The Bikini Diaries (36 page)

Now the sun hung low in the west as she and Brandon walked hand in hand up the shore.

She wore a flowy cotton skirt and cami, he wore khaki shorts and a golf shirt; both were barefoot.

"Did you know," he said, "that it's been exactly a year ago this week since we first met?"

She looked up, surprised he realized. 'As a matter of fact, I
did
know."

He squeezed her hand, lifting his eyes slightly to hers. "It's been a good year, bunny. Best of my life."

She bit her lip, warmed by the words. "Mine, too," she admitted softly.

Brandon had grown skilled—as he was at most things he tried—at sharing his emotions

and telling her how he felt, so the conversation was no longer an unusual one, but it still touched her as they walked along the water's edge.

Just then she glanced down to see, carved out in the wet sand ahead of them, the words:

Marry Me?

"Oh, wow," she said, 'look what someone wrote in the sand." She couldn't help thinking what a romantic way it was for someone to propose.

And it was just when it occurred to her that Brandon had first told her how he felt about her in a very similar way that he said, "Not just someone, bunny."

She stopped and turned, peering up into his eyes, amazed. Was he saying what she

thought he was saying?
Oh God.

Brandon dropped down on one knee and drew from his pocket a black velvet box,

opening it to reveal the gorgeous diamond ring inside. "Will you, bunny?" he asked, taking her hand in his free one. "Marry me?"

Wendy pretty much tackled him in the sand, saying, "Yes, yes, yes!" And they laughed together and kissed like maniacs, and Brandon slid the most beautiful ring she'd ever seen onto her finger.

And then, as was often the case, they waited for it to get dark so they could visit their favorite cabana.