Joel’s fingers traced my cheek, coaxing me awake. It was too peaceful, though, and his chest was too perfect a resting spot. Then his finger darted into my ear.

“Hey!” I flinched and smacked at his hand.

He snorted and ran his fingers down my chest and over my stomach. Like, actually ran his fingers, but way too fast to be even remotely sexy. I glanced down, and let out a scream at the reddish brown lizard crawling over my underwear and onto my leg. I screamed again and scampered backward, kicking Joel in the process, startling him awake with another snort.

Joel sat straight up on high alert. “What is it? What’s wrong?” It took him a second to look behind and find me splayed over the sand.

The look on his face made me feel like a complete idiot and then made me laugh. I pointed at my feet, where I’d felt the lizard last but was sure it was already gone. “Lizard. Sorry, Joel. Just a lizard.”

He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. “What?”

I had better control over my laughter now. “It was a lizard. I thought you were tickling my face, but then you stuck your finger in my ear and…” My words fell away as the implication became clear. I shuddered and then pawed at my ear, trying to rub it clean. “Oh God, that means I had a lizard in my ear.”

His voice tilted upward. “You had a lizard in your ear?”

I stuck the tip of my little finger in, swished it around, then pulled it out with a jerk, like that was going to do any good. “Well, not the entire lizard. He probably just poked his nose in to see if there was anything interesting.”

Joel grinned. “There’s plenty of interesting places to poke around on you, not sure your ear is one of them.” I rolled my eyes, but he kept going. “Probably a good thing. I’ve never been jealous of a reptile before.”

“Shut up!” I tossed a handful of sand at him and laughed.

He ducked and then launched himself at me. I started to scramble away, but he pinned me down and kissed me. After a bit, he pulled back. “Got ya!”

“Oh yes, I was desperately trying to flee. The last thing I wanted was your half-naked sexy ass on top of me.”

He kissed me again and shoved his hand down my shorts. “Speaking of ass…”

I shoved him off. “No. I think I just got half the beach in my underwear. You’re staying far away from my ass. Plus…” The gorgeous violet sunset caught my attention. “Holy shit. What time is it?”

Joel glanced at the sun as well. “Huh. Guess we fell asleep.”

I gave a sarcastic laugh. “Oh, you think?” Then another thought hit me.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

Me and my poker face. “We just slept away the rest of our last day together.”

His expression softened. “It’s all right. There’ll be more.”

His voice held such certainty that the slight building panic lessened. Then another thought struck. “Oh shit, and we’re late for Gilbert.” I pulled out from under Joel, retrieved my jeans from a pile of sand, and dug out my cell. Sure enough, several missed calls and texts. I glanced at the time. Nearly eight. The day really was gone. Sighing, I looked back at Joel. “Sorry. Give me a minute. I’ll call Gilbert, apologize, and tell him we’ll just meet him in the morning for the signing.”

“No.” Joel shook his head and stood, sand making its way over his muscles. Could the guy be any more godlike, seriously? “You wanted to have dinner with him. For us to meet. I’m sure he won’t mind waiting a bit longer.”

“But it’s our last night.”

He closed the distance between us and took both of my arms in his hands. “Babe, it’s not our last night. I’ll be back. True, I’m not sure the exact day or anything, but I can’t stay away from you for long.” There was no doubt, no hesitation, or waver in his tone.

“Okay. You sure?”

“Yep. Totally.” He pointed at the blanket and strewn clothing. “Now, you call Gilbert, and I’ll start picking up.”

Even though we’d pushed back meeting Gilbert at the pizza place until nine, Joel and I were still twenty minutes late.

Gilbert stood up from a table by the window when we entered, tipping a bottle of beer in our direction. “I’m meeting your boyfriend partly drunk, but it’s your fault.” He gave Joel the once-over, his brown eyes widening before turning back to me. “And hopefully you’re late again due to another round of beach sex.”

I nearly stumbled when Gilbert referred to Joel as my boyfriend. Maybe that was silly; we’d already said we loved each other. “Boyfriend” was probably implied. Still, it was only the past few hours that Joel didn’t seem half in mind to run away.

Joel didn’t miss a beat. “Shower sex, actually. Too much sand.” He stuck out his hand.

Gilbert took it but grinned at me. “Oh, I like this one. Pretty and attitude.”

“Gilbert.” I growled through my grin.

He waved me off. “Nope. You two were late. Now you get to put up with buzzed and socially inappropriate Gilbert. Fun times for you.” He plopped back down in his chair. “And I’m not going to feel bad about it. You’re the one getting some, not me. I get to be jealous and catty.”

Joel pulled out a chair on the far side of Gilbert, allowing me to sit between them. “Actually, I’ve met your mom and Andrew’s dad. I doubt you can top either of them.”

Gilbert tipped his beer bottle once more. “You are right about that, sir. Very right. Even if I were completely sloshed, I couldn’t come close to Regina Bryant or Robert Kelly. In fact—”

The waitress, Gale, walked up to the table at that moment. “Hi, Andrew.” She nodded at Joel. “You all know what you want, or do you need some time to order?”

Poor girl had probably been waiting on Gilbert for an hour as he promised his late friends would show up.

We ordered and within minutes, Joel and I each had a beer as the pizza cooked.

Gilbert started in. “So, Joel, Andrew tells me you’re buying my place to live in and open some kind of mystery shop. Why the hell are you coming to a horrid place like Lavender Shores?”

Joel opened his mouth, but as a confused expression crossed his face, he glanced my way. I hadn’t seen him that unsure about how to respond before.

“Seriously, Gilbert? Can you wait for the town bashing until after pizza, or better yet, never.” I glared at him, but he didn’t notice, or didn’t care.

“I am serious.” He focused on Joel. “You’re really giving up city life for this place? San Francisco at your fingertips and you trade it for a cabin in the woods?”

“Your cabin in the woods is rather gorgeous.” Joel leaned forward, crossing his arms on the table. “Are you not wanting to sell?”

“Oh, hell yeah, I want to sell. You’re doing me the biggest favor, finally cutting—” I kicked him, and he let out a yelp, glowering at me. “Dude. You don’t kick people.”

I glowered back. “And you don’t bash the town when the man I lo—when Joel’s about to move here.”

His eyes widened, and an atypical blush rose to his cheeks. “Huh.” He looked over at Joel, nodded, and then back at me. “Okay, then. Works for me.” Once again, he turned his attention to Joel. “Sorry about that. I live by myself near Lake Tahoe, so my people skills are lacking lately.”

“In a cabin.”

Gilbert grimaced at me. “True point. I suppose I shouldn’t be casting stones.” His expression smoothed, some of his edge falling away. “It really is nice to meet you, Joel. You’re getting one of the best men in the world.” It typically took a little while for Gilbert to adjust to being back in Lavender Shores. He was always a bit of a bitch as he reacclimated, but he had reasons. Good ones.

“It’s nice to meet you too, and believe me, I get your concerns about moving to a small town. For sure something I never pictured. But Andrew’s worth it.” Joel smiled at me reassuringly before addressing Gilbert again.

The next several minutes passed in a buzz for me. So moving here wasn’t something Joel had always wanted. I’d sensed that, despite him looking for a place to open a shop. Joel felt like a city boy. Fancy. Like he’d never be comfortable in a place like Lavender Shores.

But that moment earlier, with the elk, then again on the beach. I hadn’t made that up. It had been clear as day.

Unless I’d just seen what I wanted to see.

I lost myself to stress for a while, though it didn’t seem to matter. By the time I tuned back in, Gilbert was telling Joel embarrassing junior high stories. I let myself find comfort in the familiar cadence of his voice and the sound of Joel’s accompanying laughter. I’d forgotten just how much I missed having Gilbert near. Even with the distance and his years away from Lavender Shores, no one knew me better.

Seeing him and Joel together made me happier than I’d dreamed I could be. And it made everything a little more real after the magical afternoon we’d had, in the best possible way. Joel was actually there, joking around with my best friend. Holding my hand on the table, sometimes squeezing my leg under it.

Maybe this really was going to be real life. Days with Joel by my side. Not all lavender fields and making love by the sea, but times like this. Just dinner with friends. Going home after to make out in bed or just falling asleep on the couch watching TV. As much as I hadn’t wanted to give away our last night before he left, I was glad I had. This, as much as anything, made me trust he really was coming back.

We stayed long after closing—much to Gale’s obvious irritation—laughing and telling stories. Joel insisted on paying for dinner, promising Gale a significant tip if she handed him the bill to make up for staying late. As he was signing for it, I noticed Gilbert studying Joel’s platinum credit card.

He muttered something I didn’t catch, and then he muttered again, “Rhodes… Joel Rhodes.” He tapped the table. “I know that name.” Gilbert turned to him as Joel slid the card into his wallet. “Are you someone famous or something? I know that name somehow.”

Joel’s smile faded, replaced by a forced one when he glanced at me before answering Gilbert. “No. Definitely not famous. Just a common name.”

Gilbert looked puzzled. “Not really.” He shrugged then. “Well, whatever. It’ll come to me later, probably when I haven’t consumed most of a six-pack.”