Page 112 of Confessions

Avoiding her eyes, he reached into a small cooler and pulled out a Coke. “Things are happening.”

“What things?”

“Nadine’s going to marry Sam Warne.”

“So?”

“So it’s a big mistake.”

“But really none of your business.”

“She said the same thing,” he admitted. He twisted off the bottle cap. “But I can’t just ignore it. The fact is, he’s ruining her life.”

“You don’t know that.”

“She doesn’t love him,” he said flatly, then nearly drained the bottle.

Carlie shook her hair loose from its braid and considered Ben. So he did believe in love after all, but he didn’t want to think that people got married for a lot of different reasons: family pressure, sexual fulfillment, pregnancy. It wasn’t a law that two people had to be in love before they signed a certificate of marriage and, from the marriages Carlie had seen, she was certain more often than not, love wasn’t a major factor in the decision.

Nadine, the little that Carlie knew of her, was a practical person who knew her own mind. If she wanted to marry Sam Warne, Carlie guessed, Nadine had her reasons. Nonetheless, she wanted to understand the source of Ben’s concern, so she played devil’s advocate. “Why do you think she’s going to marry Sam?”

“Because she can’t have the jerk she really loves.” He rolled the empty bottle in his hands and stared across the water. A heron skimmed the surface only to fly gracefully away as thunder rumbled over the hills.

“The man she loves?”

“Don’t you remember? I thought everyone in town knew the old scandal. Nadine and Hayden Monroe, the younger, were an item not too long ago. He got bored with his socialite girlfriend, Wynona Galveston, messed around with Nadine and then, when push came to shove, returned to Wynona’s waiting arms and promptly took her on a boat ride that nearly killed her. Yep, that Hayden Monroe, what a prince of a guy he is.” Ben’s words were bitter as his eyes narrowed on the distant shore. “Good riddance.”

“So what’ve you got against Sam?”

Ben snorted. “He’s okay, just a little too...normal for Nadine. And, you’ve got to admit, Hayden Monroe with his speedboat and big bucks is a tough act to follow.”

“Maybe it’ll work out.” She pushed herself upright and scooted close enough so that her shoulder touched his. Tucking her knees to her chest, she rested her chin on her arms. “You can’t solve all the world’s problems, you know.”

He glanced at her and offered a self-deprecating grin. “I can try.”

“Is that why you think you have to join the army?” she asked, trying to ignore the tiny hole in her heart that ripped a little more each time she thought of Ben tromping through some humid foreign jungle, or marching across acres of hot enemy sand, or rappelling down a sheer cliff to drop into hostile terrain. Her stomach squeezed painfully and she reminded herself that it was peacetime. If Ben joined the army now, chances were he’d be stationed stateside or maybe at a base in Europe.

“I’m joining because I can’t stay here. Nothing ever happens in Gold Creek. There’s just a lot of broken dreams and borrowed promises.” The wind off the lake kicked up, ruffling his hair, smelling of water. “I don’t think I can sit around and watch another generation of Fitzpatricks and Monroes rape the land and make a fortune off the sweat of other men’s backs.” He cocked his head to look at her. “Besides, who’re you to talk? You don’t plan to stick around.”

She couldn’t argue with that, and yet, because of Ben and the last few weeks she’d shared with him, she’d been second-guessing herself, telling herself that a small town in California wasn’t such a bad place to live. She’d fantasized about staying here and marrying Ben. Would it be so bad? Who needed adventure? Who cared about faraway places—the bustle of Manhattan, the romance of Paris, the exotic allure of the Caribbean? What did the world have to offer that she couldn’t find in Gold Creek?

Her train of thought was on a fast track and gathering steam when she put on the brakes. She was ready to change her life and her dreams. All because of Ben. Her throat felt suddenly thick and as she gazed into the hazel depths of his eyes she knew that she would willingly, even gladly, push aside all her dreams of the future just to walk down the aisle with him and become his bride.

As if he could read her thoughts, he brought his face closer to hers and his breath fanned her face. “You’re the only doubt I have,” he admitted, his voice deep and rough. “If I hadn’t met you, I wouldn’t think twice about signing on the dotted line and shipping out.”

Her heart turned over as the first drops of rain began to fall. “You don’t have to say—”

“Shh.” He placed a finger against her lips. “I know I don’t have to say or do anything. I’m just telling you how I feel, Carlie.”

Her throat was suddenly dry as a summer wind.

“And I’ve never cared for anyone the way I care for you. When I’m with you, I don’t want to ever leave and when I’m away from you, I can’t stop thinking about you.” His gaze searched the contours of her face and his fingers found hers. “I don’t understand this and God knows I didn’t want it to happen, but I think I’m falling for you, Carlie Surrett, and if there was anything I could do to prevent it, I would.”

“Ben—”

The finger pressed harder against her mouth and she kissed the soft pad. Rain drizzled from a darkening sky as he outlined her lips, then pushed against her teeth until her mouth opened. Still staring into her eyes, he explored the recess of her mouth, touching the back of her teeth and lightly rubbing the tip of her tongue.

Carlie moaned softly, opening her mouth as his finger withdrew. He gathered her into his arms and his lips melded over hers with a possession that drew the breath from her lungs. Thoughts swam in her head, but all her doubts were chased away and she was only concerned with the here and now, with this lonely park by the lake and Ben...wonderful Ben. His hands were magic as they slid beneath the hem of her T-shirt and massaged the muscles of her back.