Full Surrender

“I was anxious to see you.” Tugging the elastic band from her hair, she let the silky strands fall before she took a seat. Then, edging her skirt to her knees, she tucked the cotton knit under one thigh so the fabric didn’t get wet.

“That surprises me after the way I walked out.” He’d let his emotions get the best of him. “I’m sorry about that.”

“I probably needed time to let what you said sink in anyway.” She flexed her legs, bringing her pink-painted toenails to the surface for a minute before sinking them back under water. “When I didn’t deny the accusation about using my independence as a smoke screen, it wasn’t that I couldn’t deny it. I was just sort of...shocked.”

“It wasn’t my place to back you in a corner like that.” He’d waited quietly for her for years, always half hoping she’d seek him out one day. But when she had, he’d been quick to let things derail.

For all he knew, he was the one too scared to commit.

“Actually, I keep wondering if there’s something to what you said.”

“You’re kidding.” Now he was the one who was shocked. “Steph, I’m no psychologist. I was just spouting off because I hated to think we’d been back together for all of a few days and I’d hurt you already.”

She swished her legs in the water, first sending each in the same direction, then twirling them in opposite ways. He watched her, curious where this conversation was going but unwilling to push for answers she might not have yet.

“We always hate the chick in the horror movie that refuses help, don’t we?” she observed lightly, reminding him of yet another accusation.

Yeah, he’d really been on his A-game this morning.

“We don’t hate her. Think how many movies wouldn’t get made without her. But yeah, I guess we wonder why she doesn’t call the cops or—”

“—take better care of herself,” she interjected. “It makes sense for you to help and I can understand why you would, so thank you. I’m sensitive about that stuff because my mother is super pushy about knowing what’s best for me.”

“I just couldn’t see myself backing off an issue like that.” He nudged her foot with his under the water. Gently. Briefly. But damn, it felt good to touch her any way he could. “You’re too important to me.”

She nudged his foot back. Gently. Briefly.

But just the same, the contact was there and it soothed the raw edges on his mood far more than looking out over the water.

“That’s what Alicia said I needed to remember.”

“Alicia?”

“She came by this morning to see how I was doing. And she—very tactfully—helped me understand that you had probably only acted out of concern for me.”

“That was nice of her.” He made a mental note to send his future sister-in-law a kick-ass Christmas present. “I’m sure you appreciated the tact after I went storming away like a bat out of hell.”

“It’s okay. Really.” She turned toward him, fixing him with those bright blue eyes. “I just want to know, where do we go from here?”

It was a question he’d thought he had the answer to a few days ago. Hell, he’d known since he’d seen her waiting for him at the naval station in Norfolk that he wanted more from her. Much, much more. He’d also known his career might not allow him to offer her the kind of everyday love she deserved.

Of course, given the argument they’d had this morning, he knew he ought to let her weigh in on the question. Something she couldn’t do until she had all the facts.

“Remember the letter I sent you a few years ago?” He figured he’d start there since he’d laid it all out neatly in a note he’d put a lot of thought into. “The one your admirer at the PR agency never passed along to you?”

She nodded.

“I renewed my bid for that Vegas wedding we talked about.” He’d laid it all on the line back then when she’d never even known about it. Why not give it a shot now? “I had no luck reaching you on the phone, so I declared my undying love in a note I thought might find you through the publishing house.”

“My God, Danny. You realize I had no idea...” She paled and he didn’t think that was a good sign.

When would he learn not to be Mr. Intense around her?

“I’m sure the guy you dated was already crushing on you and didn’t care for the competition. Who knows what happened? Either way, I just figured you ought to know that my feelings for you haven’t changed since we met. And I didn’t totally fall off the map for five years. I did try. I should have tried harder. I see that now. But I need to make sure you realize, I wanted you then and I want you even more now.”