Page 151 of Deep Tide

“I did. I do.” He took her hand and squeezed it. “But then I met you.”

Emotions swirled inside her, making her dizzy. She looked out at the water. The surf was up, and moonlight glistened off the frothy waves.

“I wish you’d talked to me about this. I’ve been feeling so confused about everything.”

“I’m sorry.” He lifted her hand and kissed it. “I guess I’m not the best at communicating. I haven’t been in a relationship in a long time.”

She looked at him. “Me either.”

The breeze whipped a strand of hair against her face, and he gently moved it away. Her heart was racing. But not in the scared, panicked way it had been doing so much for the past month. This was a good sort of racing. A buzzy excitement filled her as she thought about a possible future together.

He leaned over and kissed her. It was warm and sweet, but then she opened her mouth and everything changed. She pulled his head down, savoring the taste of him and combing her fingers into that thick, soft hair she’d been missing.

It felt good. Sure. Right, in a way it had never felt with anyone else, and she couldn’t believe she’d sent him that damn text message. And that he’d gotten on a plane over it.

He eased her back, and then his weight was on her, pressing her into the sand. She loved the way he felt, the way he kissed, the way he touched her with so much confidence it set her skin on fire. This was what she’d been dying for, every day and every night since they’d been apart.

He pulled back. “Come home with me,” he said gruffly.

She blinked up at him. “Where is that?”

“I’ve got a room at Sea Isle.” He nodded down the beach toward the condominium where he’d stayed before. “It’s a second-floor studio. That’s all they had left.”

“You didn’t want to stay with me?”

“Of course I did. But I wasn’t sure.” He kissed her forehead. “You broke up with me.”

He stood up and held his hand out for her.

She smiled up at him and took it.

•••

Leyla leaned against the balcony railing and stared at the water under the full moon. A light winked on the distant horizon. It was an oil rig. Maybe even the same rig she’d been trapped on weeks ago. A shudder moved through her, and she clasped her arms to her body, still unable to believe everything that had happened in such a short time.

And all of it had started with her brother’s wedding.

The glass door behind her slid open, and she glanced back as Sean stepped out in only his black boxer briefs. He eased up behind her and slid his arms around her waist.

“I recognize this shirt,” he said, kissing the side of her neck.

She liked the shirt because it smelled like him. She nestled deeper into it and pulled the cuffs over her wrists.

“The surf’s down,” he said. “When did that happen?”

“The clouds moved through. Now it’s calm as glass.”

She turned to face him, leaning her hip against the railing.

“I like this room,” she said.

“View’s not as good as last time.”

“Still better than mine. We should spend the weekend here.”

He smiled and kissed her. “I won’t be looking at the view.”

She turned and faced the water again.

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