“Did you know that this is my happy place?” she asks, smiling up at me.

“Is it?”

“Yep.” She nods and inhales deeply, breathing in the salty air. “I haven’t been out here in a couple of years. I’ve just been too busy getting the restaurant up and going, so this came at a good time.”

“I’m glad. We can come anytime you want.”

“Be careful what you offer, I’ll have us out here every weekend.”

“That wouldn’t hurt my feelings,” I reply. “The idea of having you all to myself at the beach is incredibly attractive.”

“You say some really sweet things.” She drifts to the water to get her feet wet.

“I just say what I mean.”

“And that’s appreciated,” she replies, then gasps when the cold water engulfs her feet. “Holy shit, that’s cold!”

But she stays in the water, calf-deep, splashing and wading about. It is cold, but refreshing.

We come upon a little boy, sitting in the sand maybe ten yards from his mom, trying to build a sand castle. He’s getting frustrated and begins to cry when the dry sand falls into a smooth pile rather than staying in the bucket shape he’s trying to make.

“What’s the matter, buddy?” Kat asks him.

“It’s not working.” He sticks out his lower lip. “I’ve been trying to make it all day.”

“Hmm, that would be frustrating.” She waves to his mom. “Do you mind if I help him?”

“Help yourself,” the other woman replies with a wave, and goes back to watching something on her phone. Kat just nods, irritation in her eyes, and squats by the boy.

“What’s your name?”

“Kenny.”

“I’m Kat.”

“Like a kitty cat?”

“Well, it’s spelled with a K, and I’m not quite as hairy.”

Kenny giggles, and I stand transfixed, my hands in my pockets, watching as Kat charms this little boy.

And she says she’s not fond of kids.

“You’re having trouble with your castle?”

“Yeah, it just falls when I turn the bucket upside down.”

“That’s not good. Can I show you a trick?”

“Okay.”

She takes one of his buckets and walks down to the water, fills it up, then walks back to Kenny. “Watch this. If you get the sand wet, it will get hard, and it’s easier to build stuff.”

She packs the sand into a smaller bucket and shows him how to make it firm, making it easier to build the castle.

“That’s so cool!” Kenny exclaims. “You’re really smart.”

“Well, I’ve built a sand castle or two,” she says with a nod. “Do you think you can take it from here?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

And with that, Kenny gets to work on his castle, his tongue sticking out as he concentrates on the task at hand, and Kat joins me, wiping the sand off her hands.

“He’s cute,” she says. “But his mom needs to pay closer attention to him.”

“We live in the electronic age,” I reply, and wrap my arm around her shoulders, tucking her against my side. “It seems everyone has their nose stuck in their phone.”

“It’s true. Did you know that before cell phones, the average length of stay in a restaurant by customers was about forty-five minutes? And guess what it is now?”

“I have no idea.”

“More than an hour and a half! Double what it used to be because people are too busy on their phones. We’ve had people tell our waitstaff to leave and come back to take their order because they’re too busy texting to look at the menu. And then they’ll sit and not even look at the person they’re with. They both just stare at their phones. It drives me up the wall.

“I mean,” she continues as she kicks at the water, “whatever happened to the art of communication? If I’m spending time with friends or someone special, I want to speak with them, I don’t want to hang out on social media.”

“You rarely answer your phone,” I remind her with a smile.

“I know, I’m sorry. I turn it on vibrate when I’m at work, and forget to switch the ringer back on. I’m not one to carry it in my pocket all day.”

“It’s okay, I don’t mind. I know you’ll call me back when you see it.”

She grins up at me and splashes my leg. “So I’m a sure thing, huh?”

I laugh, then tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. “No. That you’re not, Kat, and I like it very much.”

“Well, that’s good.” She walks quietly beside me for a moment, then with a mischievous smile on her beautiful lips, she jogs ahead of me, splashing in the water, and turns to spatter water up at me, getting me wet.

“You didn’t even try to get out of the way.” She shakes her head and turns away, her arms spread wide, face tilted up toward the sun and a wide smile on her face. “This is so great.”

You’re so great.

But she’s better than great. She makes me feel things that I never felt before, and honestly never thought I would feel.

And I have to tell her.

Right now.

I wade to her and cup her face in my hands. She’s smiling up at me and she grips my biceps.

“I love your arms.”

I smirk and kiss her soundly, nibbling the corner of her mouth, then crossing to the other side to do the same. She’s soft and so fucking sweet, I feel like I’m drowning in her.