She was trying to atone for her mistakes. Wasn't that what God wanted her to do?Oh, dear God, could you just spell it out for me? Please?
A to-go cup with 'Island Coffee' written on the side appeared in front of her. She flinched.
"Sorry," Knox said. "Didn't mean to startle you. You okay?"
She straightened and wrapped her hand around the cup. "Yeah, of course. I was just watching the ocean. Maybe letting my thoughts drift."
An incredibly handsome smile crawled across his face.Oh, why does this man have to be so good-looking? His attractiveness is really not helping me today.
Both eyebrows raised as he sat down across from her. "What? What were you thinking just now?"
Oh good grief. She needed to school her expression. "Nothing." She shrugged. "Thanks for the coffee."
He grimaced. "I hope they got it right. I told the barista what you said, 'nonfat caramel latte,' right?"
"Yes."
He pointed at her cup. "That's what I told her. But she said, 'that's the same as The Sweet Beach.' Whatever that is. It was so loud in there I couldn't hear anything else she said. So, I just nodded."
Allie grinned. "I'm sure it's fine. Thanks for braving the crowd down there." She nodded toward the ocean view. "It's so much nicer up here."
"Yeah." Knox nodded. "Don't tell anybody. It's relaxing up here. Let's keep it that way."
"Agreed."
He took a sip of his drink and angled his gaze toward the clear Caribbean waves for a minute. When he turned back to her, his eyes were serious. "I'm sorry I yelled earlier. Again."
"Knox, you don't—"
He cocked his head, his eyes full of patience. "Please, let me finish."
"Okay."
"I got mad because I care about you so much. And I'm frustrated. But that's not an excuse." He let go of his coffee, placed both palms face down on the table, and leaned in. "I still care about you. But . . . I don't know what else to say and I'm tired of arguing. I don't want to fight with you." His expression filled with that unique Knox-tenderness that stole her breath when they first met. "Will you promise me one thing? Then, we'll table this for a while."
She felt herself nod. But she didn't trust herself to speak.
The corners of his mouth ticked up. "Please promise you'll pray about this. Everything you think and feel about what happened has you twisted in knots. I can see that. I wanted to help but," he flicked his glance to the sky, "I think you should seek wiser counsel." He slid a hand over hers, gave a light squeeze, and let go. "I'm praying for you. And for us." He leaned back and cleared his throat. "Okay?"
"Okay." It came out as a whisper, but he heard her.
He took another sip of his coffee. "Mind if we talk about work for a minute?"
Oh, yes please. Otherwise I'm going to start crying."Sure. What's on your mind?"
His eyebrows lowered. "I thought we got lucky. About the trackers on the ATVs. But now I'm thinking it's just too convenient."
"You think Rafael knew we were talking to Henrik so he came in to bait us?"
He sighed. "I don't know. But if he wanted us to follow him into a remote part of the island tomorrow, he baited us well."
Allie pondered that. "You might be right. It did play out perfectly for us."
"Or I might be paranoid."
"You have good instincts. It could be a trap. But it wouldn't hurt to follow them with the other drone. We wouldn't have to follow in person."
Knox grinned. "True. The most they could do is shoot down the drone. Rowan would love that."
