Lighthouse Way (Huckleberry Bay 1)

“I wouldn’t,” Sarah says. “So, yes, Apollo, you may escort us home in your chariot.”

“I should have stayed sober,” June mutters as I help Luna to her feet, take her purse and jacket, and help her out to the car.

“So fun,” she says with a happy sigh as she sinks into my leather seat. “I don’t remember the last time I had that much fun.”

“I agree.” I turn onto Lighthouse Way, and when we pull up to the house, Luna’s already asleep.

Her soft skin looks like glass in the moonlight. I want to ask her, right now, to marry me.

I’ve wanted to ask her many times over the past couple of weeks, but the moment was never right.

It’s been damn frustrating.

I push out of the car and manage to wake her enough to lead her inside, and when we get to the bedroom, I gently pull her out of her clothes and get her into our bed.

Within two minutes, she’s snoring.

“What are you doing?” I ask as I plop a waffle fresh from the waffle maker onto a plate.

“I’m making a list,” Luna says and chews on the end of her pen.

“What kind of list?”

“A list of the lists I need to make.”

She slathers butter on her waffle and then dumps so much syrup on it I wince.

“Holy shit, babe, you’ll go into sugar shock.”

“I like a little waffle with my syrup,” she says with a wink. “Anyway, I have so much to do this week, I have to make a list of lists.”

“It’s too early for this.” I sip my coffee and then pour batter into the maker for my waffle. “How can you even be in productivity mode already?”

“It’s morning,” she says as if that says it all. “I have shit to do. I have to talk with Dotty at Books on the Bay about helping me with the library in the B&B. I have to go over potential menus with Darla. I have to choose from floor samples, paint colors, light fixtures, and a million other details. Then I have to make a list of things I need to get done for the lighthouse. And then, I need a list for—”

“I get it.” I hold up a hand and pluck my waffle out of the maker, shaking some powdered sugar on top before taking a bite.

We settle into silence as we both eat. My eyes are hot on hers as my mind drifts to this morning in bed.

Let’s just say we worked up an appetite and earned these waffles.

“Do you have a few free minutes before you dive into your lists?” I ask her.

“Sure.” She finishes her waffle and takes her plate to the sink. “What’s up?”

“I want to show you something. Grab a jacket.”

She pulls on a jacket and slips her feet in her golashes, and I lead her outside.

It rained a bit last night, so we have some mud. We squish our way to the spot I like, and I stop.

“I think this is a great spot,” I inform her.

“Okay, for what?”

“For our future house.”

She narrows her eyes and looks around. We’re still near the cliffs, on the other side of the lighthouse from the B&B, so it’s private.

“We would have a view of the water and the lighthouse, so you’d know if anything was ever wrong, but we’re tucked away from the prying eyes of guests at the B&B.”

“Okay, I can see that. It really is a good spot. And you’d be close to your new garage.” She nods slowly, taking it in. “Yeah, I like it. Good idea.”

She turns and smiles at me but then notices the stakes in the ground.

“Why are there pink ribbons on these stakes?”

“That’s from the surveyor. I already contacted the county, and they came out for permit stuff. I have a couple of different plans for you to choose from, but I think the main bedroom should be right here.”

I stand near the cliffs and gesture with my arms wide.

“It’ll have the best view. And if we put it on the second floor, we can have a killer balcony for sunset watching.”

“Wolfe.”

I turn and see that she’s lost her smile.

“Yeah?”

“We already discussed this. I don’t want to talk about building a house right now. I just told you in the kitchen that I have a million things on my plate.”

She walks back to the house, and I hurry after her.

“But that’s the beauty of this,” I say as I walk next to her. “You don’t have to do anything. I’ll handle all the details so you can still concentrate on the new business.”

She shakes her head and walks through the front door of the house and back to the kitchen.

“I don’t want you to just take over,” she says, her voice rising. “If we’re going to build a house, I want to be a part of it.”