Before I climbed out, I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him against me, my fingers crawling into the back of his hair to pull him closer. As his arms circled me, I was lost inside Caleb, in the heat of his skin, in the scent that I searched for during the moments we were apart, in every emotion that came through in his touch.

“Thank you … for all the things.”

He tightened his grip. “You never have to thank me for caring about you, Whitney. All I want is for that smile to stay on your lips forever.”

Twenty-Eight

The farthest west I had ever been in the States was Chicago, a last-minute trip Emily and I had booked when we graduated college to attend a Black Eyed Peas concert. Aside from the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic was the only ocean I’d ever seen. I’d admired the Pacific in photographs and movies, dreaming about the California beaches and waves large enough to surf. And now that I was here, flying over the coast, I couldn’t pull my face away from the window, taking nonstop pictures with my phone. The beauty from the sky was so immense; I was having a hard time processing what I was seeing.

It was even more spectacular from the ground, especially as I rushed into Caleb’s arms once he pulled up outside the terminal of the San Francisco Airport.

“I missed you,” he groaned as I buried my face in his neck.

“You have no idea how much I missed you.”

It had only been a day since we’d seen each other, but being on the other side of the country made it feel much longer.

As we drove through the city with the convertible top down, I learned the sun felt different on this coast. The air was wet. The winding, narrow, steep streets resembled nothing of New England.

Caleb took me to lunch at a wonderful Greek restaurant, and then we made our way out to Napa. I’d never been to a winery, and I certainly hadn’t ever seen the rolling hills filled with grapevines. The mist was hanging low over the mountains around us, like the magical stories that had been read to me as a kid.

As the breeze blew through my hair, the clean and rainy smell in my nose, I squeezed Caleb’s fingers that were holding my thigh. “I love it here.”

There was a smile on his lips when he briefly turned to me. “You haven’t seen any of the best parts.”

“Doesn’t change my opinion. I’m captivated.”

He moved his fingers to the back of my neck, his thumb brushing up to my cheek. “You don’t have to wait much longer; we’re almost there.”