Page 149 of Deep Tide

“This what? This relationship? Or this conversation?” His brow furrowed, and she felt a sharp jolt of attraction—which absolutely was not helping her right now.

“This whole long-distance thing. It’s not working.” She looked at his chest because she didn’t want to look at his eyes anymore. “It’s making me a wreck, Sean. I’m distracted all the time. And insecure. And I’m being a bitch to everyone.” She shook her head. “And then I heard how you were here, and you didn’t even call me.”

He tipped his head back and cursed, and Leyla’s heart sank. She realized she’d been holding out hope that maybe she’d been wrong, or somehow misunderstood.

He looked at her and sighed. “Joel told you?”

“Miranda.”

She looked away. A tear leaked out, and she swiped at her cheek, angry at herself for letting him see her get emotional.

“I don’t want to do this anymore, Sean.”

“Leyla.” He took her hand, and she pulled it away.

He huffed out a sigh.

“Let’s walk on the beach and talk through this.”

She looked him over. “You’re in a suit.”

“I don’t care.”

She swallowed the lump in her throat.

“Please?”

She made the mistake of looking up at his eyes. He was pleading with her, and she couldn’t tell him no.

“Fine.” She opened the car again and took off her apron. She wedged her purse in beside the box and spread her apron over it to hide it from view, then slammed the hatch shut. “Let’s go.”

They walked in silence onto the deck beside the coffee shop. When they reached the wooden bridge spanning the sand dunes, he caught her hand.

Her heart lurched as his big, warm hand enveloped hers. She’d been longing for the solid, secure feel of him for weeks now, and his hand was a reminder of everything she’d been yearning for while he’d been away.

They reached the beach, and she kicked off her sandals. He didn’t move to take off his black leather shoes, so she guessed he didn’t care if they filled up with grit.

“Which way?” she asked.

“South.”

He looked at her as they started down the beach. “How is everything else going?”

“Okay.”

“Are you sleeping all right?”

She shrugged.

“I’m not.”

She cast a sidelong glance at him. She hadn’t seen him wearing a suit since Joel’s wedding, and once again it looked really good on him. She noted the tip of a pale blue tie sticking out of his side pocket.

“How long have you been here?” she asked.

He glanced at his watch. “About an hour. I came straight from the airport.”

“You were in D.C.?”

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