Did she regret saying she loved him? Did she just say it before because she thought she was dying?
She slipped off the bed. “There it is again. Listen, if you’re irritated with me, you don’t have to take care of me. My grandmother wanted to take me back to England.”
Panic had him striding to the bed. “No.”
She gave him a long blink. “Excuse me?”
“You can’t leave.”
“I think I can do whatever the hell I want.”
He opened his mouth as he tried to order her to stay. She was irritated, but beneath that, he sensed pain.
Ian sighed. “I’m sorry I didn’t protect you better.”
Her eyes widened. “Do you think that’s why I want to leave?”
“You want to leave?”
“No. I want to stay in Hawai’i, but you don’t have to have anything to do with that.”
“What the bloody hell does that mean?”
She sighed and wrapped her arms around her waist. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Well, too damned bad.”
“It’s embarrassing, okay. I know you feel obligated to take care of me.”
“You’re damned right I do.”
“See! Listen, I can call Stryker and get a flight out of here, or I’m sure my grandmother will come get me.”
He took a step toward her, keeping his gaze on hers. “Tell me.”
With horror, he watched her eyes fill up with tears. The sight sent a shaft a pain to his heart. He had never had this connection with another person in his life. She backed away from him, but he followed her. She was shaking her head, but he still pulled her into his arms.
“Love, I can’t fix it if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”
Still, she said nothing as she sobbed into his chest, so he did the only thing he could do at that moment and that was to hold on tighter. By the time she calmed down, his shirt was damp.
She pulled her head back to look at him. “I’m sorry. I don’t cry.”
He frowned. “I have seen you cry more than once.”
Another fresh wave of tears filled her eyes. “I know. It’s embarrassing.”
“Tell me.”
“I shouldn’t have told you I love you.”
He said nothing for a moment because those words pierced his soul with pain.
“Are you saying it isn’t true?”
She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
“Love, you’re breaking my heart now. Tell me the truth.”
