LITMIR.BIZ

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he never knew was that she’d asked one couple to take their picture and email it to her. She’d stared at it every day until Brody found it on her computer and deleted it.

      “I didn’t tell you last time, but Hailey and I grew up around Gulf Shores. Dad was a deep-sea fishing guide. The best in the county.”

      He cocked his head. “How come I didn’t know that?”

      She shrugged. “You did most of the talking that weekend.”

      “I guess I did.” His forehead creased. “That’s not going to happen again.”

      “Are you sure?” she teased, forcing lightness she didn’t feel into her tone. “You’re kind of an egomaniac.”

      Rachel’s doubts about spending this weekend with Max were coming to a boil once more. Last time, they’d been able to drop their guards and completely enjoy each other with no reservations or baggage between them. Intimacy had come easy because they’d been strangers.

      Max’s fingers tightened on hers. “Don’t do that.”

      “What?” Her stomach crashed to her toes.

      “Push me away with humor.”

      “Was I funny? You’d be the first person to say so.” Rachel heard herself and ejected a sigh. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’ve never been good at playing with others.” Amusement stirred at Max’s impatient snort. “You know, now that I’ve gotten started, I don’t think I can stop.”

      “I think you can,” Max said, all serious. “Why don’t you start by telling me why you and your sister left Gulf Shores?”

      Max could try to dig up all the details about her past he wanted in an effort to rediscover the connection they’d briefly enjoyed five years ago, but he’d find out pretty quickly that the walls she’d spent the last ten years erecting wouldn’t come down without a prolonged siege. And time was something they didn’t have. A couple days, a couple weeks maybe, and he’d lose interest in her.

      “Our dad died when I was eighteen and Hailey was sixteen. He was shot during a convenience-store robbery in Foley, Alabama. He had a girlfriend up there that he visited a couple times a month. They hadn’t been dating long, but I had the feeling he really liked her.”

      “Had you met her?”

      Rachel shook her head. “No, he didn’t like bringing anyone around. He didn’t want us to get attached to anyone in case things didn’t work out.” She watched beach houses slide past the window, barely recognizing the area with all the new construction that had taken place, but she knew they were getting close. “Our mom left when we were little. Dad didn’t want to set us up to get hurt again.”

      “He sounds like a great father.”

      “The best.” Remembering there had been tension between Max and his father, she didn’t elaborate on all the wonderful things about her dad. “He put his life on hold to look after Hailey and me. I didn’t realize how much until after he was dead and all his friends started telling stories of job offers he’d turned down because he wanted us to grow up in a community like Gulf Shores. There’d even been a woman he’d wanted to marry, but she had a big career somewhere up north and he wanted to keep us down here.”

      “Sometimes there are obstacles to a relationship that can’t be overcome.”

      Like how she’d neglected to tell Max she was married? She probably should have ended things with him when she’d learned about his father’s affair. After twenty years, Max couldn’t let go of his resentment that his father had loved someone other than Max’s mother. Even worse, Brandon Case had loved the child of that union as much as he’d loved his legitimate sons.

      “And sometimes people are just plain stubborn. Hailey and I could have grown up anywhere and been just fine. I think Dad was afraid to trust anyone after the way my mom left us.”

      “Trust once broken is often impossible to heal.”

      And yet, here they were. Rachel let her head fall back against the headrest. This weekend was going to be a disaster. Why hadn’t she pitched a fit until she convinced Max to take her home?

      Because she wanted to be with him, no matter the cost to her heart and soul? She was a fool.

      “You’re right about that,” she said. “Especially when people refuse to change.” The sun dipped into the clouds looming on the horizon and Rachel pulled off the sunglasses. She handed them back to Max. “Looks like we might get some rain tonight.”

      “I checked the forecast for the weekend and it promised sunshine both days.”

      “Forecasts aren’t always accurate.”

      “Let’s just say, I’m feeling optimistic.”

      Was he, now. “Optimistic enough to only book one hotel room?”

      Max answered her question with a blazing smile.

       Six

      Letting her stew about their destination amused Max for the next half hour. The silence gave him time to mull over what he’d learned about her. He’d known she’d taken care of Hailey and helped her by paying for college. It just never occurred to him how young she’d been when she’d taken on the responsibility of her sister.

      As they entered the city limits of Gulf Shores, Rachel sat forward in her seat, her expression growing animated. Had she been back in the last five years? Many times he’d imagined her here. Pictured her long blond hair whipping around her face as she walked the beach or sat having breakfast at Jolene’s Hideaway.

      The car streaked past the beach cottages where they’d spent their four days together. Rachel’s gaze snagged on the cluster of pale peach structures, her head turning as she kept her sights locked on them. Curiosity and confusion melded in the turbulent blue depths of her eyes as they came to rest on him.

      “We’re not staying there?”

      “No.”

      “Then where?”

      “You’ll see.”

      They quickly left the main strip behind, hotels, restaurants and shops giving way to beach homes. Leggy structures built on pilings lined the road, their colors pale representations of the surrounding landscape.

      “I thought you said we’re staying in Gulf Shores,” she persisted.

      “We are.”

      “But the hotels are all back there.” She gestured over her shoulder, indicating the town now a mile behind them.

      “I own a house here.” He didn’t need to glimpse her expression to know he’d surprised her. Beside him, her body tensed. “I bought it four years ago.”

      A year after they’d met. It made sense to purchase property since he’d taken to visiting the town once a month. All in the hopes of finding her again. Proof positive that he was a fool. She’d been married. She’d returned to her husband. Yet he’d returned to the scene of the crime like some love-struck idiot. Over and over.

      When it occurred to him that he was behaving exactly like his father’s mistress—a woman he despised for her weakness—that he was willing to take whatever scraps of Rachel’s life he could because living without her made him miserable, he’d stopped coming to Gulf Shores for three months. But in the end, his longing for her had been too strong.

      Naturally, all this was wrapped up in logic and justified by sound reasoning about rising property values and his need for a vacation home. But each time he returned to the beach house, he couldn’t hide the truth from himself. He was here because he hoped Rachel would return to him.

      “This is yours?” Rachel’s question broke

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