Forever.
The same thought he couldn’t shake in the cave slammed into him and he took a step back. He loved her. The realization took the wind from him. He was in love with a pirate.
An ex-pirate. His heart gave a hopeful beat. Could it work? He curled his fingers into a fist.No.
Not after everything that had happened. Not after their family secrets had been revealed. Not after he’d so callously ruined her dreams.
Slender fingers clenched and Red’s smile disappeared. He should turn around. Leave her be.
Instead, he started forward. He approached with quiet steps and stopped when the scent of lemons filled his nose. So close, he could touch her if he reached out. He clasped his hands behind his back.
“Miss Warstein.”
Her eyes snapped open, blue and green hues swirling in the sunlight. They narrowed briefly and she spun and walked away.
Let her go.
He bent and picked up her glove, brushing away a speck of dirt from the white satin. She made it to the end of the dock and sat on a crate, crossing her arms and staring out over the water at the salt marshes of Hutchinson Island.
He glanced at the glove and back to her. Leaving it hanging on the railing would be wisest. A faint breeze pressed at him and he closed his hand around the soft fabric. Walk over. Drop it next to her. Retreat.
A sound plan.
When the glove rested on the crate next to her, he pivoted. Where to now? Planter’s Tavern, a block from the waterfront, should be open. Isaac would find him there.
“Lieutenant?”
He froze, the soft whisper echoing in his head. His heart pounded against his ribs as he turned back.
“Are you . . . alright?”
He tensed at the repeat of Isaac’s words from earlier. How could he answer that? His father was about to hang. At his hands.
She patted the spot next to her. “Join me?”
Alarm bells went off in his head. He should not have come out to the docks. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to walk away. With a sigh, he stepped over and sat.
“You didn’t know who he was until he called you up that first night on his ship.”
A statement, not a question. God, he was not ready to have this conversation. Especially not with her.
“I didn’t know.”
She nodded. “You held yourself together well.”
“I had no choice. I was there to save you—had to focus on trying to get us out of there.”
Her bottom lip pulled between her teeth. “I’m sorry.”
It could mean so many things. And suddenly, he had to know.
“For?”
She twisted the glove between her fingers. “That my uncle sent you after me. If he hadn’t, you might have never found out.”
“Why did he send me after you? He was perfectly capable of retrieving you himself. In the end, it was his crew that saved the day.”
Her hands stilled. “I don’t know.”
