“I’ll be along in a minute.” Luke stood. “Do you mind if I have a few of those dog treats?”

She cocked her head, mouth curling in amused disgust.

“They’re not for me,” he assured her.

She shrugged and handed him the bag, then waved and jogged back up the beach toward the resort, Crumpet trotting along at her side, heart-shaped rump bobbing merrily.

Tucking the treats in his pocket, Luke turned and headed in the opposite direction. Before long, he reached his destination—a now-familiar spot. He climbed up the grassy dune, careful not to move too fast. Rather than approach the nest, he paused at the top of the little hill and pulled out the treats, crouching down and setting them on the sand next to him.

It didn’t take long for his friends to realize they had a guest.

His friends. Luke chuckled at himself. And he thought Mrs. W. was eccentric.

Luke watched as the adult birds left the nest together, moving in a syncopated rhythm, keeping their young sheltered between them. The baby chicks were covered in a fuzzy silver down. As soft and tempting as they looked, he knew better than to touch an animal’s young.

Ever since the night of the talent show, he’d been coming to visit the nest every few days, checking on Bonnie and Clyde and their little clutch of eggs. He’d grown protective of the mischievous pair, and when the eggs had hatched, Luke was honored that they trusted him enough to let him near their precious babies.

He’d joked with Julia about looking up on the internet how seagulls procreate, but Luke had done some research on things like egg incubation period and what foods were safe for the birds to eat. Considering the way they stole anything and everything in sight, he wasn’t sure what he was worried about. He’d also learned that gulls mated for life, and he found something about that very comforting.

A series of little squeaks and chirps let him know they’d finished off their snack.

“Sorry, that’s all I’ve got for you today.”

The squeaks grew louder.

“I’ll bring more next time, I promise.” He stood, brushing sand off his hands. “Though next time might be a little while,” he admitted. “Remember that pretty lady you stole the bikini top from?”

Clyde tilted his head, and Luke swore the bird understood exactly what he was saying.

“Well, she stole my heart. And I need to go make sure she’s been taking good care of it.”

For all he knew, she’d abandoned his heart, and any thoughts of him at all, when she left here. But he couldn’t believe that. He wouldn’t. She’d asked him if he believed true love was real … and he did. Because of her. And it was worth fighting for. She was worth fighting for.