“Perfect!” I followed him with a skip in my step, and we rounded the building.
The “shed” was a charming little yellow bungalow as big as my apartment, filled to the brim with all sorts of swimming gear and floaties. I gravitated toward a large yellow bin at the back.
It came through.
“Oh my gosh. You’ve got a treasure trove! Shovels and buckets and all sorts of beach stuff.” My excitement grew the more I rummaged through the bin. “This is perfect for building sandcastles.”
There was a loaded pause until Cade spoke. “Swimming is another option.”
“For you, but I never learned how,” I admitted, not allowing myself to feel ashamed as I started loading up on buckets and shovels. “Which means it’s probably better to stay out of the water unless you’d like to reenact a romantic CPR scene on the beach…So, sandcastle?”
When I spun back to him, Cade eyed the tools in my arms, then glanced toward the exit. I watched in amusement while the decision played out on his face.
Finally, he blew out a slow breath, seemingly bracing himself, gathered the tools from my arms, and stalked off across the sand.
I bit my lower lip to fight down a grin before gathering up more buckets and running after him.
It was about time I had some fun on this trip.
Unfortunately, the sand on this island wasn’t the best for castle-making. It was powdery white and too fine to cling together very well. Which meant Cade had to carry the buckets back and forth from the ocean for me to wet the sand enough to pack it together.
…He wasn’t too pleased about that, but we all had our roles to play.
Especially since Cade’s castle-building skills seemed nonexistent. He’d somehow made it this far in life without building a single sandcastle before, and it showed.
“Maybe you should dig the moat instead,” I told him after his turret collapsed for the fifth time. “Every good castle needs a moat.”
He saw straight through my attempt to stop him from hindering my work, but he started digging without complaint. Those strong arms I’d rubbed lotion all over sure came in handy.
We worked together like that for ages, building a sandcastle worthy of awards. After Cade dug a really stellar moat, I sent him out on water duty again. He carried buckets back and forth from the ocean without complaint, until his moat was filled to the brim.
When I wasn’t packing in sand or using the corner of a shovel to etch windows and designs into the castle, I was checking my ring finger to make sure the diamond stayed put. The last thingI needed was to lose a fake-engagement ring in the sand during my second day on the job.
Thankfully, it hadn’t budged.
When everything was finished and we’d added little green flags to the top of all eight turrets, I went back to the shed and found mini mermaids to be our royal subjects.
I also found plastic crab on my last trip to the toy bin, which would make the perfect antagonist to our happy castlegoers. I rushed back to Cade to share the good news.
“Since no castle is complete without a villain, I present”—I pulled my newest find from behind my back—“the Slippery Crab.”
There was a noticeable lack of applause from my so-called fiancé.
“That doesn’t sound very villainous,” Cade said while I snuck the crab up the castle’s secret side staircase.
“Say that again after he slips by Mac and pinches you.” I demonstrated snapping a claw. “His claws are sharp and deadly.”
Cade’s answering stare wasn’t impressed.
“He’s also incredibly destructive,” I added before swiping the Slippery Crab through one of the turrets and knocking it over.
Cade went completely still, staring at the fallen sand.
“What did you just do?” he asked slowly.
“Half the fun of building a sandcastle is destroying it.” I grinned and held out the crab. “Here, your turn. Take out another turret with the crab or jump on the castle feetfirst. Trust me, it’s therapeutic.”
Cade stared down at the fallen turret in his moat. “…Do you know how long I spent digging that moat?”