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He had no reason to expect Isabel’s secrets, her trust or her confidence. Not now, not ever again. Just because she didn’t want him leaving just yet didn’t mean she was ready to resume some sort of relationship with him again. For all he knew she just wanted to sleep with him a couple of times—or even just once—the one that got away and all that shit. Even as he thought, he told himself he was letting his dick think for him, although to sleep with Isabel and never have her heart again would kill the rest of his soul, and he knew it.
Hell, maybe she just wanted to jab at him, make him bleed.
That he’d never stopped loving her didn’t matter.
He’d lost faith in her during the time she needed him the most;thatmattered.
He didn’t know but whatever she wanted from him, be it jabbing at him, extracting a pound of flesh, he owed her that much, and more, so he’d stay.
He needed to find a way to get past the instinctive hurt that kept trying to well up inside when she’d refused to trust him earlier.
Whyshouldshe trust him?
She’d done so once and look at what he’d done with that precious gift.
“Get over it, man,” he told himself.
A quiet rustle had him looking up and as the silhouette appeared around the house, his breath caught in his chest.Get over itandget a grip.
He’d wined and dined heiresses and models, seduced beautiful women, all to get close enough to steal secrets and if he’d been caught, it could have ended with him dying, buried in an unmarked grave while his family never knew what became of him. The legend Miles had built for him, in case of discovery, was solid, complete with a family history, falsified dental records, a credit history and more, enough to fool pretty much anybody ... except his family. It would have led a person trying to track his history to a down-end street, regardless of what happened to Travis.
Doing what he’d done over the past decade and change had taken nerves of steel, a will of iron and determination.
When Isabel sank down onto the seat next to him, a beer extended, he tried to find some shred of that will, those nerves, tried to steel himself against her ... and he failed.
“Nice night,” she said softly.
The night was fucking perfect, all because she was here, close enough for him to breathe in the soft, sweet scent of her skin and see the paler glints of gold in the rich brown of her hair, to see the scattering of freckles over the slope of her shoulder as her lightweight sweater dipped low.
She scooped it up and lifted her beer to her lips, gaze skimming over the surface of the water before moving to his. “You ever been in the area during the fall?”
“No.” Damn, was that rusty, creaking rasp his voice? He took a deep pull of the beer she’d offered, wetting his throat. “Don’t usually have much time for travel.”
As soon as he said the words, he wanted to pull them back.
Her gaze came to his, full of frustration and worry. “How long until you’re back at a job that’s going to end up killing you?”
“I told Miles I’m done,” he said softly.
Isabel’s eyes widened and a soft breath of surprise escaped her. She drew another breath, let it out slowly. “I’m surprised you’re telling me that much.”
“I never was able to hide shit from you,” he murmured.
“Tell me why you got into it then.”
Jaw set, he looked away. “I can’t talk about the work, Iz. It’s dangerous for you to have guessed what you have.”
“I’m not asking for details,” she said. “I’m asking to knowwhy.”
Shoving up, he paced a few feet away. The healing wound on his side protested the abrupt movement but nowhere as much as it would have a day or two earlier. Dr. Qing might have been pushing experimental treatments on him, but she knew her shit.
And he was trying to sidestep Isabel’s question, even in his own mind.
Dragging a hand down his face, he focused on some lights bobbing out on the water, far, far away from land. “Think about it, Iz. It’s not that hard.”
“I’ve done nothingbutthink about it,” she said sourly. “If I’m not refereeing a potential world war, feeding a teething infant or coaxing Brooklyn into a bath, I’m brooding over it, Travis. I’m tired of it. I want to understand.”
He tossed her a dark look over his shoulder. “What does it matter, Isabel? I’m not going to be here for long and once I leave, you won’t see me again.”
