25. Peter

Aweek and a half had passed since Peter had arrived with Marina in Safe Haven, and things had settled into a comfortable routine. He was making the rounds, patrolling and taking turns in the surveillance room while she worked in the lodge, preparing it for the next retreat that was supposed to start on Friday.

Standing on the sandy shore, he pulled out his phone and thought of an excuse to call her. Perhaps he could tell her the joke Malcom had told him that morning. It was stupid, but Marina would laugh anyway because she did so at all his jokes, and he loved hearing her laughter.

She did that much more often now that she was feeling more secure in their relationship.

"Hello, love, how is work?" he asked when she answered.

"Larissa and I are scrubbing the tiles in the bathrooms. Do you want to help?"

He chuckled. "No, thank you. If you had said you were scrubbing by yourself while wearing a naughty French maid outfit, I would have come running."

"You"re such a perv."

"I know. That"s why you love me."

It felt so good to say that without thinking twice about it and knowing that Marina would respond in kind.

"I do," she admitted. "And the idea of wearing what you suggested makes me feel all tingly in the right places."

Peter groaned. "You are killing me, woman. I"m on duty, patrolling, and now I have to do the three-legged shuffle."

She laughed. "You started it."

"I did."

"So, what did you call me about?"

"I wanted to tell you a stupid joke I heard."

"Tell me."

"So, this guy goes to see a marriage counselor," Peter said, grinning as he watched the waves crash against the beach. "He tells him that he thinks his wife is poisoning his tea. He even took the tea to a lab, and they confirmed it. The counselor tells him that he needs to go to the police, but the guy refuses. He loves his wife, and he wants to find out why she"s trying to kill him."

On the other end of the line, Marina chuckled. "That is a terrible joke," she said, but he could hear the amusement in her voice.

"Wait, I didn"t get to the punchline yet," Peter said, his grin widening. "The counselor promises the guy that he will talk to the wife. A week later, the guy comes to see him and asks if he talked with her. The therapist says, "I did. I was on the phone with her for four hours and couldn"t understand what she was trying to say. She was all over the place, and I couldn"t get her to stop talking so I could guide her." So, the guy asks, "What should I do? I love her, and I can"t live without her." The therapist sighs and says, "Just drink the tea.""

Marina burst out laughing, the sound filling Peter"s ear and making his heart skip a beat. "This is one of the worst jokes I"ve ever heard," she said. "And it"s so human. I thought that all of your immortal buddies adored their mates."

"They do. It"s something one of them heard on the radio. He thought it was funny."

"Well, it is. But that"s because it"s so bad."

"Fine, I"ll search for something more amusing to tell you." Peter affected an offended tone.

"Did I insult you?" Marina asked.

"A little," he admitted, but he couldn"t keep the smile from his face.

"I"m sorry. Where are you now?"

"On the beach. Why?"

"I"m coming over to kiss you and make it better."

"That worked even better than I planned. I"m waiting."

As he ended the call, Peter took a deep breath of the salty air, letting the ocean breeze ruffle his hair. The sun was high in the sky, casting a warm glow over the sandy expanse, and he couldn"t help but feel a sense of peace wash over him.

When he heard footsteps approaching, he turned to see Marina walking toward him, dressed in the ugly pastel-colored uniform the lodge"s staff was required to wear but looking beautiful despite it.

"Hey there, handsome," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in for a kiss.

He savored the softness of her lips and the warmth of her body against his, and when they pulled apart, he rested his forehead against hers, breathing in her scent. "I missed you," he murmured.

Marina chuckled, her fingers playing with the collar of his shirt. "It"s only been a few hours," she teased, but he could see the happiness in her eyes.

"A few hours is a long time to be away from you. I don"t know how I will survive when we"re back in the village, and I have to go on assignments that will keep me away from you."

Marina cupped his face in her hands. "Hopefully, I will be just as busy, so I will not be alone in the house while you are gone. Otherwise, the missing you part would be intolerable."

He pulled her closer, burying his face in the crook of her neck. "I love you," he whispered.

She held him tightly, her fingers threading through his hair. "I love you, too," she murmured.

For a long moment, they remained wrapped in each other"s arms as the ocean waves crashed against the shore, but duty called, and they each had their tasks to perform.

Marina pulled apart first. "I promised Larissa that I wouldn"t be gone for long. I have to go back."

"I know." He smiled. "Three more hours."

She lifted three fingers. "Three more hours."