page34 (1/2)
“I like the water, remember?”
“Yes, you have gills and fins, I believe”
She laughed as he lifted her fro surf to relatively dry, packed sand Once there, he put her on her feet and together they faced the boat and the view of the sea
Open water everywhere
Gorgeous blue sky, a turquoise sea, pale rocks standing sentry at theand no one else for miles until you reached the mainland
“It’s perfect,” she said, nodding “I love it Is there any place to pitch a tent? Because this is rid”
“I thought of that, too Let me show you what is here and we can see if you think it has potential”
He took her hand and led her toward the back of the beach where it butted against the rocky cliff, and there at the back was a little path carved froh the rocks
Josephine felt like she was on a grand adventure as they walked up the path through the small tunnel She reached out and touched the wall It was surprisingly s at the feat of nature required to make such a tunnel out of as ht, and they’d co at all as right in the middle sat a small stone house virtually identical to the one she’d called home on Khronos Josephine’s jaw dropped and she looked froain
Same stone Same shape Same placement of s and doors
She walked quickly to the house, and as she crossed the threshold she felt a jolt of recognition—rough-hewn bea the center rooh as she inspected both, she discovered that the master bedroom was the one at the front, where Jo’s had been, and the one at the back had been divided into tith a cradle and bunk beds, as if anticipating quite a brood
“This isto take it all in
“I had it copied as closely as I could,” he said, ar his lips “The contractor and builders wanted to add more amenities but I refused I told them it was meant to be rustic and an escape from civilization as we know it”
“You gave
“With all the solar-efficient technology we could find,” he said, exiting the house and heading to the back where a pretty trellis concealed a tidy grid of solar panels, tubing, and equip and electricity Solar-powered coy to run your own little lab of computers as well, if you should so desire And last but not least, your own desalination systearden, desire”
She shook her head, incredibly touched and overwhel this world for her
From the beach, this was a deserted island, and yet tucked behind the safety of the rocks was a little house ready for her to come play house “You make me feel like Marie Antoinette with her little farm”
“The Ha as he sht crossed ant We left out the farrotto”
“Tell me you didn’t import all those stones for the house”
“No Thankfully the island has an abundance of stone, and ere able to use all local stone, cutting them here, which made it far easier physically, as well as more affordable”
“And yet this is still extremely costly”
“Can I not give ift?”
“Will your people want my head?”
“My people are your people, and they ant you and our children happy” He drew her into his ar her, oh, so slowly and tenderly, and when he raised his head, his blue eyes were bright and warm and filled with conviction and love “You will have ht just take time—”
“I know,” she interrupted, standing on tiptoe to kiss hi as you and I are together and we stick together Friends, lovers, partners” She felt the secret rise in her, the joy overwhel “Parents”
“Yes, ill be parents,” he agreed fir like the man who’d served his country in the Royal Navy
“In just six ain “And next week, we can find out the sex, if you want Or we can both go and just look at the ultrasound and watch the baby’s lovely little heart”
Alexander’s jaorked and he blinked hard, clearing the sheen gathering there “A baby”
“Our baby”
“You’ve seen the doctor?”
She nodded “I have, and I’ve seen the ultrasound and everything looks good There should be no proble up and down steep stairs”
He glanced toward the water “Or riding in bumpy speedboats Why didn’t you tell me?”
“The boat ride was fine Trustto tell you this weekend I had a special reveal planned, but this was actually so much better”