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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 them busy, but they did their best to dovetail their efforts so Isabel’s late nights at the studio corresponded with Robert’s moonlighting at the lab. One way or another, they’d been able to work things out so they