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embrace.
    “Robert?” she asked, her voice tinged with pain.
    He rested his elbows on his knees and hung his head.
    “You’re the only woman in my heart.”
    Isabel felt as if a blade had sliced straight through her. “In
your heart?”
    He took her hand.
    “I need you to do something for me. I need you to trust me.”
    “But what about—?”
    “Sometimes life is complicated. More complicated than you
know.”
    “But until tonight, you never… You didn’t try to—”
    “It wasn’t because I didn’t want to.” He set his eyes on
hers. “I’ve been working on something. A way to make things right. And I’m
getting very close. I swear.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    He looked at her with sad understanding. “I wouldn’t expect
you to.”
    She bit her lip and turned away.
    “Izzy, please. Look at me.”
    She slowly turned her gaze to his. “You haven’t called me
that in a long time.”
    “I know. But I remember. Remember very clearly what our
being together was like.”
    “What was it like?”
    “It was like…magic.”
    Isabel couldn’t argue. What they’d had together as kids had
been truly special. Even if their parents had thought of it as puppy love, it
had certainly felt like more than that to her and Robert. And now, being here
with him, Isabel understood how easy it was for Robert to still exert his power
over her. She’d all but forgotten him. Or that was what her head said, anyway.
But the truth was, her heart remembered. She recalled the longing in his eyes
and the way he used to hold her for hours on end when neither of their parents was
home. Her dad had worried about them getting into trouble, and they had. But
not in any sort of way nearly as risqué as he might have imagined. They never
did much more than kiss and hold each other tight. During a couple of those
close-together sessions, Isabel had gotten the idea Robert’s body was ready for
something more. Though he’d never said so and had never pressed her. Just being
with her the way they were seemed good enough. It certainly had been for
Isabel. In truth, it had been more than good. It had been wonderful. Theirs was
like a storybook love from another realm. Unique and mystical… And yes, it had appeared
at the time, most especially magical.
    “Yeah,” she said softly. “It was.”
    He wrapped her in his arms and tugged her close, his mouth
hovering over hers. “I want us to find that magic again,” he whispered. “But
this time…we need to hold on to it.”
    Isabel nodded in numb understanding, knowing that she could
never fight her feelings for Robert now. Whatever his worries, he was working
on a way to sort them out. Isabel had to believe that his feelings for her were
sincere and that he’d never intentionally do anything to hurt her. At least,
she hoped with her whole heart he wouldn’t. Because, at the moment, that heart
was brimming with longing and affection for the one guy she now felt she had
loved forever.
    Robert brought his lips to hers and kissed her sweetly. Then
he deepened his passion in a skilled way he’d never known as a boy. Isabel felt
herself melting away, losing herself in Robert’s embrace and surrendering to
his ardor. He pulled her toward him, then gently laid her down, covering her
body with his. How she wished they could stay here forever, with ocean breezes
rippling and the first morning gulls just starting to call, as he kissed her
over and over and her heart lost sight of what was…and could only dream of
things to come.

 
 

 
 
 
    Chapter Five

 
    The next few weeks passed like a dream for Isabel. Though
before they’d been seeing each other regularly, since that night on the beach
she and Robert had become practically inseparable. She loved everything about
him, and being near him was where she wanted to be. It didn’t matter if they
were out for a fancy dinner or sharing burgers at a drive-through, just being
together felt right. Both their academic schedules kept