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"Not much younger than Megan," he commented.
"Kate was nineteen when she had Megan. And my mother was forty when she had my brother. It's weird. We're quite the dysfunctional group."
"Not that weird. I have a blended family, too. My father had four boys. My stepmother had two girls. Together they had twins. I know what it's like to merge two families."
"We didn't merge, Drew. My mom got remarried and started a new life that didn't include me. She met her second husband when I was thirteen. I had agreed to live with her instead of my dad, because I didn’t want her to be alone. Two years later she wasn't alone. She was in love. And I was the third wheel. They got married and started having babies when I was in high school As soon as I graduated, they wanted me out of the house so they could have more room."
"That's when you decided to sail around the world."
"I had some friends who were crewing on some luxury yachts. I decided to sign on, and from there I jumped from one gig to the next. I rarely made it home for anything, and it didn't seem to bother anyone that I was gone. I think in some ways I was a reminder to my mother of her first failure. It was easier when I was away."
He frowned. "I'm not getting a great vibe on your mom."
"She's not a bad person. She loves me. She just doesn't show it much."
"How does she treat Megan?"
"She doesn't have contact with Megan, but she cares about her in an abstract way. And that is enough about my family," she said decisively, as she got to her feet. "You've had dinner. Time to go home."
He rose, blocking her way, and she had the same feeling they were about to repeat last night's goodbye kiss.
"Drew, I can't do it again."
"Do what?" he asked with mock innocence.
"You know," she said, wishing his smile didn't melt her resolve every single time.
"One kiss," he glanced towards Megan's door. "A quick one."
She doubted that would be the case, since time ceased to exist whenever he put his mouth on hers. "Lindsay is on her way over."
"Well, that's a new excuse."
"I don't need an excuse. I'm saying no." She couldn't help the little sigh that punctuated the end of her sentence.
"I feel the same way," he said quietly, and before she could react he pressed his mouth against hers in a warm, tender and brief kiss. "See, that wasn't so bad."
No, it wasn't bad. It was a tempting little appetizer, and she wanted more. But she couldn't have more. "Goodnight Drew."
"Ria, before I go—"
"No more questions tonight. You need to understand that I've told you all I can. I don't want to put you in danger, and I don't want to put you in a position where you have to compromise your ethics or your integrity."
"That's my choice, Ria. But I think your main concern is whether I'm going to turn you in for whatever it is you did."
"Yes, it is. I don't know what you're going to do next. You're a wildcard and that bothers me."
He gave her a long look. "Honestly, I don't know what I'm going to do next, either. It occurs to me that maybe you're just trying to find another way to get me out of your life by playing the I've done something horrible card. Or you could be doing exactly what you said, trying to keep me away from a bad situation. Or—"
"There's another scenario?" she asked wearily.
"Or," he emphasized. "The truth lies somewhere in between. I don't have enough facts to come to a logical conclusion."
"You're not going to get any more facts until you can promise whatever I tell you stays between us."
"Would you believe that promise if I made it?" he challenged.
She nodded. "Yes. I believe you're a man who keeps his promises. And I think the reason you haven't pressed me for the rest of my story is that you're not sure you can make the promise I'm asking of you."
He frowned. "I feel like we're talking in circles."
She felt much the same way. "I never asked you to get on this treadmill with me. You jumped on, and so far I can't seem to get you off. I don't know what the problem is. Most men would have run for the hills by now."
"You don't know what the problem is?" He moved over and framed her face with his hands, his heat burning through her skin. "The problem is you. You're sexy, beautiful, intriguing, irresistible." His gaze fell to her mouth. "I want to kiss you. I want to strip these clothes off of you and make love to you the way I did before. I want to know if it was as good as I remember or if it's better."
