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“We’re going to take our chances and store it not too far from here,” Mark said. “Garrett told me of a place.”
Laura supposed that made sense. “What do you need me to do?”
“Tie more knots,” he said as he furiously secured the sail.
After about two hours, they’d finished securing the boat in the large storage facility a mile in from shore. Sirens sounded, alerting the folks the hurricane was on its way.
“Time to get you to the airport,” Mark said.
“Only if you’re coming with me.” She wasn’t going to leave him.
“Laura.” Mark sighed. “I love your loyalty. It’s one of the many, many things I love about you.”
The words hung there. Love? Did he say he loved things about her?
“But you’re going to get on that plane whether I’m on it or not.” Mark helped Laura off the boat, offering her a steady hand to the dock.
Laura clambered onto the wooden slats and shook her head. “No. That’s not how this works.”
“What’s this?”
“Us. It’s now how we work. And by the way, there are plenty of things I love about you, too.”
“Really? Like?”
“Like I will tell you on the plane.”
Mark laughed a little, showing his even, white teeth. He grinned and put his hands on his hips, leaning over her small frame. Laura had to crane her neck to look at him, the dark clouds past his head threatening rain and worse, a storm that could rip this island apart.
“You drive a hard bargain,” he said.
“I know,” she answered. “So what are we going to do? Are we going to stay? Or are we going to get on the plane?”
“There’s a we now, is there?” he asked, cocking one eyebrow. “I thought we were a temporary thing.”
Laura shrugged. “I’m not talking about the future. I’m talking about right now. The us of right now. And we’re partners and partners don’t split up or abandon one another. Real partners stick together.”
* * *
A QUICK CHECK of all the flights on the island found them all booked. Laura and Mark tried standby as well, but as the day went on, it became clear they might not be able to make it off the island. No matter how hard they tried.
“If you hadn’t helped me with the boat, you would’ve gotten on a flight,” Mark said, frowning as they reluctantly left the airport.
Laura dashed out after Mark as they headed for his pickup. There was no reason to stay at the airport. Now they only had a very little bit of time to get the condo ready for the impending storm.
“You don’t know that,” Laura said. She slid into the cab of his pickup truck and shut the door, shaking off the rain from her poncho. Laura thought about the tiny baby in her belly. Was she putting them both at risk by staying? But she didn’t have a choice now. No flights out, and no boats could go out in that choppy sea.
“I do. It’s my fault.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Laura said, grabbing his hand. “We’re together. That’s what counts.”
Mark pulled Laura in his arms and she went, feeling his warm arms encircle her. She craned her neck to meet his gaze as he dipped down to kiss her. His lips felt warm on hers, sending a little rush of want down her spine. He pulled back and studied her face for a minute. He stroked her cheek.
“God, I love you,” he said, and Laura froze.
“You do?”
“Hell, yes, I do. I love you, Laura.”
Laura felt her heart speed up as the realization hit her that she felt the same way.
“I love you, too,” she said, and Mark pulled her into his arms and squeezed her so tightly she almost couldn’t breathe. For a fleeting second, she thought of the baby inside her. “Can’t—”
“Breathe? You need to breathe?” Mark let her go and she took in a breath. He started up his pickup and drove them to the store to get supplies.
“Kind of important, don’t you think? But then again, I guess since we’re waiting out a hurricane, we’re going to live dangerously.”
“Well, I think you need a new nickname. Instead of Miss Noise Pollution, I think I might start calling you Miss Dangerously. That has a nice ring to it.”
Laura grinned. “Is it dangerous to fall in love with you?”
Mark grabbed her hand and kissed it even as he kept his eyes on the road. “All my exes say yes.”
She laughed a little as Mark pulled into a store parking lot. “Just how many exes do you have?”
“A thousand, give or take a hundred,” he teased. “If we’re going to do something so foolhardy as to stay on this island, then we’re going to need to board up our windows, get some food and batteries and hope we’re not making the mistake of our lives.”
