"So, how are you finding your first real beach experience?" Killian asked, as he leaned back on one hand to make himself a little more comfortable.
Emma gave her ice cream another couple of licks as she turned her head left, right, and then left again. "It's not bad," she finally conceded. "It helps that the place is practically deserted."
Killian snorted out a laugh as he looked up and down the beach.
A little further down the promenade, Emma had spotted a small ice cream shop. After buying each of them a cone, they had headed for an empty spot on the sand to sit and eat their sticky treats. While they'd been sitting and enjoying all of the sights and sounds that came from being so close to the ocean, the sky had darkened further and a slight chill had rolled in. It had sent most of the stragglers heading for the warmth of local bars and restaurants, leaving them with plenty of space to just enjoy being in each other's company.
"You're right. I think the beach at night is the best way to enjoy it," Killian said, as he considered how much more enjoyable his vacations with August would be if they only visited beaches after dark. "I mean, at least this way, I don't have to worry about burning or anything."
"Burning?" Emma scoffed. "You look like the kind of guy who only has to look at the sun to catch a tan."
"I think my European blood would disagree with you there."
"Your European blood?" she challenged, turning to face him.
Killian opened his mouth to offer what he had been hoping she would find a witty retort, but before he could speak, someone else did.
"Killian Jones? I'm sorry – but you are the Killian Jones, right?"
Emma's eyes widened in surprise while Killian's flew shut. This was the reason he'd avoided Nice so far; the city in the middle of summer was bound to play home to at least a couple of American tourists. He'd just been hoping he would manage to dodge most of them, what with Emma preferring to explore off the beaten path.
"Yes, that's me," he finally said, turning slowly to look at the couple standing just behind them.
"I told you, Karen. I told you it was him," the man said, turning to his companion. "What are the odds that we'd just happen to take our vacation at the same time as Killian Jones – and in the same place no less?"
"I can't believe it," the woman squealed. "I can't believe we're standing here with Killian Jones." She finally turned her attention back his way and quickly added, "Ken and I watch your show every night. We love it. We get all our news from ATSL since we stumbled over your show years ago. You were covering a hurricane at the time, and we just loved how compassionate you were to the people who'd lost everything. You looked like you wanted to cry for them all, and I turned to Ken, and I said, 'that's the sign of a good man,' didn't I, Ken?"
Ken nodded his agreement to his partner's ramblings, and Killian felt himself flush a little under their praise.
"Thank you," he said, offering them both a genuine smile for their compliments.
"Do you um… do you think we could get a picture with you?" Karen asked shyly. "We don't want to interrupt your date, but I'd have kicked myself for never asking."
Killian's stomach gave an uncomfortable squirm at the word 'date.' He couldn't bring himself to look over at Emma to see how she'd reacted, so instead, he focused on Karen and Ken and offered them a firm nod.
"Why don't I take it for you?" Emma asked, startling Killian as he was pushing himself back to his feet.
"Oh, thank you. That's so kind of you," Karen praised, fishing inside her bag for her camera. "I should have known any woman that dated Killian Jones would be just as sweet as he is."
Killian was certain his face was bright red as he finally rose to his full height and made his way over to stand between Ken and Karen. He tried to keep his gaze focused on the moon above Emma's shoulder to avoid looking at her face. After the camera had clicked a few times, the flash almost blinding him in the dark, and Emma had handed the device back to Karen, he knew he was running out of time to avoid his friend's questions.
"Thank you so much for that," Karen said, as she safely tucked the camera back into her bag. "Enjoy the rest of your vacation."
"You too," Emma called out, when Killian couldn't seem to find a way to form words.
Karen and Ken made their way back down the promenade as a horribly-loaded silence seemed to descend over the empty beach. Killian reluctantly sank back down to his knees on the sand, bracing himself for Emma's words.
"So," she began, after what felt like an eternity had passed, "You work for ATSL?"
"You've heard of it?"
"Of course I've heard of it," Emma scoffed. "It's the biggest news agency in the world. I'm pretty sure I've even referenced a few of their articles before for essays that I've written."
Killian snorted out a laugh – because, of course she had. He should have expected that, given her choice of major.
"You must be one hell of a journalist to anchor for ATSL," she eventually declared, and he whipped his head around to face her. "I might never have seen their coverage before, but even I know they only hire the best of the best."
"Thank you," Killian said, flushing once again under the weight of her praise. "Maybe um… maybe when I head back home, you could look and see for yourself? I know our Livestream is free - and it works worldwide."
"I didn't know that. I guess you've just gained yourself another viewer," she added, knocking her shoulder playfully into his own.
Killian chuckled as he brought his hand up to scratch behind his ear. Normally, he felt at his most confident sitting behind his desk with a camera trained on him. Journalism was something he knew - something he fully understood - unlike the woman sitting next to him. He briefly wondered if that confidence he had in his role would falter at all, now that he knew Emma would be at home, watching his show.
"Anyway," she suddenly declared, as she wiped the sand from her palms on the skirt of her dress. "Karen reminded me that I haven't seen those pictures the officer took for us yet. Would you mind if I sent them to myself?"
"No! No, of course not," Killian assured her, fishing in his pocket to pull out his phone.
"I was gonna do it in the car," Emma chuckled. "It's getting a little late. But um – now you have your phone out, maybe we should take one more, just to finish the day?"
"One more," Killian agreed, because he was planning to keep the memories of this week for as long as he possibly could, and pictures would definitely help with that.
Emma shifted across the sandy beach a little until her thigh was pressed against his, then wrapped both of her arms around his left one. As her head came down to rest upon his shoulder, Killian opened the camera app on his phone and brought the device up to snap a couple of pictures of them together, illuminated by the promenade lights twinkling behind them.
"Perfect," she declared. Emma pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before she pushed herself up to her feet and busied herself with brushing the sand from her dress and legs.
Killian turned away from her for a moment under the pretense of doing the same thing. He then brought his fingers up to trace over the skin she had pressed her lips to only seconds before.
"Are you ready?" Emma asked after a moment. She had gathered up her bag and their trash in one hand and was slipping her white sandals back on with the other.
"I'm ready," he said, raking his hands roughly down the back of his jeans.
The moment Emma reached his side, she tangled their fingers together once more to make the walk back up the promenade, hand-in-hand.
After giving themselves a final brush down and disposing of all their trash, the pair finally climbed back into their rental at quarter-to-eleven, ready to make the drive back to Peillon. While Emma fiddled with the radio to find a station playing something they could enjoy on the drive home, Killian unlocked his phone. He then set it down in the small space between them and started the engine. He had reversed out of the parking lot and was on the road headed out of the city when he noticed Emma flicking through the pictures.
"Wow," she whispered, after a long, drawn-out moment.
Killian braced himself for her to say something about how inappropriate the look on his face was or how low his hand had dropped. He pulled his eyes away from the road just long enough to see that her own were sparkling with humor before she said, "You were right. This dress looks really good on me."
He was so shocked by her declaration that Killian found himself snorting out a loud bark of laughter – which only made Emma giggle harder beside him.
"Stop admiring yourself and just send the pictures over," he admonished.
"Please? Like you haven't been doing that all day long?" she challenged, cocking a brow in question.
Killian flushed a deep shade of red once again and decided to keep his eyes focused on the road instead of the beautiful woman sitting beside him.
It was almost half-past eleven by the time Killian finally killed the engine and withdrew the keys from the ignition. It had been a truly wonderful day, and he felt like he should say something to make sure Emma knew just how much he'd enjoyed it. When he looked over to her face, he found her staring back with a soft smile on her lips.
After holding his gaze for a second longer, Emma reached for the handle on her door and pulled it open before slipping out of the car. Killian followed her lead and climbed out from behind the wheel before he gave the interior a quick once over and then locked the vehicle.
Emma made her way quietly around to his side of the car and then took his hand into her own again as they began the climb back up the path towards the village center.
They made their walk in silence, strolling past the small stores and restaurants they'd visited earlier in the week before passing the dark café they had spent so much time at; Killian wasn't sure he'd ever seen it closed before. They carried on walking silently, their joined hands swinging together slightly between them as they turned onto the road that led towards their little cottages before finally coming to a stop outside the one Emma was renting.
For a moment, they stood together in silence, just staring up at the medieval building. Then Emma pivoted suddenly on the balls of her feet, turning to face him as her eyes sought his.
"Thank you for today, Killian. I had the best time with you."
"Me too," he assured her, because she needed to know just how true his statement was. "I've never had a day like that before. Normally, my friends just want to spend time at the usual tourist traps or bars, and I go along with them because it's easier that way. It was nice to be able to explore some of the lesser-known treasures of the city with someone else who genuinely enjoyed being there with me."
"I'd say 'any time,' but I think we both know that's not gonna be easy to arrange," she chuckled.
"No," he agreed, before adding a little hopefully, "But maybe not impossible."
"Definitely not impossible."
Killian beamed down at her as he allowed her words and their meaning to fill his mind.
"We um… we could grab breakfast together tomorrow," he offered, suddenly emboldened by her admission. "I only have a couple of days left, and I'd really like to spend as much of them with you as possible - if you're okay with that?"
"I'd like nothing more," she assured him, taking a small step closer. "But I'm afraid I can't do breakfast tomorrow. I have some calls I need to make."
Killian's face fell slightly as he nodded his head in understanding.
"I could do lunch instead," she offered. "I should be done by ten, so we could meet at eleven, just to be on the safe side? I'd really like to go back up that trail again before I fly home. I could always ask Carlos to pack us a picnic, and we could eat lunch on top of the mountain?"
"That sounds wonderful," Killian agreed, because he could honestly think of no better way to spend his day. "It's a date," he added, although his tone made his statement sound much more like a question than Emma's usually did.
"Is it?" she chuckled, as she took another step closer to him and raised her free hand to rest against his shoulder.
"Do, uh… do you want it to be?" he stuttered out, completely thrown by the boldness of her question.
"Do you?" she challenged, raising one of her brows.
When Killian couldn't find the words to respond, Emma gave a slight chuckle before she leaned in to whisper into his ear, "It's only a date if we both want it to be." She pulled back just far enough to meet his burning gaze before allowing her eyes to flutter shut as she leaned in to press her lips firmly against his own.
Killian was caught off guard by her actions, so by the time he'd managed to shut his eyes, she was already pulling back. Instead of pulling away completely, however, Emma pressed her forehead to his own.
"Good night, Killian," she whispered into the space between them.
"G… good night," he finally managed to stutter out, as she pulled back completely; turned on her heels; and strode confidently up the small path, fishing her keys from her bag as she went.
Killian carried on watching as she unlocked the door and slipped into the house, all without turning to look back at him. Then, raising a hand to his face, he finally made his way back to his own home in a daze, rubbing his index finger over the place her lips had been touching his only moments before.
Thanks for reading and reviewing.
I came up with the name for the network Killian works for by combining the initials of all the wonderful ladies helping out with this piece. If it's an actual business name, I apologise for that. I did try and Google all my options but there were a lot.