Page 26 of Forged in Secrets

For the first time possibly ever, she could imagine what it was like to be shy or socially anxious, wondering how every word you said might be perceived. This moment was too precious and too fragile to risk.

It had taken her several minutes just to work up the nerve to take her flip-flops off, because it necessitated letting go of his hand. She’d been scared he wouldn’t reach for her again, that he’d come to his senses and see that he didn’t like her, after all.

Instead, he’d pulled off his own shoes and sunk his pale feet into the sand alongside her. She’d watched as the water found his larger footprints, filling them and then washing them away with each step they took.

And though he still barely met her eyes, he took her hand again, and he hadn’t let go.

BEN

Ben focused on putting one foot in front of the other. He wasn’t sure his brain was working well enough to do anything else.

Every few minutes, Grace would look up at him, her blue eyes sparkling with happiness, and a mixture of longing and guilt sent his heart racing anew.

He was in great shape, so why was his heart poundingso hard? Why did he feel like he’d just run twenty miles when she readjusted her hand in his?

As far as he could remember, he hadn’t walked barefoot on a beach since he was about six years old. Even then, as his brothers playfully fought and tracked sand onto their towels, he hadn’t been so sure how he felt about the messiness of the place.

But here, now, with her?

He’d let her dig a hole and bury him up to his neck. He’d let the sand get in his hair and the taste of saltwater kiss his lips.

He felt his cheeks burning at the very thought of what it would be like to lean over and kiss her right now. She’d let him. He was pretty sure she’d like it, and certain he would, but that didn’t make it a wise thing to do.

None of this was.

It wasn’t fair to a good woman who deserved a whole lot better.

“Hey, check that out,” he said. He pointed at a yacht that was anchored out in the water, glad for the excuse to let go of her hand.

There were too many problems to solve when it came to him and Grace Hinton. And so long as his skin was touching hers, there was zero chance of thinking them through logically.

“Whoa,” Grace said, her gaze following his gesture.

He expected her to keep walking, but instead she stopped short, squinting as she eyed the large watercraft. He waited, listening as what he assumed was another popular club hit began blaring from across the beach.

He glanced down at the fitness tracking watch he always wore. They didn’t have long before they were due to meet Jade.

“It’s getting late,” he said, raising his watch as though she’d be able to read the tiny screen from where she stood.

“Sorry,” Grace said, giving a little laugh as she turned to face him. “It’s just not every day that you see a yacht this big. Or this fancy.”

“Oh. Right.”

Truth was, he knew less than nothing about yachts. Though he and Grace both came from wealthy families, his father wasn’t exactly the yacht club type. Or the golf club, for that matter. Gabriel Forge Sr. only felt at home when he could get his hands dirty.

“It’s from the Excalibur Platinum line by Santucci,” Grace mused, knitting her brows together. “An X-Series superyacht, if I had to guess.”

Ben stared at her for several seconds in bafflement before looking down at his watch again.

“I’ll, uh, take your word for it,” he said. “Seriously, though, I have a feeling Jade isn’t the type who will appreciate being kept waiting.”

“Don’t you think it’s weird?”

“What?”

Grace rolled her eyes at him.

“It’s like three times the size of everything else on the water, and they have all of their lights off. I guess I just wonder what kind of hotshot owns it.”

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