Temptation on Ocean Drive - Jennifer Probst Page 0,73
defend me.”
“No, I was just mentioning how you may have had a date when you said no to dinner, and he said it’s been a long time for you. I told them about what was said with Marlaine, and he set me straight. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.”
Relief and a sense of justice settled, but it changed nothing. “I’m glad you realize I wasn’t trying to sneak a relationship with you in amidst my multiple affairs,” he said dryly. “But I guess it doesn’t matter anymore.”
“I guess not.” Her voice held a touch of regret, but he refused to go there. “You’re dating now, though?”
He stiffened. Then regarded her with a frown. “Why do you ask?”
She shrugged. “I saw you at Iron Pier with Devon. I was going to pick up food.”
Suddenly, the air sparked with a simmering energy. She was fishing, and it’d be best to close up the topic and head back to his room. Keep things safe. He was moving on and couldn’t deal with this constant push/pull of his emotions any longer.
He kept to the truth. “It’s been a long time since I wanted to date, Bella. Now that you made your choice, I decided to open myself back up. So, yeah, I had a date with Devon. Maybe we’ll go out again.”
She nodded. Her fingers twisted in her lap, making her look heartbreakingly fragile. “That’s good. You guys dated before, right?”
“We did, when I first got into town. But I’m sure you don’t want to discuss my personal life. We agreed it’d be best to keep things professional.”
She flinched, and he regretted his sharp tone. God, the want for her was still there, tearing at his insides, and he couldn’t pretend to be cool enough to talk about his possible future lovers with her. Not at this point. Probably not ever.
“You’re right,” she said softly. “It’s just that I’ve been thinking a lot since then, and realized I may have . . . well, I may have . . .” She trailed off, staring down at her trembling fingers.
His muscles tightened, as if he were a predator who’d just scented danger. Or prey. “May have what?”
She kept her gaze on her lap. “May have made a mistake.”
Her words hit like a sucker punch. His lungs lost air, and it took a moment to realize she was on the verge of telling him something big. Something that could change everything.
His head told him to get out of the room before it was too late. He’d made a promise not to chase her any longer, to move on and find a life for himself.
His heart screamed for him to stay.
Following his instinct, he got up and knelt at the side of her chair. The air between them thickened and pulsed with unspoken want. He studied her profile—the graceful curve of her neck, the natural pout to her lips, the patrician nose as proud as she was. Her hands were now clasped together, the long, tapered fingers with peach-tipped nails seemingly delicate, but he knew the strength hidden beneath. At first sight, Bella Sunshine-Caldwell was a willowy, blonde Goldilocks figure, a woman who reflected a quiet, peaceful aura—a serenely smiling single mother and professional businesswoman who never went off course.
But it was the woman who had sobbed in his arms and told of her broken heart that was the most real. The woman who had fiercely protected him from a stranger’s advances and refused to back down. The woman who shyly stared down at her hands, afraid to look at him and admit the truth they’d both been fighting.
“Bella, you need to look at me.”
Slowly, her chin tipped up. He captured her gaze, holding it while he delved deep and saw the raw hunger in her blue-ocean depths, the naked want carved out in her features. He sucked in a breath, stunned at the intensity of emotion he found there.
His voice deepened. “I need to know: Why do you think you made a mistake?”
This time, she didn’t hesitate. “Because I convinced myself you couldn’t be the man I wanted. It was easier to push you away, believe the gossip, keep things the same between us. I got scared.”
He could accept that. But he wasn’t about to blow things up and risk his heart until she took her own risk. “And now? How do you feel now?”
A shudder shook through her. “I miss you. The way things were between us. When I saw you with Devon, I—” She