I need you to trust me."
"Gennie." He took her hand and linked fingers. "I do.That's what I've been trying to tell you."
"You haven't been doing a good job of it."
"No." He drew her closer. "Let me try again." He kissed her, telling himself to be gentle and easy with her. But his arms locked and tightened, his mouth hungered. The spray shimmered over both of them as they stood entangled.
It's a fine thing for a man and a woman to have a common interest," Daniel began in a pontificating voice. "Makes a strong marriage."
"I can't tell you how many times Daniel's assisted me in surgery," Anna put in mildly.
He huffed. "I've washed a few bloody knees in my time with these three."
"And there was the time Rena broke Alan's nose," Caine put in.
"It was supoosed to be yours," his sister reminded him.
"That didn't make it hurt any less." Alan shifted his eyes to his sister while his wife snorted unsympathetically.
"Why did Rena break Alan's nose instead of yours?" Diana wanted to know.
"I ducked," Caine told her.
This is perfect!" Gennie shouted over the motor as Grant's boat cut through the sea. "It feels like we could go all the way to Europe."
He laughed and ruffled her wind-tossed hair. "If you'd mentioned it before, I'd have put in a full tank of gas."
"Oh, don't be pracitcal-imagine it," she insisted. "We could be at sea for days and days."
"And nights." He bent over to catch the lobe of her ear between his teeth. "Full-mooned, shark-infested nights."
She gave a low laugh and slid her hands up his chest. "Who'll protect whom?"
"We Scots are too tough.Sharks probably prefer more tender-" his tongue dipped into her ear "-French delicacies.
Hey,man,got a problem?"
"Veronica left me."
Ivan crossed one leg over the other and was obviously jiggling his foot. "Oh,yeah? For some other guy, huh?"
"No."
"How come?"
Macintosh never altered positions, and the very absence of action made the point. "Because I was selfish, rude, arrogant,dishonest, stupid and generally nasty."
Ivan considered the toe of his boot. "Is that all?"
"Yeah."
"Women," Ivan said with a shrug. "Never satisfied."
Gennie read the strip twice, then looked up helplessly.
Without a word,Serena took the paper from her hand and read it herself. She chuckled once, then set it back down.
"Want me to help you pack?
Where the hell was she? Grant knew he'd go mad if he asked himself the question one more time.
Where the hell was she?
From the lookout deck of his lighthouse he could see for miles. But he couldn't see Gennie.The wind slapped at his face as he stared out to sea and wondered what in God's name he was going to do.
Forget her? He might occasionally forget to eat or to sleep,but he couldn't forget Gennie. Unfortunately, his memory was just as clear on the last ten minutes they had been together. How could he have been such a fool! Oh,it was easy,Grant thought in disgust.He'd had lots of practice.
Traveling,he thought.Yes, she was traveling-away from him just as fast as she could.Oh,you deserve it, Campbell, he berated himself. You deserve to have her skip out of your life without a backward glance.
Nora RobertsIt means what it says," he managed, staring at her again. "There's not a lot of subtlety in this particular strip."
She took the paper back from him and stuck it in her pocket. It was something she intended to keep forever. "You've used me rather lavishly in your work recently." She had to tilt back her head in order to keep her eyes level with his. Grant thought she looked more regal than ever. If she turned her thumb down, she could throw him to the lions. "Didn't it occur to you to ask permission first?"
"Artist's privilage." He felt the light spray hit his back, saw it dampen her hair. "Where the hell did you go?" he heard himself demand. "Where the hell have you been?"
Her eyes narrowed. "That's my business, isn't it?"
"Oh,no." He grabbed her arms and shook. "Oh,no,it's not.You're not going to walk out on me."
Gennie set her teeth and waited until he'd stopped shaking her. "If memory serves,you did the walking figuratively before I did it literally."
"All right! I acted like an idiot. You want an apology?" he shouted at her. "I'll give you any kind you want. I'll-" He broke off, his breath heaving. "Oh,God,first."
And his mouth crushed down on hers, his fingers digging into her shoulders. The groan that was wrenched from him was only one more sign of a desperate need. She was here,she was his.He'd never let her go again.
I'm used to keeping things to myself, it's habit.And then...And then I kept things from you because the harder I fell in love with you,the more terrified I was. Look,damn it, I didn't want to depend on anyone for-" He broke off to drag a hand through his hair.
"For what?"
"For being there when I needed them," he said on a long breath.
You're the whole focus of my world," he murmured. "After you left, I went crazy.I flew down to New Orleans, and-"
"You did?" Stunned,she drew back to look at him. "You went after me?"
"With various purposes in mind," he muttered. "First,I was going to strangle you,then I was going to crawl, then I was going to just drag you back and lock you upstairs."
Smiling,she rested her head on his chest. "And now?"
"Now." He kissed her hair. "We compromise. I'll let you live."
"Good start." With a sigh,she closed her eyes. "I want to watch the sea in winter."
He tilted her face to his. "We will."
"There is something else..."
"Before or after I make love to you?"
Laughing,she pulled away from him. "It better be before.Since you haven't mentioned marriage yet,it falls to me."
"Gennie-"
"No,this is one time we'll do it all my way." She draw out the coin Serena had given her before she'd lef the Comanche. "And,in a way,it's a kind of compromise.Heads,we get married. Tails we don't."
Grant grabbed her wrist before she could toss. "You're not going to play games with something like that, Genvieve, unless that's a two-headed coin."
She smiled. "It certainly is."
Surprise came first,then his grin. "Toss it.I like the odds.
Somethings in life are out of your control. you can make it a party or a tragedy. Or, you could refuse to take the next step. You could refuse to take what you wanted most because you're afraid some day you might lose it.
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