Page 89 of Inseverable (Carolina Beach)

“Why would you think that?” I try to take a few breaths and calm, but my words release in shaky spurts. “I’ve been lost without you.”

His hold on me tightens as he clutches me to him. “And I’ve beennothingwithout you,” he admits, his voice rough. “Nothing mattered anymore when I left. . . I love you, Trin. God, I love you so much.”

“I love you, too,” I whisper . . .

An hour later, he’s gathering a sheet around our naked bodies and tucking me against him. My hand skims across his chest to rest over his heart.

“I’m sorry I hurt you,” I tell him, my voice just above a breath along the dimly lit room. “I thought if you knew I was leaving, you would never give me and us a chance. I liked you from the beginning. But then we grew close, and telling you became that much harder.”

His hand trails down my arm. “I didn’t like what you did, but I can’t be sure you were wrong in what you thought. I came to Kiawah to be alone, and that’s how I might have stayed if you didn’t find a way to get through to me.”

“I still shouldn’t have done it.”

“Maybe,” he admits. “But I’ve thought about that day I left too many times. It’s in the past, baby. Let’s leave it there where it belongs.”

“Okay,” I say quietly, even though I’ll never stop feeling bad for what I did, and how I made him feel.

I press a kiss to his chest and push up on my elbow so I can see him. He traces his finger along my jaw, staring at me with those blue eyes that have haunted my dreams, and stirring a tickle with his touch that makes me smile.

“God, I’ve missed this face,” he says.

My grin widens, despite the lingering sadness I’ve carried for so long. “How in the world did you find me?”

“Your daddy helped,” he explains. “I went to see him to talk over a few things.” His hand smooths through my hair. “I flew all night and travelled on bus most of the day. The bus got me as far as the neighboring village and I walked from there. But once I arrived, I didn’t know where to look.

“There was a guy near a fountain of sorts. I approached him, knowing he was American and introduced myself, told him who I was and that I needed to find you.” His voice lowers. “I knew he knew you, but he refused to tell me where you were. I wasn’t in a good mood. It took a shit ton of time to get here so I told him if he didn’t tell me, I’d knock the peace right out of his corps.”

I cover my face, but then drop it away. “I think you mean Marty. He’s not a bad guy. He probably just wanted to make sure I was safe.”

“No. It’s more like my arrival ruined whatever the hell he had planned for you. If it wasn’t for that little girl tugging on my arm and pointing up the hill when she heard me say your name,Martywould be on the ground bleeding.”

I lean closer and kiss his cheek. “The little girl’s name is Elbia. She’s my buddy.”

I snag a small frame from the top of my desk and hand it to him. “I showed her your picture and told her all about you.”

He scans the photo Becca took of us the night he sang to me at my house. “That’s the first night I kissed you,” he says quietly.

“I know,” I answer, sadness finding its way into my voice. I don’t want to ask what I do next, but I have to, knowing I can’t leave. “How long can you stay?”

He pauses. “How long do you want me?”

Tears fill my eyes and my voice cracks. “Forever?”

He hands me the picture and scoots out of bed, reaching for his boxers and jeans. I place the frame back on the desk and scramble to the edge of the bed, gathering the sheet around my breasts. “Callahan, where are you going?”

He sighs and yanks on his clothes. Except for his shirt and socks, he’s now fully dressed. “These past few weeks have been hell,” he tells me.

I wipe my eyes, trying not to full-out cry.Please don’t leave me.

“I never want to feel like that again,” he continues, his beautiful eyes welling as they meet mine. “If you agree to be my wife, I won’t have to, and neither of us will ever know another night apart.”

He drops to the floor on one knee and pulls a ring from his pocket, taking my hand as tears of joy and shock run down my face. “Trinity Summers . . . will you marry me?”

Epilogue

Callahan

Three minutes.

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