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Late that afternoon, Sara sat in a lounge chair on the beach behind their apartment building. A short shower had passed, leaving the air fresh and new. It astonished her how few people used their beach. It wasn’t large, but the sand was powdery and pure white, with a gentle entry into the welcoming ocean. She had thought about retrieving her easel but was enjoying just sitting there as she waited for Jack, who was taking a shower.
Behind her, the slider opened, and Jack leaned over to brush his lips over hers, lingering with a deep hum in his chest. “Now that is what I like to come home to.” He settled onto the lounger next to hers.
“How was work?”
He sighed. “Typical. Cameron was a dick as usual. Most dive people are hard workers, but not that guy. I’ve kept my cool so far, but I have a feeling a confrontation’s coming.”
“Maybe that’s what he’s waiting for. To see how far he can push you.”
“That’s what I’m starting to think. He might not like the answer, though.”
Sara smiled at the thought of soft-spoken, easy-going Jack getting in someone’s face. She liked that he had a long fuse, but didn’t let himself get pushed around. After they had discussed her day, which had passed much more serenely, she took a deep breath, preparing to broach the subject that had been on her mind. “I have something to show you. That I think you’ll like.”
He turned sideways, leaning closer with a smile. “Better than the present view? Not sure that’s possible, but you can show me anything.”
“Consider it your Christmas present.” She lifted her shirt and pulled the front of her shorts down slightly to expose the patch on her lower stomach, near her hip. She tapped it twice. “Voila.”
His face went blank. “What is it?”
“It’s a birth control patch. I’ve had it on for a week. You haven’t noticed it?”
“No…”
“It is pretty inconspicuous. That’s the idea, after all.” She rearranged her clothing and sat up. Stop chit-chatting, for God’s sake! “What I’m trying to say, Mr. Jack Powell, is that if you’re prepared to make this an exclusive arrangement, we can stop using the condoms.”
He stared at her, then narrowed his eyes. “I kind of assumed we were exclusive, Sara. Have you been seeing someone else?”
Wayne’s face momentarily flashed into her mind. She hadn’t seen him after their meeting on her first day on the island, or even thought about him recently. “No! Of course not.”
A deep red flush was spreading across Jack’s face and her heart hammered. Uh-oh. This is not going how I envisioned.
“I don’t do anything but exclusive,” he said tightly. “I didn’t realize you felt differently.”
“I don’t! That’s what I’m trying to say. I thought you’d be happy about this.”
A veil had come over his face. “I haven’t been single in a long time. I’m pretty rusty with the dating rules. You’re much more up to speed than me.”
Sara bolted upright, inhaling sharply. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“You told me yourself. That you avoid serious relationships.”
She itched to slap him, but held back. “Are you calling me a slut?”
“No,” he said, speaking more calmly now, even as a pulse raced in his neck. “You and I just seem to have different ideas about what a relationship is.”
“Good God. We haven’t even been together that long. Aren’t you being slightly melodramatic?” She stood before she could boil over. “Just forget it. I’m going upstairs.”
* * *
Jack sat numb on the lounger, stunned. What the hell just happened? He sat back, lacing both hands on top of his head as he stared mindlessly at the waves tumbling onto the shore. When she’d mentioned exclusivity, he’d blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. But it had honestly never even occurred to him to think otherwise. He’d known a lot of guys over the years who thought differently, but not him.
Maybe I came across a little too cold. But this was a perfect example of what had bothered him since the beginning. Sara was free-thinking and spirited. It was one of his favorite things about her.
Except the thought of her being free-thinking where he was concerned.
Alex’s quiet warning popped into his head, and he rubbed his eyes, groaning. “Jack, you have a lot to lose here. This could screw up everything you’re trying to accomplish.”
But Sara knocked him senseless. She had almost from the beginning, despite their rocky start. He wanted to be with her. Badly.
