Small waves lapped at the shoreline as Cait threw a Frisbee into the ocean. “Get it, Toby!” she shouted as Phoenix’s black lab took off to retrieve it.

Cait laughed as Phoenix came up behind her, picking her up and twirling her around. “He loves you too, Caity-cat!”

Her bare feet touched the sand as he let her down and turned her in his arms to face him. His lips met hers as he just couldn’t seem to get enough of the young woman who’d stolen his heart, entirely.

When his only companion for the last few years, his dog Toby, instantly fell in love with Cait, he knew he had someone special. And he was aware that she had to leave the next morning to get back to school and her real life. Phoenix was missing her already.

She’d wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back with just as much desire as she had the night before. They both let out long sighs when the dog dropped the Frisbee at their feet and yapped up at them to pay attention to him.

Cait reached down and ran her hand over his head as they ended their kiss. “Toby, do you want me to throw your toy again?”

A couple of quick barks let her know that’s exactly what he wanted. Phoenix bent over, picking up the flying disc and handed it to her. “Let it fly.”

Cait tossed it out into the water as she said, “Man, I’m gonna miss him.”

“He’s going to miss you too,” Phoenix said as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. “We both will.”

“Like we talked about,” she reminded him. “You set up the ride, and I’ll come see you every weekend that I can get off.”

Phoenix wasn’t happy with their arrangement. It wasn’t going to be enough for him, and he knew it without a doubt. “You should think about transferring to a college here. You could stay with me and…”

She reached back and ran her hand over his cheek. “That’s sweet of you. But I want to stay where I’m at. MIT is the perfect college for me, since I’m majoring in food engineering. You can understand that, can’t you?”

“I can,” he said then turned her around to face him. “You can understand that I want you around, right?”

“I do,” she said then kissed him again. The fact was she wanted him around too but had no idea how their worlds could be combined.

The day went by with them playing in the surf with his dog and lying on the sandy beach, exchanging kisses and hugs. Everything felt sweet and extraordinary. Neither wanted it to stop but both knew the weekend would end and reality would set in.

When the sun set, finding the couple still on the beach, Phoenix let his thoughts be known, “Cait, I’ve been thinking. That’s pretty much all I’ve been doing today. And I believe that you and I can make this work. I mean really make it all work.”

“I think we can too,” she agreed. “We’ll figure things out. I’m sure.”

Leaning over her, he rolled her onto her back, making her giggle as he moved his body over hers and the dog began to bark at him. “Toby, be quiet! I want your new mom to hear this loud and clear.”

Cait ran her hands over his clean-shaven face. “Hear what?”

His eyes were pools of dark chocolate, conveying more to her than his words ever could. She saw the love in them. She felt loved in his arms. And she knew he wanted nothing separating them. But she didn’t know how that could be changed. She had school, end of story.

“Come with me tonight to Las Vegas. Marry me tonight, Cait.” He didn’t blink as he waited for her answer.

“Tonight? Get on a plane and go to Vegas and marry you tonight?” she asked to be sure she’d heard him right.

He nodded and waited as Toby watched her too. Both of them wanted to keep her in their daily lives. Both were waiting to see if she’d accept that role.

Cait’s head swam with what he wanted. Only a day ago, he was set on making her not see him as husband material and there he was asking her to marry him right away. But there still was the distance thing to think about.

“Phoenix, getting married won’t stop the fact I have to finish school. And there are no companies here for me to work for,” she told him.

“We’ll work that out as we go. And I want you to finish school. But mostly, I want to change your last name.” He kissed her sweetly on the lips. “I want to make you mine in all ways, Caity-cat. Will you marry me?”

Her heart was racing, and she was unsure if it was because it wanted her to say yes or was trying to tell her things were moving way too fast. But then her mouth opened and the word came out, “Yes.”

Phoenix found himself laughing as he got up and pulled her up with him. Picking her up in his arms, he carried her to his house, Toby following along, yapping up a storm. It was as if the dog understood that Cait was going to be a part of his family too.

As he took her to the house, he said, “We’ll go to Vegas and make it legal tonight. Tomorrow we’ll take another private jet back to Ashby and start looking for us a home. In the meantime, we’ll stay at the bed and breakfast. And you’ll quit the job at the pub because my money will be your money.”

Cait stopped breathing as that reality settled into her brain. “Phoenix, I’ll be rich like you?”

“You will be rich like me, Caity-cat.” He kissed her again. “But let me tell you something, I’ve never felt more wealthy than I do right now, knowing you want to be a part of me forever. It’s worth more than all the money in the world.”

Things didn’t feel real to either of them, but they forged ahead anyway. The euphoria kept them moving on. It would either be a love affair to end all others or a tragedy worthy of writing about. Whatever their future was, both were excited about and willing to take the risks that came with it.