’re mine.”

He stopped walking and pulled her against him, ghosting his lips over hers in a tease of a kiss. “Believe it, angel.”

“When we get home, can we use that enormous bathtub?” she asked, looking up at him, the moonlight making her eyes glisten just like the stones in her necklace.

“Absolutely.” They started walking again, their pace a bit faster.

Large, white umbrellas fluttered in the light breeze coming in off the ocean, sheltering the beach goers from the sun overhead. The sky was completely clear without a single cloud in the sky, the blue the kind of warm azure only seen in summer, promising a warm day.

The beach was crowded with Memorial Day revelers of all kinds—couples, and families, college kids and groups of friends in their twenties, seniors and babies and everyone in between.

“Help me?” asked Willa, extending a bottle of sunscreen towards him. He took it with a grin, shifting back on his chaise lounge to make room for her to sit in front of him. Sadly, she hadn’t worn the string bikini today, instead opting for a more modest emerald green one piece that tied behind her neck, leaving a large swath of her back exposed. But it was probably for the best. The sight of her in that