He hit the ground first, back landing with a thud, Julia crashing down face-first on top of him. They lay there, stunned, staring at each other in openmouthed silence as the details of the moment slowly registered.

A giggle bubbled up inside her, quickly turning into a full-blown belly laugh. “I knew you said, ‘Whoops-a-daisies’!”

From beneath her, Luke heaved an aggrieved sigh. But when her laughter finally tapered off so she could take a breath, he said, eyes twinkling, “Good thing I like your laugh so much.”

“Good thing you’re so funny.”

He grimaced and she tittered. “I’m sorry,” she said, swallowing another giggle and rolling off him. “Are you hurt?”

“Aside from my pride?” He sat up. “I don’t think so.” He patted the ground. “Luckily, the rain softened things up a bit.” Luke got to his feet and offered her a hand.

Julia stood and wiped at the dirt and pine needles clinging to her. She realized her notepad had fallen out of her pocket and glanced around frantically. She caught a glimpse of paper amid the detritus on the forest floor and dove.

At the same time, Luke bent and reached for something on the ground. They narrowly missed colliding again. Julia stood and then realized she’d grabbed his notebook. She recognized it from the seagull encounter yesterday. “I believe this is yours?” She held it out to him.

“And this must be yours,” he said, eyes twinkling with mischief as he held up her notepad.

Julia controlled the instinct to snatch it out of his hand, managing to nod calmly as she traded with him.

He watched as she tucked her notepad away, mouth twitching. “I’d say this makes us even.”

“Excuse me?”

“I knocked you over once, now you’ve knocked me over. We’re even,” Luke explained, sliding his notebook back into his pocket.

“Aha! You admit that first fall on the beach was your fault,” Julia teased, crossing her arms.

“I do. And I am sorry,” he said, rubbing the base of his spine. “Even though I seem to be the one taking the brunt of these falls.”

Julia snorted and followed him as he made his way around the log and back to the trail.

“That didn’t sound like a very sympathetic snort,” Luke observed. He’d reached the path but began walking the direction opposite to the way they’d been headed when the storm hit.

“Where are you going?”

“Back to the hotel.” He blinked at her. “Isn’t that where you want to go?”

“Yeah, but—”

“The trail is a loop.” He pointed at the bend ahead. “You were almost back at the resort when you decided to turn around earlier.”