Then she began replaying what he’d said about Swiss Family Robinson.

And that had an even deeper effect on her. Something that turned deep inside her and made her feel something in her chest.

She liked that even less.

The kiss was safer.

She got out of the tub hastily, wrapping herself in a towel and exiting into the bedroom. It was then she realized that Isabella was crying. Panic slammed against her, and she began moving around frantically looking for her clothing, but before she could, the bedroom door swung open and Dante appeared, cradling her in his arms.

Min just stood there, clutching the towel to her chest. “I was on my way,” she said.

“I don’t know what to do with the baby,” he said, his tone accusing. “Take her.”

She wasn’t thinking clearly, and she reached out, taking Isabella into her arms, in spite of the fact that she was only barely wrapped in a towel. “I should’ve gotten dressed first,” she said.

Dante paused, and looked at her, his dark eyes seeming to slowly register the scene in front of him.

“Neither thing is my problem. Handle it.”

And with that he turned and walked out of the room, and she wondered where the caring man had gone who had told her about Swiss Family Robinson. Even the man who had issued death threats to the one who had indicated he might cause her harm was better than this one.

She didn’t know why he was angry with her.

It was like he wasn’t capable of holding a baby for a moment.

She sighed heavily and went over to the diaper bag in the corner of the room, hunting around for a pacifier. She popped one in Isabella’s mouth, then took a blanket and spread it out as best she could with one free hand before setting her on the floor.

“I’m just going to get dressed,” she said, keeping one eye on her the entire time. After that she saw her safely soothed, but she found that she could not soothe herself.

She was going to be stuck here with Dante for the foreseeable future. And she truly didn’t know how she was going to survive.

She might be physically safe with him, but she didn’t know what was happening inside her.

Didn’t know what was happening inside him.

And like it or not, something about the vows that they had spoken had affected her. Had changed something in her.

What was a person to do when she found herself angrily married to her older brother’s best friend and stranded on his private island?

You know what one of your heroines would do...

Minerva blinked, and pushed that thought aside.

It didn’t matter what one of her heroines would do.

No matter what her dreams had been, she wasn’t one of them. She never had been. And she never could be.