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spill it all over the table. You’ve been quiet tonight too, so there’s clearly something bothering you.”
    She weighed honesty against being the pathetic almost-virgin who had fallen in love in less than a week. She was certain he wouldn’t greet that news well, so she pasted on a thin smile. “It’s nothing.  I’m fine. I’m just tired, I guess, and I’m dreading the flight home tomorrow.”
    He leaned against the table, propping his hip on the corner as he took her hand in his. “I’ve been thinking about that. I’m not due to fly out for another day, so why don’t you stay longer?”
    It was so tempting, but she didn’t have the budget for it, and she certainly wasn’t going to call and ask her father to buy her a ticket that was a day later, not since she had stayed with Dominic to hide the fact she was in Mexico to start with. Over the last few days, her reasons had changed drastically, but she still wasn’t ready to admit to her father that she wasn’t the perfect girl he thought she was. Instead, she forced a smile and shook her head. “Thank you, but I can’t. My ticket is nontransferable and nonrefundable, so I’ll be leaving in the morning.”
    He looked briefly disappointed before standing up, taking her gently to her feet and leading her back to the bedroom suite. He gave her an enigmatic grin. “It’s a good thing we have tonight.”
    She went along with him, stomach fizzing with excitement at what he might have planned for their last night together. It was certain to be amazing.
    ***
    Much later, in the glow of the moonlight provided by the gaping curtain covering the patio door, she admired his skin and traced her fingers down a rough furrow bisecting his stomach. “What happened here?”
    “Gunshot,” he said lazily, as though it was no big deal.
    She let out a small gasp. “Someone shot you?”
    He shrugged. “I’ve dealt with some rough characters over the years. It’s nothing to worry about.”
    She bit her lip, but eventually shrugged and dropped the conversation. It was probably a product of misspent youth, because he didn’t seem to have grown up in a rough neighborhood. If he had, he’d clearly done well for himself in the intervening years and had likely left all that behind. Just like he was going to leave her behind, though she was the one departing first.
    She let out a heartfelt sigh, wishing she had stifled the urge when he stiffened a moment later. She didn’t want him to know how close she was crying. She was feeling pretty pathetic about the whole thing, but she couldn’t deny that walking away from him tomorrow was going to be the hardest thing she’d ever done. She hoped it was simply a brief vacation fling, and she’d soon return to her old, familiar routine and stop feeling this way about a man she’d only known a few days. Before she could get to that point, she had to wrench herself out of his arms, both figuratively and literally, and that was the part she dreaded most.
    “What’s on your mind, honey? There’s clearly something bothering you.”
    With another, smaller sigh, she said, “I’m just going to miss you. This was an amazing week, and I’m afraid I’ll forget how wonderful everything was when I’m back in my regular life.”
    He brought her hand to his lips, brushing them against her knuckles in a tender gesture. “I don’t want the week to end either.” He stiffened when she let out a small snort. “You think I’m lying?”
    Lily hesitated for a moment, searching for a way to phrase what she was thinking. “I don’t think you’re lying, but I’m sure this sort of thing happens to you all the time. You’ll forget all about me by the time your plane lands.”
    His eyes darkened, and he looked somewhere between angry and upset. “You’re telling me that I don’t have any genuine feelings for you? Are you saying you know my heart better than I do?”
    She paused at his use of the word heart, trying not to read too much into