“Then how can you be afraid of me?”
“You intimidate me. Your life; you’ve lived so much more than I have; traveled down roads I will never even glance at. You are fearless.”
“I won’t take you there. I promise.”

“I just think, that is the second reason we could never be together. That you would go there alone, get fed up with me, and just go back to those paths where I won’t tread. You’d leave me behind.”

He teared up. I certainly knew how to run him through the wringer. Not only had he been angry, then forgiving, but now he was heartbroken.

“I knew this would be hard,” I sighed.
He calmed himself, some new thought taking over his brain. “Look. We are here, now. Let’s make the best of it.”

“And follow my rules?”
“Yes. If we can,” he winked.
“Well, you are supposed to show me the beach. And we have book signings all day tomorrow. We’d better go now.”

The sun was still bright in the summer sky and tourists still crowded the Gulf shore, but he had eyes for only me. And I was headed for the tide.