“Then why did you come?” Her question expanded between us like it was the most important thing on the beach. “For you.” I lingered on the soft, bare skin above her elbow. The sun blazed overhead, but it was nothing compared to the sparks igniting in the air. Thousands of embers peppered my skin and lit a trail of fire up my arm and into my chest. “Drop your arms for me, sweetheart. I want to see you.” It was the closest I ever came to begging.
