I pushed his sunglasses to the top of his head. “Look.” I gazed out to the sea. “Isn’t that the most beautiful view?”
Sometimes it was hard to imagine that anywhere in the South of France could be completely unspoiled, but from this particular spot, it was more difficult to imagine anyone had ever been here at all. “I love how that tree grows out from the mountainside as if it’s trying to walk down to the ocean,” I said, pointing to the mountain pine that I always took a picture of every time I was here. “I have to get a picture.”
I snapped a photograph on my phone and turned to continue our journey.
“Let’s take another one,” Landon said. “Us and the view.”
I bit back a smile.
Holding up the phone, he snapped a couple of shots and then nodded and slid his phone back into his pocket. “Now where?”
“We admire the view and keep walking.”
Finally, we got to the bottom of the hill. We were the only ones at the small, secluded cove, just as I’d hoped. I’d never seen anyone else here, but it wasn’t like I could organize the solitude.
“Wow, how did you find this place?” Landon surveyed the high rocks on three sides of us and the view of the water in front of us. “Is it a private beach?”
I shook my head. “I just stumbled across it one day, and I like to try to come back every year. There aren’t many places this pretty that you can have to yourself around here.” I pulled the backpack from his shoulder and set it down on the pebbly beach.
“It certainly is pretty.”
“No fancy restaurant but the view makes up for it, I hope.” I pulled out the picnic blanket that I’d brought along with the food I’d picked up from the deli, the drinks, silverware, and paper towels.
“I brought towels so we can swim. You brought your trunks, right?”
“I have them on. You’ve gone to some effort here, Skylar.”
There was nothing that went unnoticed when Landon was around. “It’s beautiful, right?”
“You come here with August?”
I sighed as I tucked the bottle of water I’d brought under the blanket. “Nope. I like to come alone. It’s peaceful.” It was my corner of the Med where I came to get away from the toil of the season, the demands of guests, and the pressure of running away from my past. Here I got to take a time out from it all and just relax. “I thought you’d like it.”
Landon took a seat on the blanket and pulled me down onto his lap. “I do. It’s wonderful and I feel . . . kinda special that you brought me here.” He cupped my face in his hands and pressed a kiss against my lips. “Thank you.”
“You’re not disappointed that I didn’t make reservations at the top of the hill?”
He chuckled. “Nope. This is much more my thing. I just didn’t expect it to be yours.”
I shifted so I sat between Landon’s legs and we could both look over the water. “Yeah, I’m not sure many people know me that well.”
“You’re a riddle, Skylar.”
“I don’t think so. I’m just a girl from the Midwest—we’re quite simple when you get to know us.”
Landon brought his arms around me, cocooning me with his body. “So tell me something so I can get to know you. Explain why a full stomach and a roof over your head are things you worry about?”
Had he known that I’d meant it literally? “You can’t take anything for granted. Don’t they teach you that in the army?”
I tried to make it sound breezy so I might get away with just a generic answer, but when he didn’t respond, I knew I’d failed. I was at a crossroads, one side of a line in the sand. I could choose to keep my history to myself, avoid and obfuscate, or I could take a step forward across the sand and tell Landon the whole truth. I could choose to trust him. I could let him in.
“After my mother died,” I continued. “I went to live in a group home. That period taught me a lot about life.”
He pulled me closer. “I’m so sorry, Skylar. How did she die?”
I slid my hand over his as I considered his question. “That’s a question most people don’t ask. They . . .”
“Are uncomfortable talking about death. I know. But I’ve seen it too often to be scared of the words.”