Page 18 of Between Two Shores

He laughed nervously. If Beth only knew how much he wanted to. If not for his desperate hold on self-control, he’d scoop her up, carry her to the sandbank, and kiss the woman senseless. But he would return to the ship within the hour, and he needed to stay focused and disciplined. Kissing Beth now would be amazing, but he’d suffer later. Dreaming about her and missing her touch. Unnecessary torture.

He cupped her other cheek and gazed directly into her eyes. “Beth, if we meet again, I promise you, I’ll kiss you like there’s no tomorrow.” He smiled. “But today is not the day for that. I’ll be away for two years. I don’t want to do that to you, or me. Let’s stay friends. And who knows what the future holds? We can only live for today.”

Beth smiled sweetly. “I respect you, Lachlan. You’re a true man of honor.”

He agreed, but why did he hurt so bad?

Chapter Seven

BETH

Beth swiveled the black office chair to face Chelsea. “This is brilliant.” She tapped the draft article. “You’re learning so fast. A catchy title. Great hook for the first line. Main points in the first paragraph. The rest flows so well, and it’s within the word count for the youth column.”

Chelsea beamed a smile, causing her lip piercing to rise. “I have a good teacher.”

“The best.” Beth nudged her. “You guys are getting more articles printed than me. I’m working myself out of the job.”

“Do you want a cut from our zero commission?” Chelsea raised her thin brows.

Beth laughed. “Welcome to my world. You can do copy-editing like me—at least that pays the bills. Maybe you can get an internship at the Fremantle Herald once you finish the program at Youth Connect. How long do you have left before you graduate?”

Chelsea’s green eyes, surrounded by thick black liner, lit up. “Two months. I’d love to work for the paper. Will your boss take on someone like me?”

Beth glanced at the colored tattoo on Chelsea’s neck, then back to her eyes. “If you have the talent, I can’t see why not.”

Timothy tapped on the glass door. Beth waved him in. Conversations from the other workstations flooded the room as he entered.

“Cassie wants to know when you’ll be ready for the English lesson?” Timothy leaned his skinny frame against the doorway. He nodded to Chelsea.

Beth faced Chelsea. “We have gone a little overtime. Go get a quick bite to eat in the lunchroom, and I’ll see you in ten minutes for class.” Beth smiled at Timothy. “I’ll skip my lunch and start right on time. Where is Cassie? I’ll tell her myself.”

“She’s with her daughter in the nursery games room.”

“Great.” Beth clapped her hands. “I’ll say hello to Johannah as well.”

Beth stood, and they all exited the room. Her small heels clicked against the polished concrete floor as she walked down the corridor to the colorful games room.

Cassie had a messy bun on top of her head, with a pen wedged down the side. Nice working-mum look.

Leaning over the red and blue playpen, Cassie handed two-year-old Johannah a plastic pony. “Keep it in here, bubba. Stop throwing it out, you cheeky girl.”

Johannah’s brown eyes widened and pointed to Beth. “Bef, Bef.”

Cassie turned. “Hey. How are you? All set for class?”

“Yep. All ready to go. I wanted to say a quick hello to Jo Jo.” She waved at the little girl.

Johannah, a mini version of Cassie, opened and shut her palm in slow motion. Oh, she melted Beth’s heart.

Cassie stood and smoothed her palms down her black skinny jeans. She could pass as a teen at her size and didn’t look like a forty-something-year-old. A sly grin slid up Cassie’s cheeks. “Chris told me about Lachie. But he didn’t tell me what you were doing hanging around a sailor.” She crossed her arms and tapped her Nike shoe to the ground. “Fill me in.”

Beth wobbled her head as if she had nothing to tell. “We met on the Rottnest Ferry and spent the day together on the island.” She sighed wistfully. “Had a great time. Then he visited Habor of Hope. Went for lunch after. Now he’s gone.”

Cassie’s forehead creased. “That’s all?”

“No.” She crossed her arms to match Cassie’s. “I’m so attracted to him, it’s ridiculous. I’m such a desperate spinster.”

Cassie burst out laughing. “Beth. You’re being silly now. That’s normal chemistry. You know that right? You’re so sweet and innocent.”

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