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“He does. I called and told him.”
Bo wished he could’ve heard that conversation. “And?”
“He claims it’s nothing. A mistake caused by all the stress he’s been under. Swears he doesn’t want to lose me. Insists no one can compare to me.”
He was right about that, but Bo couldn’t admit it.
“I also asked him about the panties in his closet.”
The hair on the back of Bo’s neck stood up. “You did?”
“I had to hear him tell me why those things were there.”
“Did he?”
“Claims he doesn’t know anything about them.”
Bo’s stomach sank. Of course, Remy would deny it. “Do you believe him?”
“How can I?” She took back her phone. “After this?”
“So...what are you going to do?” He wanted to believe she wasn’t in danger, but his life had taught him the worstcouldoccur.
“Remy made me promise I wouldn’t do anything until he could get here, and we could talk. I don’t want to throw away the past three years any more than he does. And yet...”
“And yet?” Bo prompted.
“I was second-guessing our relationship before I ever arrived. This past year, he’s shown little interest in supporting me. It was always more about him—what he likes to do, when he has time to do it, if he’s ready to give me some attention—but it’s gotten so much worse over time. And yet, I felt like I was a bad partner for not being more understanding. He always claimed his classes were so much harder than mine. But if he’s had time to carry on an entire second relationship...”
Bo could hear the emotion in her voice and understood that she’d stopped talking because she was struggling to get the words out. “He doesn’t deserve you,” he said. “You know I’ve felt that way since day one.”
A tear slipped down her cheek. He reached up to wipe it away with his thumb and somehow ended up cupping her face with both hands and gently pulling it toward his. He expected her to push him away. Part of him wanted her to. He needed her to set the boundary he was having such a hard time maintaining himself. But she didn’t. Her arms went around his neck and her lips parted as their mouths touched—and then he was completely lost.
Bo’s kiss was unlike anything Ismay had ever experienced. She’d never really believed a kiss could beintoxicating, had never experienced that for herself, but now she understood. When he raised his head, she gazed up at him for several seconds—feeling slightly dazed—and could see that he was as taken aback by the impact of their kiss as she was, and that only made her want more. Lifting herself on tiptoe, she pressed her lips to his again, and he kissed her more deeply.
When his palm came up to rest on the back of her head and he groaned in surrender, she felt completely swept away. She would’ve gone on kissing him until—she didn’t know what—if he hadn’t finally broken it off.
“Ismay, we can’t do this,” he said, but he didn’t extract himself. He spoke earnestly as he gazed down at her, his hands gripping her shoulders.
“Why not?” she asked. “I don’t owe Remy anything. He certainly hasn’t been fair to me.”
“And I’d hate to see you stay with him. I don’t trust him to treat you right. But...you don’t want to get involved with me.”
“I understand. I’d feel terrible if it cost you your job—”
“My job has nothing to do with it,” he broke in. Well, almost nothing. His job mattered; it wouldn’t be easy to replace the situation he’d found here on Mariners. But for her, he’d take the risk if that was all there was to it.
She blinked several times. “Then...is there someone else?”
“No. But you and I live a continent apart,” he said, choosing that excuse instead. “There’s no future in it.”
“I know. But...does that mean we don’t even take advantage of the time we could have together?”
“What are you saying?” he asked.
She raked her fingers through her long hair. “I don’t know. I’m heartbroken, but I’m not sure it’s for the right reasons. I feel like a fool for being so oblivious. I’m afraid I never really knew Remy, and yet I was prepared to marry him. And here I am, craving your touch when we haven’t known each other very long and before things are entirely over with Remy, which makes me think I may not be any better than he is.”
He pulled her against him and rested his chin on her head. “Trust me. You’rewaybetter than he is.”
