Then the shots rang out.
“Duck!” he yelled.
Tempest and her sisters bent over, their heads practically between their knees as Rhys rowed further into the sea, exposed and risking his life for them.
He cursed once, but when the boat did not slow, she did not look up. Only when the gunfire grew distant with the voices did she sit up and notice the blood on his arm.
“You were shot.”
“I promise to let you be the one to pour rum in it and stitch it for me.”
“It is only fair,” she smiled. “But you left all your rum on the island.”
“I knew we left too quickly.” He then leaned forward and placed a hand behind her head and kissed her. It wasn’t the thorough kiss he had promised but it was unforgettable.
When he pulled away, she narrowed her eyes on him. “Have you forgotten that my sisters are here.”
“No, and why there will be more later,” he whispered.
“How do you know that I will allow you to kiss me again?”
“Because you are going to marry me.”
Tempest straightened, shocked and thrilled at his words.
“I am?”
“Yes, because I love you and you love me.”
“You are so certain, are you?”
He grinned. “Very.”
“Well, then, I suppose I would say yes, if you were to ask.”
Rhys only chuckled and rowed them further out to sea.
“I hope we do not get run over by the Royal Navy before we repeat the vows,” she said after a moment. It was a new moon with very little reflective light.
“No worries. We have this.” Margaret lifted a torch. “I put it in the boat after we turned it over and tested it for not sinking.”
“You were not to leave the hut,” Tempest chastised.
“We wanted to be prepared,” Nicoll explained.
“And I am glad that you were,” Rhys said. “Did you happen to also bring a flint?”
Margaret only grinned then lit the torch.
“Well, if there are any ships out here, they will at least see us.”
“And then you can propose to me properly.” Her words may have been a reprimand, but Tempest could not stop smiling.
He loved her. She loved him.
“I promise that will be the first thing that I do.” He picked up her hand and kissed the back. “Or the second. I did promise you one thing once we were off that island.”
She leaned forward to whisper. “You already kissed me.”
