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“No.” He shook his head.

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

“Now I hear it.” Nell sat up and looked around, a hint of sadness on her face. “We should head back.”

“Probably.” Maklr stared at Nell. “We can always come back. Who knows, you might even get me to jump off the ledge again.”

Nell stood and wiped the sand from her pants. “I’m going to dry my feet first before I put my shoes on. Otherwise, it’s going to hurt walking back.”

“True.” Maklr patted his knee. “Put your foot here. I’ll wipe the sand off.”

Nell obliged, swallowing a chuckle when Maklr’s hand swept the bottom of her foot. “Careful, my feet are ticklish.”

“Good to know,” Maklr teased. He hopped up from the beach, extended his hand. She slipped her hand in his and they headed back toward the cabin.

“Aren’t you going to put shoes on?”

Thunder clapped overhead.

Maklr shook his head. “No. Let’s get back before we both get soaked.”

“Good idea. When we get back, do you want to shower first? I didn’t mean to roll you onto the sand.”

They raced back to the cabin, the door sliding shut behind them as the sky opened up with rain.

“No, I’m fine. You’ve got more sand on you than I do. I’ll stay in the other bathroom so as not to soak the floors.” Maklr headed toward the second bathroom.

“Deal. Give me a few minutes.” She grabbed a plush bathrobe from the closet and dipped into the bathroom, the shower turning on moments later. Nell hurried under the running water, scrubbing the sand off her legs and out of her hair. She wasted no time in drying off.

“Maklr, I’m out,” she called.

A shirtless Maklr opened the bedroom door to find Nell standing at the far wall wearing the bathrobe. Nestled underneath his arm was a change of clothes and two folded towels. “Thanks,” he said. One of the resort’s oversized beach towels hung low across his waist. “Hope you don’t mind, but I dried off a bit. Didn’t want to catch a chill with the wet clothing.”

Nells mouth went dry and she shook her head at the sight of Maklr’s broad chest. “No. Not at all,” she said, her voice low. “Go shower,” she said.

“You’re dressed up,” Maklr said as he walked into the living room. “Going someplace special?”

“You look handsome.” Nell gestured at the light pink summer dress she wore. “While you were showering, I took the liberty of making a reservation at the resort’s premier restaurant. Would you care to join me for dinner?”

“Am I appropriately attired?” Maklr asked.

“Let’s find out.” Nell winked.

“We’re going to get soaked again,” Maklr said.

“Not quite.” Nell activated the door. A resort conveyance shuttle waited for them to board. “See?”

“You think of everything.”

“We can order while we ride there, and the meals will come out shortly after our arrival.”

“Exciting. I’ll have to ask Charlotte how she knew of this place.” Maklr chose his meal after Nell.

“Arriving at your destination.” The conveyance chimed twice with a musical note and slowed to a halt. Maklr exited first and lifted Nell out.

She gave her name to the hostess, who sat them in an intimate booth against the far wall. Before long, their server arrived, bringing their chosen meals.

“This was a lovely dinner. Thank you for thinking about it,” Maklr said.