Nothing had changed. Nothing important, anyway. In just a few days she’d go back to Texas and tell Harold she’d marry him. She’d get her life under control, take care of her business and her father. She had a plan, dammit. A good plan. A solid plan.
She was already confused as hell about her feelings for her anonymous Michael. The last thing in the world she needed was to fall in love with Tony Moretti.
* * *
TONY MOVEDon autopilot, his concentration intense as he ignored the pain and focused simply on getting them back to the island. Only when he’d reached the dock and secured the mooring lines off did he let the full impact of what he’d done register.Idiot! Damn him to hell, he’d been an arrogant, pathetic son of a bitch.
He should have known better than to take the boat out with his back—hedidknow better. But he’d ignored his common sense and they’d almost been dragged onto the reef.
He’d wrenched the hell out of his back trying to pull up the anchor. If he hadn’t been able to fight his way past the red surge of pain…if Kyra hadn’t been cool enough to remember how to maneuver the engine to give him some slack…
But dammit, he shouldn’t have put her in danger in the first place. Shouldn’t have lied about his abilitiesjust to impress her. He should have told her the truth and let someone else take her sailing.
What if the storm had been worse? What if—
Bile rose in his throat, and he lurched forward, almost losing the contents of his stomach.
He could have killed them—could have killed her. And all because he wanted to prove that he was as whole as any other man. That he was as whole as she thought Michael was.
But he wasn’t whole, and he never would be.
He clenched his fists, furious at life, at his predicament, at everything—but mostly furious at himself for putting her at risk, this woman that he’d come to care for more than anything or anyone he’d known before.
And he remembered how she’d backed away, her eyes wide and mortified, instead of kissing him.
“Tony?” she said. “Are you okay?”
He looked at her, saw the worry reflected in her soft gray eyes.
No, he wasn’t okay. He hadn’t been okay for almost a year. And it was about damn time he came to grips with that. About damn time he accepted his fate and got on with his life.
