The four of them had had dinner together the night before, and though Lucia had been sure it would be an uncomfortable couple of hours given the tension between her and Dave they’d all had a good time. In fact, seeing Dave interacting with Joe Curran, hearing him laugh and tell stories about past cruises had really opened Lucia’s eyes. For so long, she’d thought of him only as a player. A man only interested in getting as many women as possible into his bed. A man who wasn’t interested in anything that wasn’t about momentary pleasure. Now she’d seen glimpses of a different man. One who could enjoy himself with people who weren’t members of the “celebrity crowd.” A guy who could buy silly T-shirts for babies he wasn’t even sure were his. A guy who could still turn her into a puddle of want with a glance. “Do you want to talk about it?” Mary asked quietly. Lucia took a long, deep breath and looked around the room to avoid meeting Mary’s too-knowing gaze. Muted sunlight, diffused by t

From below decks, a soft sigh of music from the ballroom reached her, and the notes played on the cool ocean breeze, as if they’d searched her out deliberately. The plaintive instrumental seeped into her soul and made her feel wistful. What if coming on this trip had been a big mistake? What if telling Dave about their sons hadn’t been the right thing to do? What if..she stopped her wildly careening thoughts and told herself it was too late to worry about any of that now. The deed was done. What would happen would happen and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it now.She sighed, leaned on the balcony railing and stared out at the sea. Moonlight danced on the surface of the water in a shimmer of pale silver. Clouds scuttled across a star-splashed sky, and the ever-present wind lifted her hair from her shoulders with a gentle touch.“This reminds me of something.”Dave’s deep voice rumbled along Lucia’s spine, and she had to pull in a deep breath before she turned her head to

“Come for me,” Dave whispered, his voice no more than a hush in her ear. His breath dusted her face, her neck, while his fingers continued the gentle, determined invasion. “Let me see you. Let me feel you go over.”His voice was a temptation. Because she was so close to a cl**ax. Her knees trembled. Her body weakened even as it strove to reach the peak Dave was pushing her toward. Her breath came in ragged gasps, her heartbeat thundered in her ears and the tension coiling within was almost more than she could bear. And when she thought she wouldn’t survive another moment, she cried out his name and splintered in his arms. Her body shattered, she rode the exquisite wave of completion until she fell at the end only to be caught and held in his strong arms.Lucia dropped her head onto his shoulder, swallowed hard and fought to speak. “That was..”“Only the beginning,” Dave finished for her and picked her up, swinging her into his arms and stalking back into the suite. He was teetering on

Probably,Lucia thought. After all, it wasn’t as if she was going to tell him she loved him. And wasn’t that the only piece of information he was missing? Hadn’t she done what she’d come here to do? Hadn’t she accomplished her mission and more?“Maxie…”Her Nanny blew out a breath, and Lucia could almost see her rolling her eyes.“I just don’t want to see you destroyed again,” Maxie finally said. “He’s not the guy for you, Lucia, and somewhere deep inside, you know it. You’re only asking to get kicked in the teeth again.”The fact that her sister was right didn’t change anything. Lucia knew she couldn’t leave until she’d seen Dave again. Found out what last night had meant to him, if anything. She had to prove to herself one way or the other that there was no future for them. It was the only way she’d ever be able to let go and make a life for herself and her children.“If I get hurt again, I’ll recover,” she said, her voice firming as she continued. “I appreciate you worrying about me

“Is that wrong?” she asked, still grinning.He scowled at her, then shook his head and wrinkled his nose. “Fine, fine. Big joke. But you have to admit, I’m not doing badly.”“I suppose,” she conceded with a nod. “But smells to me as if you’ve got a little problem facing you at the moment.”“And I’ll handle it,” he said firmly, as though he was trying to convince himself, as well as her.“Okay then, get to it.”He scrubbed one hand across his face, looked down into the crib and murmured, “How can someone so cute smell so bad?”“Yet another universal mystery,” she told him.“Another?”“Never mind,” Lucia said, thinking back to her conversation with Maxie when Lucia was still on the ship. Before the redhead. Before she’d left in such a hurry. Oh God. Lucia straightened up and closed her eyes. Maxie. Wait until she found out that Dave was here.“You okay?” he asked.Opening her eyes again, she looked at him, so out of place there in her sons’ nursery, and told herself that this was just w