And the shadows in my soul

They are gone

When I run my hand

Over your perfect skin

I know you see me

And not what I’m covered in

My walls crumble… And crumble

So all you see is the me I need you to see

I can’t look away from his eyes. This is how he sees me. What did I do to deserve him?

He cups my face in his hands and brushes my lips with his, gently nibbling and caressing my mouth, and then sinks into me, kissing me with all he has as our song comes to an end.

He pulls back, his stormy gray eyes happy and shining with lust, kisses my cheek and then releases me to lean in the car and turn the radio off.

When he turns back to me, his face is uncertain.

“When did you record the song?” I ask, a little out of breath.

“Last week.” He shrugs and pulls me back into him, my arms under his jacket again to keep me warm. “DJ and Gary came up from L.A. and we spent some time in the studio.”

“Was that your mysterious errand?” I ask and give him a mock-frown.

“Yes.” He chuckles and kisses my nose.

“I love it.” I kiss his chin and grin. “I really, really love it. Are you seriously naming the whole album Sunshine?”

“Yeah, we are.” He rubs my cheek with his thumb. “It’s appropriate.”

I grin and then look around us at the water, the trees, the cliffs. “So, no house, unless it’s wearing the invisibility cloak.”

“I didn’t know you’re a Harry Potter fan.”

“Sure.” I shrug.

“No house yet.” He nods and follows my gaze.

“What do you mean? Are you going to build a house on stilts?” I smirk and gesture to the Sound. “Do you know how many houses fall into the water every year here?”

“So, here’s the deal.” He kisses my forehead again and pulls back, takes my hand, and pulls me closer to the cliffs.

“This is as far as I go.” I plant my feet and stop. “I’m afraid of heights, remember?”

“Okay, scaredy cat.” He laughs and his eyes travel over the water. “Do you know how much I wanted to live on the water when I first moved out here? I’d never seen the ocean until I moved here when I was nineteen.”

He turns his eyes down to mine and squeezes my hand.

“You couldn’t find a house to buy on the water?” I ask.

“After the interesting afternoon with the last agent the other day, I thought it might be easier to build.” He shrugs. “Plus, then you’ll get exactly what you want.”

“Leo.” I swallow and try to keep my panic down. “I told you, I’m not ready to live together.”

“Me neither.” He laughs and turns to me, taking both my hands in his. “Do you know how long it takes to build a house?”

“Yes, Isaac is a contractor.”

“Great, he can build it.”

“But…”

“Listen.” He kisses me, his smile still in place, and I calm, just a bit. “We don’t even need to break ground until we both agree that we’re ready to take that step, Sam. The land will be here.”

“But it’s so far out of town.”

“No, it’s not.” He shakes his head and chuckles almost shyly. “I took the scenic route. I was trying to kill time while waiting for the radio to play your song.”

“How far out are we?”

“Only ten minutes from downtown.” He runs his fingertips down my cheek. “Think of the closet you can build, baby.”

“Oh God, it’s not fair to bribe me with a closet.”

“I’m not bribing you.” He tosses his head back as he laughs. “I want you to have full input on the house. You can have anything you want, whenever you’re ready.”

“Did you already buy it?” I ask, already knowing the answer. He looks down and frowns nervously and then looks back into my eyes.

“Yes. For us. For when we’re ready. It’s gonna happen, sunshine. You’re mine.”

He’s right. And I love him for not pressuring us into jumping into it right now, but rather letting things progress as they should.

“So, when we’re ready to move in together,” I clarify, “we’ll draw up plans and have Isaac build us a house here, on a seventy-five foot cliff?”

“Or on the grassy part over there.” He agrees.

I look out over the gray water, covered in dark clouds with white seagulls flying over it looking for food. A ferry is carrying people to one of the islands.

“It’s a beautiful view.”

“Yes, it is.” I glance over to find him staring down at me with serious eyes. “I want to look at it for the rest of my life.”

Wow.

“Thank you.” I hug him tight, bury my face in his chest and breathe him in.

“For what, sweetheart?”

“My song. This place.” I lean back and look up into his handsome face. “Being so good to me.”

“You’re welcome.” He kisses my forehead and leads me back to the car. “Wanna get take-out and a movie on the way home?”

“And cupcakes.”

***

“Seriously, why do men think all this blood is cool?” I cringe as another poor bad guy gets blown away on the big screen TV in Leo’s bedroom.

“Ask your brother, he’s the expert.” Leo laughs and takes another bite of his lemon cupcake. I eye it longingly and he pulls it out of my reach. “Mine.”