Page 68 of The Wrong Fiancée

I reached over, grabbed her hand under the water, and gave it a light squeeze. She looked at me, surprised at first, but then her smile softened. She squeezed back.

"Thank you for bringing me here," she whispered.

"You don’t have to thank me, baby. I did this forus."

"And thank you for…pushing me to defend myself with Noe."

I hadn't been sure how she'd react to that, if she'd think I overstepped. I was glad she didn't.

"I didn't know how to do that for myself—and I was gettingverytired of being treated like the enemy." She closed her eyes again. "Do you think she'll come around? Or did I lose my sister today?"

I stood up, the water coming up to my waist. I gently pulled her up and held her. "You didn't lose a sister today—shedid. You've not had her, not for a long while, if ever."

She put her hand on my chest and gently stroked. "What are we doing, Dean?"

"We're getting to know one another."

"To what end?"

I couldn't resist it any longer. She looked clean and fresh. She smelled like the sea and Ylang-ylang. I brushed my lips against hers softly, gently. She moaned. I didn't deepen the kiss. I just wanted to taste her, feel her.

"Does there have to be an end?" I asked, raising my head, loving the flushed look on her face, her eyes lit with arousal.

She licked her lips. "You were engaged to my cousin a second ago."

"I fell in love with you in Honolulu. You've never left my mind. If I never saw you again…fuck, that would've been awful. I would've missed…," I trailed off, unable to finish. The thought of never seeing her again, never holding her like this, made something inside me shut down completely.

She swallowed. "I…when I knew you were engaged to Felicity…a part of me was hurt, but another was thrilled that I'd see you again."

I pushed some wet hair off her face. "I was a snob."

"You probably still are," she teased.

I shook my head, serious. "Elika, I want to be better. I want to be…deserving of you. I kept thinking you'd be the wrong woman for me, and then ended up with the truly wrong one."

"What do you love about me, Dean?" she challenged as she pulled away and walked to shore.

I caught up with her, and I loved how she looked in a one-piece swimsuit. Her body was toned—the work she did was physical—but she wasn’t curvy anymore. She'd lost weight. I knew why and I wanted very much to help her, make her life easier. Regardless, I wanted to run my hands all over her.

"I love how passionate you are about the people and the things you love," I began, "I love how you stay positive despite all that has been thrown at you. I love how loyal you are. I love how kind you are. I love how sexy you are. I love how you talk about art, how you handle difficult situations, and how you keep on growing and evolving. I loved youthen, but that was mixed with lust. What I feel for you now…even though it's been a few weeks, it's bigger,more, because I knowyou. Not all of you, ‘cause that will take years. I hope you'll give us that chance." I put an arm around her, wanting to touch her. She didn't pull away, leaning into me.

"Will you?" I coaxed gently.

We walked in the sand, snorkeling gear in hand, as I waited for her to answer me.

"What if you find out that I'm as dumb as you thought I was? Not intellectually at?—"

"Please forgive me for that," I cut her off. "That was a young, arrogant man who had his head up his ass. I'm notthatman. I have grown up and become better and less judgmental. Give me a chance to show you. Give me a chance to find out how you've grown and changed as well."

We came to a fallen log. She dumped her snorkeling gear next to it and sat on the smooth wood. I joined her.

She nestled next to me and put her head on my shoulder as wewatched the best view in the world, the sun slowly making its way into the Pacific Ocean.

"What if we don't like what we find out about each other?"

"I don't think that'll happen. Do you really think there's a chance of that?"

She shook her head. "I liked you even when you were an idiot."

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