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“Yeah,” Cillian agreed. But he wasn’t looking at the sky, he was looking at me.
I rolled my eyes and shoved him away from me, laughing. “Don’t be cheesy. It doesn’t suit you.”
He clutched a hand to his chest in feigned offense. “You’ll be telling me next that I’m not allowed to look at you.”
Grabbing hold of his hand, I dragged him farther along the beach. “You can look. You just can’t compare me to a sunset.”
“What about a summer’s day?” At my blank stare, he elaborated. “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and temperate.”
“Alright, Shakespeare.”
He laughed. “At least you recognize it.”
“I’m not a complete heathen.”
“Not a complete one, no,” he said with a smile.
We walked on, both of us barefoot and the weather still warm enough that neither of us had our shirts fastened. “Is there a reason for wanting to get me alone in a romantic location?” I asked after a few minutes.
Cillian turned with a slight frown, something about what I’d said bothering him. “I wasn’t planning on proposing, if that’s what you’re thinking?”
“Damn!” I said, doing my best to keep a straight face. “I better cancel the party I’ve arranged for us back at the hotel to celebrate our engagement.” When he still looked troubled, I squeezed his hand. “I’m joking. I’m going to be the one to propose when the time is right, anyway.”
His frown grew more pronounced. “Why?”
“I’ll do a better job of it.”
“That is simply not true.”
“We’ll have to agree to disagree with that.”
“It’s not true!” Cillian said, his outrage growing. “I sell dreams for a living. If I can’t sell myself as the perfect husband, then I need to quit and find something else to do.”
I was grinning now, unable to hold it back. “We’ll have two proposals. One for each of us. And someone can judge who does it best.”
“Who?” Cillian questioned, his tone suspicious.
“Laurent,” I said, pouring gasoline on the fire.
“Right. Like he would ever choose me over you.”
“Well, it can’t be Amrita because she’ll always go for you.”
Cillian shook his head. “Why are we discussing a proposal like it’s some sort of reality show?”
“You started it.”
He pulled me to a stop, taking hold of both of my hands so we faced each other. “I brought you here because I wanted to thank you.”
“For…?”
“Giving me a second chance when I really didn’t deserve one. Most people in your shoes wouldn’t have.”
“They would, if they were still secretly in love with you.” Cillian’s smile said he appreciated that sentiment more than he would admit. “Besides,” I said. “I should thank you. You could easily have decided it wasn’t meant to be, but you didn’t. You followed me to Paris, and you refused to give up, even when I didn’t exactly welcome you with open arms. “
“I think,” Cillian said, his eyes soft. “No! Iknowthat if I’d given up, it would have been the biggest mistake of my life. There’s only one Finn Prescott, and he’s all mine.”
“He is.” I gestured around us. “And you dragged me out to the middle of nowhere, miles away from a bed, to tell me that. If you think I’m getting sand in my unmentionables, then you’re wrong. I might love you to the moon and back, but I have limits.”
I had no defense as Cillian struck with the speed of a cobra and threw me over his shoulder. “What are you doing?”
He turned back the way we’d come, refusing to let the soft sand bother him as he set off at a steady jog. “Getting you to a bed as quickly as possible.”
“That sounds like a plan.” We had a few moments of peace while I gave in to being carried like a sack of potatoes, and if I was honest, rather enjoyed it, before Cillian muttered something. “What was that?”
“I said my proposal will be better.”
“We’ll see,” I said sweetly. “Time will tell.”