“Thanks. Lucky for her, she mostly resembles Claire,” he mused.

“Is that your wife?” I asked, then cringed. “If you don’t like to talk about it, I completely understand. I have no business prying.”

“I’m sure prying into your business,” he retorted with a grin that quickly faded. “Claire and I were never married. We were engaged for about four months, though.” He tucked his thumbs into his pockets and looked ahead to where Finley was digging in the sand. “That’s a long story, too.”

I walked silently next to him, deciding if he wanted to share, that was fine, and if he didn’t, that was okay, too. I didn’t move here to poke at someone else’s wounds.

“We met in college,” he said with a soft smile.

“In Maine?”

“No. She was on a full ride to Boston University for drama and theater, and I was at MIT as a legacy who started majoring in Frat Parties 101 but graduated with a degree in oceanography.”

I blinked a few times.

“What? Didn’t peg me for an MIT guy?” His smile nearly tied my tongue in knots.

“I don’t know you well enough to make assumptions. Even though I may have considering you look…” I gestured up and down his torso.

“Look like what?” he teased.

“Like you want to finish your story.” I flashed a sugar-sweet smile at him.

“Uh-huh.” His tone dripped with sarcasm.

Something stirred inside my chest, as if part of me had been asleep for too long and was blinking awake, shielding her eyes from the sun. Except Jackson was the sun. For the first time since…ever, I felt a sense of connection to a man who wasn’t Will. I jerked my eyes from his and focused on Finley walking ahead of us.

“We hit it off junior year,” he continued, either not seeing or ignoring my mini freak-out. “And then after graduation…” He looked away as his voice softened, and I knew he wasn’t with me—he was with her. “I joined the coast guard, and Fin was born the next September. I proposed to Claire while she was in labor, and she laughed and called me an idiot.” He smiled, shaking his head.

“But she said yes,” I assumed. I hadn’t taken him for a coast guard guy, but I guess it made sense. The coast guard probably employed tons of oceanographers. It didn’t stop the tiny piece of panic from rising in my throat, though. The coast guard was still the military, but he was a scientist, not one of the front-line guys.

“She said yes,” he confirmed. “It was the happiest day of my life.”

“I found another one!” Finley shouted, waving a shell above her head.

“Good job, honey!” Jackson answered.

Without coming to show us her treasure, Finley continued her hunt.