“Only twice?” She blinked in fake affront.
“Fine.” He sighed. “Three times.”
“That’s better.” She sniffed. Then she stopped her teasing to ask, “Your first kid, huh? Does that mean you and Rosa have discussed what happens after you’re released from the hospital?”
He glanced at the clock on the wall and nodded. “We’re going to do the long-distance thing until she can sell her house in Tallahassee.”
Chrissy felt her eyebrows climb up her forehead. “Wow? She’s giving up her life and career just like that?”
“I offered to move up there.” At Chrissy’s look of astonishment, he added, “I know. Can you imagine? Me? A mainlander? But I tell you, if she’d asked me to live with her on Mars, I would have. Having lost her once, I never want to lose her again.”
Chrissy sighed and batted her lashes. “Ah,amore.Such a wonderful sight to see.”
Winston didn’t join in her joking. “I do love her, Chrissy. More than I even remembered.”
“I know, Winston.” She smiled at him. “I couldn’t be happier for you both. I like her. She’s smart and sweet and she doesn’t take any of your shit.”
“Admit it. It’s that last thing you likebest.”
She hitched her shoulder, happy she could do that now without wincing. She’d gotten her stitches out two days prior. As Wolf had promised, the scar was minimal.
Wolf…
The thought of him brought a fresh wave of heartache.
To distract herself, she asked Winston, “So what’s the plan after she moves down here? Shotgun wedding?”
“I mean, ifIhave anything to say about it, yes.” Winston shot her a knowing grin. “But no, seriously, she’s going to open her own accounting firm. She’s gone about as high as she can in her current position, and she’s been contemplating venturing out on her own for a while. She has a few clients who will follow her wherever she goes. And heaven knows, there are plenty of fisherman, guides, and bar owners who need a good accountant.”
“Wow. You guys have it all figured out.” She tapped her chin in consideration. “Maybe I missed my calling. Maybe I should’ve gone into the matchmaking business.”
He glanced at the clock again and snorted. “Please. Who would hire you after the mess you’ve made of your own love life?”
“Excuseme?”
“You told a tall, dark, Navy frickin’ SEAL to hit the road. A guy who looks at you like you’re the best thing in the whole wide world. A guy who confessed he’s fallen head over heels in love with you and is game to settle down and have four rowdy curtain climbers. Not to mention, he saved your life countless times. Oh, and by the few hints you’ve given, he must be pretty good at bedroom sports. Anyway, you gavehimthe ax? Who does that?”
Chrissy blinked, momentarily discombobulated. When it was laid out like that, it made her sound crazy. “Wait. No.” She shook her head and frowned. “I told you he onlythinkshe’s fallen in love with me and wants to settle down. He’s far too—”
“Let me stop you right there.” Winston lifted a hand, bringing her up short. “For months you were keeping him at arm’s length because, after that fiasco at Schooner Wharf Bar, you said he was a player, not someone interested in anything serious. Then he explains what happened and you realize heisn’ta player and that heisinterested in something serious, so now you’ve gone and convinced yourself that what? That his feelings won’t last? That he doesn’t know his own mind?”
“Idoknow him. He’s like my dad. A guy who—”
“I would’ve thought after what happened with Jill you’d realize none of us trulyknowanyone.”
Hearing the traitor’s name made Chrissy’s blood pressure spike. But she took a deep breath. “I know you like Wolf, Winston. I like him too. But I watched my mom—”
“Nope.” Winston sliced a hand through the air. “Let me stop you again. You know I loved Josephine, right?” Chrissy nodded and he continued, “But she couldn’t have picked a winner if he’d been handed to her on a silver platter. That woman had absolutelyterribletaste in men. The more damaged they were, the more she liked them. And you know I love you too, right?”
Again, Chrissy nodded. But this time it was hesitant. She wasn’t sure she liked where he was headed.
“But I’m telling you right now you’ve been so caught up in not making your mother’s mistakes that you’re making a whole bunch of new and different ones all on your own.” He glanced at the clock again before adding, “Don’t sacrifice your future because of your mother’s past, Chrissy. You are not your mother. And Wolf is not your father.”
She opened her mouth, but he pressed on. “Take it from someone who let love slip through his fingers and who was knocking at death’s doorstep a couple of weeks ago. When all is said and done, we only regret the chances we didn’t take, the love we were afraid to feel, and the ones we let slip away.”
When he looked at the clock for what felt like the bazillionth time, she demanded, “Are you waiting for something?”
“Someone,” he clarified. The look in his eyes had apprehension crawling up her spine.
