“Liar.”
His lips quirked. Almost a smile. “I’m nervous.”
“I know.”
Silence fell again. The ocean filled it, waves crashing against rocks somewhere below the road, constant and soothing.
But his breathing had changed. Shallow. Too controlled.
“What if she’s angry?” The question came out quiet. Vulnerable in a way he rarely let himself be.
I squeezed his fingers. “She won’t be. None of this was your fault, love.”
“I was dead to her for so long, Clare. Just thinking I was gone, then finding out I was alive but broken, then...” He stopped. Jaw working. “I don’t know what to say to her.”
“Start with ‘I’m sorry.” I shifted in my seat to face him better. “Then go from there.”
His throat bobbed. He didn’t respond.
The cabana appeared around the next bend.
Small structure perched at the edge of the beach, weathered wood that had survived decades of salt air and tropical storms.Surrounded by palms that provided shade without blocking the ocean view. Waves lapped at white sand twenty yards from the front door.
Exactly the kind of place someone would hide if they needed the world to forget they existed.
His knuckles went white on the steering wheel.
I touched his arm. “Hey. Breathe.”
He did. One long, shaking inhale. Then pulled the car to a stop beside a beaten truck that had seen better years.
We sat there for a moment. Engine ticking as it cooled. Ocean breeze carrying the scent of salt and heat through the open windows.
“I don’t know what to say to her,” he repeated. Quieter this time. Lost.
I leaned over the center console, cupping his face with both palms. Made him look at me.
“You say you love her. You say you’re here now.” I brushed my thumb across his cheekbone. “The rest will come.”
His eyes searched mine. Looking for certainty I wasn’t sure I could give.
But I held his gaze. Steady. Present.
Finally, he nodded.
We got out of the car.
Sand shifted under my feet, warm and yielding. The humidity was intense, that wet, pressing thickness that made breathing feel like work. But after weeks of freezing, I welcomed it.
He came to my side, fingers finding mine automatically.
We walked toward the cabana together.
The door opened before we reached it.
A man stepped out first.
Tall. Intimidating. Built like someone who’d spent years learning to hunt people efficiently. Dark blue eyes tracked us with intensity, assessing threats even here in paradise.
