Epilogue

NEPTUNE

The soft breeze blowing off the sea was a welcome one. It was hotter than I'd expected it to be in Nice, but it was also reminiscent of home, and I liked that.

The door of the luxury beach house swung open and she stepped outside, smiling broadly as soon as she saw me. "You're here."

"I am." I didn't waste a moment and pulled her into my arms, kissing her for the first time in nearly a week.

"I missed you," she murmured against my lips. "I know that's ridiculous when it's not been that long."

"We saw each other every day on the cruise," I reminded her. "It's strange going back to real life and not seeing one another as often."

"Mmm, I don't think I like it." She pulled back and gestured for me to follow her inside. "Mei and Chiguo are planning on leaving for the evening soon. I'm sorry that we have to share with them. Do you want a drink?"

"Whatever you're having is good. And it's fine," I assured her. "I don't plan on us being in their way very much."

For a moment, I thought she was going to tell me off for saying that, but she only nodded. "I've got the translator on speed dial if we need her..."

"I speak French," I assured her.

"How many languages can you speak?"

I shrugged. "A few."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Latin, obviously. Italian, English, Greek, French, Spanish, and Arabic," I answered. "At least with fluency. I used to be able to speak Ancient Greek too, but I've forgotten so much that I don't count it any more."

"And the languages you speak not fluently?"

"There are a few others. Most recently, I picked up Chinese on my language app, though I think it's probably the wrong dialect."

She stared at me for a moment, halfway through getting a beer out of the fridge for me. "You picked up Chinese?"

"I like learning languages," I responded. "The sea always has a way of bringing people together, and language has always been a part of that to me. And the most important person I want to be able to communicate with is you."

"We speak in English," she pointed out as she put the beer and a glass down in front of me.

"It's important to me, though I'll be clear that I don't expect you to learn Latin, that's a far less useful language these days."

She let out a small laugh. "Okay, but maybe Italian. You could teach me. I'm a good student."

"I'll be the judge of that."

"I think it's very sweet that you want to learn Chinese," she said. "But you do need to make sure you're learning the right kind."

"I'll have you check later," I promised. "But first, we have a dinner reservation to get to. I know the perfect place."

She raised an eyebrow. "Do you have restaurants you frequent all over the world?"

"Only in places with a coastline," I responded.

"Then I look forward to trying them all." She leaned in and kissed my cheek.

I smiled at her, enjoying the way it was easy to be in her presence, and looking forward to many more meetings like this to come.

Thank you for reading Summer Fling With A Sea God , I hope you enjoyed it!