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“You two had plans, didn’t you?” Amanda said,
watching them suspiciously.

“Well, we’d planned to visit the Kennedy Space
Center, but…”

“You’re going,” she said adamantly.  “Like Brady
said, I shouldn’t spend much time outside for a day or two.”  Frankly, she
still wasn’t feeling that great.  Her balance still felt off.

Liz shook her head.  “Oh, I don’t think…”

“Yes, Grandma, you’re going,” she interrupted
her.”  She turned to Brady.  “Brady can join you.  The poor guy’s been holed up
with me for days.  He needs to get outside and enjoy this Florida sunshine.”

“I’m staying with you,” he declared, and then
directed his words to the grandparents.  “If I leave her alone, I’ll come back
to find her beside the pool.”

“Amanda!” Liz chortled.  “You can’t get water in
your ears!”

“Hey, I didn’t get
in
the pool,” she
protested, giving Brady a dirty look.  “I was lying beside it.”

“Regardless, I’ll stay with her, and you both go
have your fun,” he said.  “Hopefully, in a few days, she’ll be well enough to
get out.”

“In a few days, we’ll be going home,” she
reminded him.

“If the doctor gives you the all-clear,” he said
pointedly.

Back at their hotel, the grandparents bid them
goodbye.  Amanda turned to Brady and watched him speculatively.  “You’re a
glutton for punishment, huh?”

“I was thinking…  Do you feel up for taking a
drive?  If you’re not, please say so.”

“I’d enjoy a ride,” she told him eagerly. 

“We could head south along the coast, see the
sights, stop for lunch…”

“That sounds good,” she said cheerfully.

He walked with her back to her hotel room, and
she hurried to ready for their drive.  “Did you remember to take your
antibiotic pill?” he asked.

She winced.  “Shoot!  Thanks for reminding me.” 
She downed the pill with water, grabbed a couple pain pills in the event her
ears began hurting too badly, and snatched up her purse.  “I am looking forward
to getting out of this room for awhile.”

They locked up and walked toward the car.  When
a big gust of wind hit them, Brady hurriedly pulled Amanda toward him, and
pressed her head against his chest.  He covered her exposed ear with his hand. 
She couldn’t help laughing, nor could she help noticing the feel of his rock
hard chest against her cheek, or his deliciously masculine scent, or the way
her heart skipped a beat when she heard the steady rhythm of his heart.  She
attempted to pull back, hoping he hadn’t noticed the stain of color on her
cheeks. 

“Uh, this … really isn’t necessary.”

“Hey, we’re not taking any chances,” he said,
chuckling lightly, as he tugged her toward him again.

Inside the car, Amanda settled against the
seat.  She glanced out at the ocean, noting it seemed more fierce than usual,
with white caps topping the foaming waves.  The sky was a crisp blue, and she
saw a cruise ship off in the distance.  “It’s so beautiful here,” she remarked.

“It really is,” Brady agreed.

He backed the car out of the parking space, and
then drove out of the lot and to the main thoroughfare through Cocoa Beach.  It
was already warm, despite the early morning hour.  Brady flipped the switch for
air conditioning, and sent her a glance.

“That’s not too cold, is it?”

“Nope.  It’s perfect.  This is nice,” she said,
looking out over the town as they drove.  It seemed as if the sleepy town was
just waking up, since few people were out and about. 

“It is nice getting out for a drive,” he
agreed.  “I wonder what the grandparents are doing?”

“It’s early yet…”  She gave a shrug.  “I would
think the Kennedy Space Center wouldn’t open until nine.  Who knows what those
two are up to?”

***

“Do you see any alligators?” Liz asked eagerly. 
She was presently standing near a sign beside the Indian River that read,
“Beware of alligators.”

Ike had her camera in front of his face,
snapping her picture.

“Your turn,” she announced.

They exchanged places and she photographed him
in front of the sign.  She glanced around and made a disappointed face.  “I
don’t see a single alligator.”

“Well, they must be here, since the sign says
so.”

He took her hand.  Together, they walked along a
pathway beside the sparkling river.  The water lapped at the shore, and birds
tweeted in the nearby trees. 

Ike brought them to a stop, to point out a
particularly beautiful bird. 

“Do you know what it is?” Liz asked.

He shook his head, looking after the bird, but
turned to meet her gaze.  “It’s so pretty,” he mused, “Like you.  Liz, I…”

“Yes, Ike?”

“I want you to know how much I enjoy spending
time with you.  I haven’t had this much fun in…”  He gave a shrug.  “Well,
ever.”

“Oh, Ike, thank you.  I feel the same way.”

He looked intently into her eyes.  “Liz…”

“Yes?”

“Will you marry me?” he blurted, and suddenly
looked aghast.  “Oh, Liz!  That’s not how I intended to ask you.  I don’t even
have a ring yet.  I meant to…”

She took a step closer to him and silenced him
with a finger to his lips.  “Your proposal was beautiful.  Thank you.  But…”

His eyes widened, almost fearfully.  He stood
taller, appearing to brace for her answer.

“But… 
What?”

“Ike, I do love you.  When I’m with you, I
feel…”

“Yes?” he prompted.

“I feel … whole.  Safe.  Content.”  She spread
her hands.  “Happy!”

“Me too!  So let’s get married.”

“Ike, we can’t rush into anything.”  She glanced
around, and shook her head.  “We’re in Florida, under this bright blue sky. 
Everything here seems more…”

“What?”

“Sparkly.  Exciting.  Fun.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“I’m afraid I may seem something I’m not—at
least not all the time.  We’re on vacation.  We left our worries behind, but
Ike, we will go home and back to…”

“Who says we have to go home?” he cut in.  “We
don’t have to go anywhere or do anything we don’t want to do.”

“But I do want to go home eventually,” she said
softly.

He dropped his head sadly.  “Does that mean you
don’t want me?”

“No.  No,” she assured him, taking his hand.  “I
want to say yes to your proposal.  A part of me wants to run off to the justice
of the peace right now, but…”

“But…” he said wearily. 

“But, we haven’t known one another that long. 
When we’re both back to the real world, will I seem so…?”  She cocked her head,
as if searching for the right words.  “Will I seem so sparkly, exciting, and
fun to you then?  I may seem very different to you when we’re back to reality.”

“No, you won’t,” he said adamantly.  “The truth
is, I fell for you long before we took this trip together.  I knew you were the
gal for me back at the center.”

She gave a hopeful smile.  “Really?”

“Really.  And this trip—this adventure with
you—has only cemented what I already knew—that I love you.”  He looked
searchingly into her eyes.  “Look, Liz, I can’t promise you a synchronized
death scene—like in that movie you were talking about—but I can promise that
I’ll love you with everything in me until one of us does leave this earth.” 

“Oh, Ike,” she said tremulously.

He spread his arms and she stepped into his
embrace.  “I love you, Liz,” he whispered against her hair.

She pulled back, searching his eyes.  A smile of
wonder creased her face.  “I love you too, Ike.  I really do.”

“Marry me,” he murmured.  “Soon.”

***

“Amanda, get back in this car.  It’s windy.” 
Brady gave a frustrated groan as he jogged after her.  The couple had turned
into a park along the ocean, and Amanda had spotted several larger shells from
her vantage point at the top of a stairway leading to the beach.  She was now
running down those stairs in order to retrieve those shells.

When Brady reached her, she was kneeling on the
sand and filling an empty coffee cup with the shells.  He gave her a chagrined
glance.  “Amanda!” he scolded.  “Your ears are going to get worse.”

“I won’t be long,” she told him, unable to
resist the beautiful shells.  They were so colorful, and there were so many. 
“How come we don’t have shells like these back home?” she asked, glancing up to
meet his eyes.  “The ones on our beach are always broken and…”  She gave a
shrug.  “Colorless.”

“Hey, not all are colorless.  You just have to
get up really early to find the colorful ones.”  He raised a clarifying
finger.  “And we do have agates on our beaches.”

She nodded.  “True, you can find some awfully
pretty agates on our beach.”  She rose and glanced around.  “Where are the
agates on this beach?”

“I read somewhere that agates come from the
cliffs and banks of rivers that wash into the ocean,” he said, and glanced
around.  “No cliffs,” he added.

“Yes, I guess both geologically and
geographically speaking, everything’s different from our coast,” Amanda observed.

“Thin crust, thick crust,” Brady said,
chuckling.  He took her hand and tugged her toward the stairway leading up to
the parking lot.  “Let’s go,” he urged.  “If your ears feel worse later, you’ll
have no one to blame but yourself.”

She sighed.  “I’ve had cabin fever.  I had to
get outside,” she said, sending him an imploring glance.

He checked his watch.  “It’s lunchtime.  Let’s
see if we can find a restaurant overlooking the ocean.  You can watch the waves
from inside, and your ears will thank you for it later.”

“I’d really like to find more shells…”

He gave a brisk shake of his head.   “Not
today.”

“And I’d really like to dip my toe into the
ocean.”

“
Definitely
not today,” he said.                                            

“Brady…”  She pinned him with a look.  “You’re
not my boss,” she said, sounding younger than her years.  “But you are bossy,”
she grumbled.

He looked aghast.  “I’m not bossy.  But if your
ears aren’t well by the time we see that doctor, you’re not going anywhere,
which means I’m not going anywhere, which means I’ll be away from work even
longer, which I cannot afford to … be.”

She gave him a knowing look.  All that concern
he was showing wasn’t necessarily because he particularly cared about her, but
because he had a desperate need to get back to his company.  Of course.  And
really, she couldn’t blame him.  He had his livelihood to think about.

“Hey, why the sad look on your face?” he asked,
as he tugged open the passenger door of the car and nudged her to get in.

“I don’t look sad!” she snapped.

“No…  Now you look angry,” he said with a wince
as he closed her door and rounded the hood.  He climbed in beside her.  “What’s
wrong, Amanda?” he asked, definitely picking up on the change in her mood.

“Nothing.”

“Come on, talk to me.”

She shook her head.  She wasn’t about to admit
she felt a bit hurt to think he wasn’t particularly happy to be stuck with
her.  But then, he’d made the choice to stay, when she really didn’t need him. 
It wasn’t her fault he had some misplaced case of chivalry.   

“You don’t have to stay with me,” she snapped. 
“You can go home, you know.  I don’t know why you’re staying anyway.  I’m not a
child.  I can take care of myself.  It isn’t as if I haven’t been on my own for
several years now.”

Brady watched her, and then arched his brows and
winced at her fit of temper.  “Where’d that just come from?”

“I’m just saying, I know your work is important
to you, and I really don’t understand why you feel as if you have to be stuck
here with me.  We’ve found the grandparents, they’re fine—so you’re free to
go.”

“What kind of a man would I be if I just took
off and left you on the East Coast, all by yourself?”

“One, it’s not your worry—I’m a grown woman—and
two, the grandparents are here too, so I would hardly be alone.”

“Yeah, you would.”

“What do you mean?”

“Those two,” he said, referring to the older
couple, “are determined to be alone.  I’m fairly confident they’d ditch you.” 

***

Liz swallowed over a lump in her throat.  Her
heart was beating like a drum, in eager anticipation.  She sent a glance at
Ike.  He looked a little apprehensive.  His brows were drawn low over his eyes
and his mouth pinched.

She squeezed his hand.  “This is going to be
great,” she enthused.  “Let’s pretend we’re on the real space shuttle, rather
than a simulator.  Let’s pretend we’re going off together, alone in the space
shuttle, to explore outer space.”