“Nothing’s on my mind,” Libby said breezily.“I was, uh, just thinking how nice it would be to stroll along the beach at night.”
“Go, have a walk, then.I’ll stay with Karim.”
Leave her baby?“Oh, no, no, it’s okay.”
“But he’s sleeping now,” Carina said.“He’ll be okay for twenty minutes while you paddle your feet in the sea.”
At that moment, Dan and Malek returned.Malek handed Carina another mocktail.
“Are you sure you don’t want one?”Dan asked Libby.
She shook her head.“Thanks, but I’d better put Karim to bed.”
“Oh, lovie, go for your moonlit beach walk first,” Carina said.“You and Dan head off, and we’ll sit with Karim while we have our drinks.”
“But it’s late, and—”
“When will you get the chance again?”Carina said softly.“If Karim wakes, I’ll cuddle him, and Malek will find you.”
Dan’s gaze heated the side of her face.“Shall we, Libby?”
“Ah…” She glanced at Karim.He was in a deep sleep, and he’d be safe here with Carina, another mother—a grandmother, even—who was a lovely, kind, gentle person.Saying no would sound churlish, and at least she’d finally get to speak to Dan again alone.Though she hadn’t expected to be so nervous about doing so.“All right, Carina, if you really don’t mind.”Libby stood.“We’ll be back in ten minutes.”
Alongwithherchild,Libby also left her shoes with Dan’s mom.Without the sunshine, the coarse sand was so much cooler now around her bare feet.The lagoon was dark, the ocean black, and now that they were away from the music and chatter of the restaurant, the pounding waves against the reef grew louder.
“Ten minutes?”Dan said beside her, and Libby bristled at the hint of amusement in his voice.
“I wasn’t implying that we do it on the beach like a couple of randy teenagers.”
“Neither was I.”Amusement disappeared.“I just meant that we could stay out longer.My mum won’t mind watching Karim, and we haven’t had much of a chance to talk since this morning.It’s been quite a day, Libby,” he said.
“Are you upset that I didn’t tell you aboutHot Gossipsooner?”
“A little.”His lips pressed into a firm line as his gaze remained fixed on the outer reef.“But I think I’m mainly surprised that someone like you worked for a place like that.”
“I was fresh out of college and ambitious.”
“I get that.”Dan stepped in front of her and stopped her from walking.She bumped into him, so close she could hear his intake of breath.“Libby, about… I know, I…” His lips pursed together, trapping his words inside, and before she could ask him to continue, he cupped her face and kissed her, slow and lazy, like they had all the time in the world.A million memories of the past two nights in his bed burst into her mind.Dan, naked and hard between her thighs, feasting on her breasts.His tongue gently exploring hers, just like it was now.Sweet yet spicy.Hot yet tender.She was free-falling to earth yet weightless.So many contrasts.So much contradiction.She’d been in love before, but it had never been frightening and unnerving like this.
Listen to your gut, not your heart.
She wasn’t a naïve, fanciful teenager anymore.She had responsibilities.She had Karim.She was the boss of her own life.
What the hell was she doing?Standing here, ankle deep in the lagoon, on a deserted beach, leaving her child in a restaurant full of strangers…to kiss a man she’d only known for a month?A man who could lie so easily and who was, quite possibly, still in love with his ex.
Yanking herself out of Dan’s arms, Libby stepped back.
“I can’t do this,” she cried.She wasn’t thinking straight.She needed to clear her head.“I’ve got to go.”
“What?Libby?Wait!”Dan was by her side in an instant.“What happened?”
“You happened!”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“That I made a mistake.”She marched on toward the lights.“We can’t be friends and have sex.It’s just not possible.I’m not behaving like myself.This isn’t who I am.I never, ever leave Karim, and here I am, walking the beach at night without him.Anything can happen.”
Dan’s hand caught hers.“Libby, he’s asleep and with my mum.”
