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listened, nodding and smiling
now and again. Their last stop to view the scenery was Rockaway Beach. While
standing in the glorious sunshine, looking out over the relentless surf, she
started laughing as she told a story about her niece. She’d asked Jazmine to get
her a pair of shoes, and the toddler had promptly delivered every pair Gretchen
owned.
    As she neared the end of the tale, her laughter altered and
unexpected tears flooded into her eyes. “I…I don’t know why I’m going on like
this,” she said when she found it impossible to hide what was happening.
    “I know why.” He stood and gently placed his hands on her
shoulders. Then, with a tenderness that made her want to weep even more, he
pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. “It’s all right, Gretchen. Go
ahead and cry. You’re hurting. The man you loved isn’t the person you thought he
was.”
    Like water through a burst dam, her sobs broke free. They
seemed to surge upward from the deepest part of her, until it wasn’t only her
shoulders that shook but her entire body. She tried to break away from Josh, but
he wouldn’t allow it. He pressed her closer, murmuring words of comfort all the
while.
    She clung to him, burying her head against his shoulder,
letting him absorb her anger and hurt. The roar of the ocean slamming against
the rocks seemed to echo her pain.
    Once her energy was spent and her sobs turned to sniffles, she
eased away, keeping her head lowered in embarrassment. He would have none of it.
He tucked his index finger beneath her chin, raised her head and met her
eyes.
    “It’s all right,” he said.
    A slight smile trembled at the corners of her mouth, and she
nodded.
    “I give up.” The words were half whisper and half groan. As
soon as he said them, he lowered his mouth to hers. The kiss was slow and deep,
so deep she felt it all the way to her toes. Intense, yet incredibly tender.
    After a moment Josh slid his fingers into her short hair,
cupping the sides of her head as he angled his mouth over hers, urging her lips
apart with the tip of his tongue. He sighed when, in a daze, she accepted his
invitation and opened for him. Shyly her tongue met his, but gradually she
gained confidence as the kissing continued. What had begun as a slow easy
exercise quickly became demanding and urgent.
    She wasn’t sure what would have happened if a car hadn’t pulled
off the highway just then. Hearing the sound of wheels grinding against the
gravel, Josh broke off contact. He studied her for a moment.
    “You OK?” he asked, touching his forehead to hers while holding
her face between his hands.
    She nodded, not knowing how else to answer him. But she wasn’t OK. She’d been weeping for one man and kissing
another. And liking it so much she hadn’t wanted to stop. She glared at the new
arrivals, wishing they would leave, then realized how ridiculous she was
being.
    “We better get back on the road,” Josh said, steering her
toward the Harley.
    Although she followed him silently, her mind brewed with
half-formed questions. First and foremost she wanted to know what had prompted
him to kiss her. She didn’t want his pity, but at the same time, she knew she
would be a fool to believe any part of that soul-stirring kiss had been because
he felt sorry for her.
    Once she was safely tucked behind him on the Harley, he started
the bike and steered them back onto the road. The wind whipped against her face,
and she closed her eyes. Josh was dangerous—that was what she’d always heard.
Now she knew why. The danger wasn’t his arrogance, the way he challenged
authority or defied danger. It was the effortless way he could make a woman feel
desirable.
    They didn’t stop again for what seemed like hours. The day
before she had held herself away from Josh, her spine rigid, determined to
minimize any physical contact. Not so now. Her grip around his waist was tight;
she craved the physical reassurance of his solid body.
    Josh stopped in