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Outrageous. Wasn’t she more than a broodmare? She curled her toes as the foamy ocean sucked the sand from under her feet. She loved her life. Why couldn’t they get on board and give her more time?

She wasn’t ready for marriage on demand. Definitely not ready for motherhood. A tear escaped, rolling down her cheek. She knuckled it away.

“Trina?”

Startled, she jumped and turned. Feeling caught and guilty with it, when she recognized Rhett she settled on being annoyed. A woman should be able to cry by herself on abeach. Especially on a night with a pink moon soaring overhead. “What are you doing here, Rhett?”

Why did such an irritating man have to be related to Harper, a friend she found so wonderfully supportive and inspiring? At the moment, it was merely more evidence that the universe was laughing at her attempt to live her life on her own terms.

He stopped short and tucked his hands into his pockets. “Didn’t mean to intrude.” He sounded as if he was chewing glass. “I was concerned.”

“You called.”

“Yes.” He dipped his chin in a short nod.

“And I told you not to worry.”

“You did.” He didn’t budge. “Do you want me to go?”

Of course she did. She was out here—alone—for a good reason. Her lips parted to shoo him away and then her phone buzzed in her hand. Glancing down, she saw yet another text message from her mother.

Suddenly the obvious answer was much less so. She was tired of facing this nonsense from her mother on her own. But it was Rhett and she wasn’t sure he could be supportive during her personal crisis. “Go or stay, it’s up to you. But I am okay.”

“Do you remember in school when we had to back up our theories with concrete plans or tangible results?” he asked.

Because everything with him came back to that year in France. “Being okay is not a theory,” she pointed out.

His head tilted, as if he was consulting the moon for the best answer.

She followed his gaze, admiring the unique beauty of moonlight on the water. In a perfect world that would be her sole reason for being out here. Enjoying a clear night on the beach, soaking up nature and basking in the glowing inspiration before heading home to bed.

Belatedly, she seized the obvious distraction.

“This is the first time I’ve seen the moon this color,” she said. “Does it happen often?”

“Probably happens more often than we notice,” he replied with a shrug.

She wasn’t so sure about that. “I disagree.” Because of course she did. Finding the opposing side of any issue was a reliable and comforting pattern between them. “Look at it. That’s hard to overlook.”

“You never saw a pink moon in Italy?”

She shook her head and one of her curls tumbled loose. She tucked it behind her ear. “Pink skies, yes, but not the moon. Not in France either,” she mused. Although, she hadn’t taken much time for anything outside of the curriculum during that year. Her singular goal had been to excel and earn top marks to increase her professional options. “Nowhere else. This is my first.”

“Mine too.” His reply resonated, as if that were significant.

She was a hot mess, waxing on about some atmospheric anomaly when she had real problems to sort out. On cue, another alert sounded from her phone. She nearly tossed the thing in the ocean just to be done with all of it.

Except that felt a little too close to tantrum-behavior.

“Still okay?”

“No.” Now she’d done it. Tossed out her shocking honesty, as big and strange as the pastel-colored moon overhead. “I will be,” she hedged. “You don’t need to involve yourself. In fact, as a point of compassion, I urge you to walk away now.” She flicked her fingers, hoping he would take the hint graciously.

Naturally, he didn’t. He closed the distance until he stood at her side. In silence. No judgment, no unwelcome opinions. She wasn’t sure she had ever seen this side of him.

Her phone hummed yet again. Why couldn’t her mother take a hint? She swore under her breath and Rhett chuckled.

Like her, he probably knew how to curse in a dozen languages or more. One of the perks of working in hotels that catered to world travelers.