She had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling, overcome with tenderness and affection. He was trying. Despite his own obvious reluctance, he was making an effort to talk for her sake. Which meant she could let it go—for now—for his.
His willingness was everything. Nothing he could say showed his heart more clearly. Except...
“Jack, are you sure this is what you want?”That I am what you want?
“I’m sure. Renee can’t offer me anything but the past. My present is here.” He cradled her face in his hands. “With you.”
Her nose and eyes stung. That was so sweet. More than she had any right to ask for.
And not nearly enough. What kind of future did they have, with him here and her in Chicago?
“Long-distance relationships take work,” she warned. “Commitment. Compromise.”
“‘Compromise is always a good idea. Especially if it gets you what you want.’”
It took her a moment to recognize her words from their very first meeting. “I can’t believe you remember that.”
His gaze met hers. “I remember every word you ever said to me. Including that you love me.”
He robbed her of breath. “Idolove you. But...”
Give me something to hold on to. An excuse to stay. A reason to come back. Tell me you love me.
“You can’t give up everything you are, everything you’ve worked for, to be with me,” he finished for her. “I know.”
Of course he knew. Or thought he did. Because he hadn’t been willing to leave Dare Island. Not for the woman he’d been married to for ten years. Not for the family he’d loved and left.
Certainly not for her.
He liked it here, liked being police chief of a small town in coastal Carolina, serving the people, getting to know them, making a difference in their lives. Part of a population that shifted and renewed itself like the island shifted and was renewed by the tides.
She wasn’t sure of her words or her next move. “I’m not leavingyou.”
“I get that. You’re moving on with your life.”
Without you. The realization ripped her heart.
“No, I meant...”Live in the moment. Don’t take the good times for granted. Because in a blink, in a heartbeat, in the space of a phone call or a man bursting in at the door, everything could change.
My present is here. With you.
She slid her arm over his chest, holding on to as much of him as she could. “I’m still here. Now.”
She snuggled close, hitching her leg over his thigh, and kissed the underside of his jaw.
He shivered, his hands flowing over her, her back, her arm, the side of her breast. “You sure you’re up for this, sweetheart?”
She bit his shoulder lightly, savoring the hot pressure against her thigh.Think positive.“I’m sure you are.”
He slanted a smile down at her. “Using sex as a diversionary tactic?”
He really did remember every word.
“Do you have a problem with that?”
“Hell, no,” he said and kissed her.
He touched her until she was damp and trembling, until he groaned with need. Because of her head injury, she had to be on top. She crawled over him, shaking, straddling his warm, firm body, claiming him, taking him, making him hers. He let her set the pace, rocking, rocking to the pulse of her body, the rhythm of her heart.
