“You don’t know that.”
“I’ve told you how I felt about you back then. Maybe it’s time you told me how you felt.”
Until recently, she’d never revealed the extent of her feelings for him to anyone.
Her grandmother probably suspected. But that didn’t mean she was ready to share how she’d felt with anyone else. Especially not Seth.
He eased her closer. “All right, let’s try this a different way. In the ten years since we broke up, have you been serious about anyone else?”
“Why does that matter? There’s nothing there, Seth. Whatever we had was gone.” The flutter of her heart and the ache behind her ribs told her she was lying, but she wasn’t ready to tell him that. And maybe she never would be.
There was sharing, and then there was exposing. There was a difference.
To admit to him that she still had feelings, strong feelings, would be exposing. And her instinct to protect herself was more powerful than her desire to share.
“You’ve already told me more than you ever have before. For example I didn’t know your mom was pregnant when she got married. That explains a few things about the way you acted back then. Why you jumped to the conclusions you did. It shows me how much I didn’t understand. That’s going to be different this time.”
This time?
She pulled back reluctantly. “Why would you want to put yourself through this again? I’m trouble, Seth.”
“I know.” He gave a soft laugh. “It’s one of the things I like most about you.”
“My father would—”
“No.” He covered her lips with his fingers, his eyes darkening. “What your father thinks about anything has no relevance to us. Not ever.”
“It’s not just my father. Your sister warned you about me.”
“Then it’s a good thing I never listen to my sister.” He took her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. “The only two people who matter are the two people in this relationship. That’s us. I can be patient. I can wait while you learn to trust that I’ll be careful with your feelings, but don’t ever let anyone else influence how you feel about us. There’s no one else.”
No one else.
He meant it. He really meant it.
And she was tempted. So very tempted.
How many times had she lain in bed under the protective curtain of darkness, wondering what would have happened if she hadn’t got pregnant that night? How many times had she wished for a chance to find out?
He was giving her that chance.
She thought about how hurt she’d been last time. If it all went wrong, could she survive it again?
* * *
“I HAVE SOMETHING to tell you.” Fliss lay on her bed in the attic, listening to the sound of the ocean through the open window as she talked to Harriet on the phone.
“Now I’m nervous. I’ve barely heard from you in the last couple of weeks, and whenever I don’t hear from you I get a bad feeling. It usually means you’re hiding something from me. Is Grams okay?”
“She’s good. Her friends are around here the whole time. It’s busier than Times Square in July.”
“She said you’d been busy, too.”
“Walking dogs.” Seeing Seth.
Yesterday they’d gone surfing on the beach. The day before that they’d spent the evening at the Beach Hut, eating lobster dripping with butter.
Just the two of them. Alone. She ricocheted between terror and delicious excitement.