Page 20 of Deadly Waves

“You know, if something does ever happen to me, it’s okay to move on,” Mandy said, her voice wavering slightly. “The thing I want most in this world is for you to be happy. If I die … .”

James immediately started shaking his head to cut her off. “You’re not going to die.”

“That’s not the plan, but we both know I seem to attract trouble,” Mandy said. “If I die, I want you to move on. I want you to find someone to love. I don’t want you to be alone.”

James instinctively wiped the falling tear from her cheek as he locked gazes with her. “No.”

Mandy was surprised. “No?”

“That’s never going to happen,” James said.

“I’m not saying I’m definitely going to die,” Mandy argued. “I’m just saying that if I do, I want you to find someone so you can be happy.”

“And I’m saying that’s never going to happen,” James said, holding firm. “You’re the love of my life, Mandy. For better or worse, you’re it for me. I’ll never love someone else. I’ll never want someone else.”

“That’s sweet, but you deserve so much more than being alone.”

“You don’t seem to understand what I’m saying to you,” James said, working overtime to control his notorious temper. “It’s not just that I’m against finding someone else to love – which I am, for the record – but it’s also impossible. I peaked with you. I’m done. I cannot love another woman after loving you. It will never happen. You need to let it go.”

“But … .”

“No.”

“James, I think you’re being unreasonable.”

“And I think you’re trying to push me to fight and it’s not going to work,” James said, shifting Mandy away from his side and flicking the light on the marine window, plunging the room into darkness. “Come on.”

Mandy gasped when she felt James slip his arm under her legs. “We’re not done talking about this.”

“Oh, we’re done,” James said. “I’m not saying something I don’t mean and that’s the only way you’re going to shut up. We’re at an impasse and I need some sleep, so we’re going to bed.”

He lifted her onto the mattress and held up the sheet until she crawled underneath. She was dumbfounded when he settled in the spot next to her.

“Are we fighting?”

“Nope.” James drew her onto his chest and pressed her head to the spot about his heart. “There’s nothing to fight about. I can’t change who I am.”

“But it will kill me if you’re ever unhappy,” Mandy protested.

“And it will kill me if I lose you,” James said. “It’s a moot point and I refuse to fight about it. Now … go to sleep. If you want to pout, you can do it when Ally is around to reinforce your ridiculous position in the morning. Until then, sweet dreams, baby. I love you and I’ll see you on the other side of your dreams.”

And just like that the potential argument was over. Mandy couldn’t help but wonder exactly what happened. She didn’t have long to fret, though, because sleep dragged her under a few minutes later. James was right. The pouting and fighting could wait. It almost felt good to disagree after so many days of walking around on eggshells together. The patterns of their normal life were beginning to reemerge, and Mandy couldn’t help but be relieved.

JAMES still wasn’t talking about their potential fight the next morning. Instead he pretended as if he didn’t remember the spat that wasn’t really a spat. Mandy and James showered together – which resulted in another game of salty sea wench – and then headed toward the dining room. They planned to start their day with a family breakfast and then separate for a few hours. It was something of a test since they were surrounded by strangers, and Mandy was honestly curious how things would go.

James pulled up short when he hit the deck outside of their private hallway. “What’s going on?”

Mandy peered around his shoulder and found Grady and Jake standing with Will Davenport. They were staring at a spot on the railing.

“Oh, good,” Grady said, running his hand through his hair. “I was just about to wake you.”

“We’ve been up,” James said, keeping Mandy’s hand in his as he shifted her to the spot in front of him. It was a protective move and Mandy was fairly certain he didn’t realize he was doing it. Grady’s tone put him immediately on edge and he wanted to make sure nothing happened to her while he was distracted.

Distracted.That’s the word he used when he blamed himself for not being with her when Clint grabbed her from the storage room at the courthouse. Even though he had no way of knowing what was happening – or just how dastardly Clint’s plan ultimately was – he still blamed himself. Mandy wanted to assuage that guilt, but she had no idea how. She was fairly certain that telling him to marry someone else if she ever died wasn’t the best way to go about it. She was going to have to rethink her tactics.

“We might have a situation,” Jake said.

“Might?” James arched an eyebrow. “I’m not sure what that means.”