Page 12 of Between Love and Honor

“I thought you were dead.”

The sound of his voice behind her startled her. Not only that, but the words he uttered made her stomach drop. She was glad for her dark sunglasses that hid the astonishment surely reflected in her eyes.

Had anyone ever worried about her?

Her parents loved her. But they loved each other more.

For much of her life, Quinn was just a project to them.

Someone to groom to be an even bigger player in the game.

But sweet Ben, the boy whose heart she’d apparently dented if not broken, had actually worried about her. His revelation shook her to her core.

She pivoted slowly so they were facing one another. He stood with his arms crossed over his impressive chest. Just for a moment, she wondered what it would be like to have his strong body wrapped around her again. To be the one who was being protected instead of the one who was forced by circumstances beyond her control to do the protecting.

Except her life wasn’t a fairy tale. Ben Segar wasn’t going to ride in and rescue her. He had no idea what she’d become. And it was better this way. Because if she let him in, he’d hate her even more than he likely already did. And that just might destroy the shred of integrity she still possessed.

“Still alive and kicking,” she managed to say without her voice cracking.

* * *

I THOUGHT YOU were dead.

Not exactly the line he imagined he’d lead with after all these years. It revealed too much. The last thing he wanted was for her to think he had actually missed her.

But for once in his life, Ben knew what it was like to have his brain scrambled. Probably because she was standing before him, wearing a pair of shorts displaying her long, lean legs to perfection. She no longer exuded the innocence she once wore like armor. Instead, she had matured in all the right places, looking a hell of a lot more exotic than she ever had. And he hated how much the sight of her was turning him on right now.

He managed to bob his chin up and down in response, but he couldn’t seem to move anything else. That was probably a good thing because were his limbs not frozen, he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to stop himself from throttling her.

Or kissing her.

And that thought made him even angrier.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded instead.

Quinn traced her lower lip with the tip of her tongue.

He recognized the tell from their days in chemistry when she claimed she understood even if she didn’t. She was going to lie to him. He didn’t know why the realization felt like a sucker punch to the gut, but it did.

“I’m visiting the area,” she said. “And I thought I’d stop by and say hello.”

He was incredulous. She could say hello but the hell with good-bye? Or I’m sorry? Thankfully, his anger propelled him into motion. Not trusting himself to respond, he stepped around her and climbed aboard the Seas the Day.

“Ben.”

His name slipped through her lips almost as an exhale, the sound of it so erotic, he couldn’t help himself. He turned around to face her.

“It’s been thirteen years with no contact, Quinn,” he said. “You said your hello. I don’t know what else there is to say.”

He grabbed at the lines securing the Seas the Day to the dock.

“You’re leaving?”

“Yep. That ought to be something you’re very familiar with.” He scrambled to the bow to untie the lines there.

“Wait. I came here to explain. I’m sure you don’t believe me, but I am sorry.”

Her admission was so unanticipated, he turned to glance back at her standing on the dock. Too bad her sunglasses prevented him from gauging the sincerity of her confession.

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