She had no idea what to do with that. Or him, for that matter. She’d never met anyone like him. He’d probably never hidden from the truth about anything, and she knew damn well he expected the same from those he cared about. And that openness of his, not to mention those unspoken expectations, were a mystery to her.

“Women who are brave and pull perfect strangers out of the ocean shouldn’t make a run for the door,” he said.

She wasn’t sure what to say, but she did get a warm glow from him calling her brave.

“We need a do-over, Olivia.”

Her body quivered at the thought of a do-over and what it might entail. After last night, she no longer had to wonder how he’d be in bed. She could close her eyes and feel him moving over her, hear the rough timbre of his voice in her ear. He’d been…amazing. Intuitive, giving…deliciously commanding.

Which, of course, meant one thing. They couldn’t do this again. Because the closer they became, the more intimate things got between them, the sooner the end would come. “I’ve got to go,” she said.

“Me too. I’m late for a swim with Tanner.”

She pictured that for a moment, two of the hottest guys she’d ever known powering through the water. “That sounds…” Hot. “Crazy. It’s freezing.”

“We have special wetsuits.”

“Still crazy.”

“Nah,” he said. “It’s fun. We have extra gear, if you wanna join. Except no trying to save me. Copping a feel? Hell, yeah, go for it all you want. But no rescuing.”

She smiled and realized she felt…light as a feather.

Happy.

Terrified. “Can I ask you something?” she asked quietly.

“Anything.”

And wasn’t that just the thing. He was an open book.

And she…she didn’t even have a book.

“When you walk away, just do it, okay?” she asked. “Don’t try to sugarcoat it or drag it out. Just walk.”

There was a beat of silence. “Just walk,” he repeated, an odd note in his voice.

“Yeah,” she said. “And I’ll do the same. No hard feelings, I promise.”

Another beat of silence. “Is that how things are done in Kentucky, Olivia?” he asked softly.

Oh, God, that voice, that low, gentle but slightly pissed-off voice. She flinched at what he believed to be her past, the reminder harsh and unwelcome. Panic licked at her.

Trapped by her own lies.

“It’s how things are done in my world,” she said.

In her real world.

“Well, not in mine,” he said. “I don’t just walk away.”

Chapter 18

The day before Halloween, Olivia found herself having difficulty concentrating on anything. She blamed another sleepless night where she’d tossed and turned, reliving the time she’d spent with Cole in this very bed. And on her floor. And back in her bed…

He was hard to forget.

I don’t just walk away.

His words, and the meaning behind them, kept replaying in her head. They meant that she was sleeping with, and quite possibly falling in serious like with, a guy who had a moral compass that never wavered.

She liked that. She loved that. But it would only make it worse in the end. She was already counting down to the day he would leave her—and no matter what he said, he’d eventually leave her—and she was both needing it and dreading it at the same time.

Instead of dwelling on that, she buried herself in work. When the kids arrived for Drama Day, Pink and Kendra came in holding hands with Becca. As talk turned to Halloween, it came out that the twins were the only two kids who wouldn’t be trick-or-treating, because they didn’t have costumes.

“That’s okay,” Pink bravely told Olivia. “We get to dress up today, right?”

Olivia met Becca’s subdued gaze and understood the problem—their dad was still facing serious financial woes. She swallowed the lump at the back of her throat. “Absolutely,” she said. “Everyone dresses up for Drama Day.”

The girls squealed and bounced up and down like pogo sticks. Then they raced for the dress-up circle and sat with mock patience, restless as if it were the last day of school.

Olivia went into the back and dragged out her trunk, which she’d brought in as she did every week.

Pink pulled out the Cinderella costume and handed it to Kendra. “Here, Sissy.”

Kendra reverently clutched the frothy pink thing to her torso, her expression rapturous as she stroked the material.

Drama Day went on as usual, with each kid playing the part of their choice from a script Olivia had saved for today because it revolved around Halloween. She’d brought candy for them as well, and afterward, when everyone had changed back into their own clothes, they were allowed to dig in.

Olivia found Kendra in the back alone, still Cinderella. “Kendra?”

The little girl didn’t look up at her. Instead she let out a telltale sniff and kept her head lowered.

And Olivia’s heart cracked right in two. Becca came up behind Olivia and took in the situation. “I’m stopping at the drugstore with them on the way home,” she whispered softly to Olivia. “I’m going to buy them costumes.”

No. Not going to happen. Not on Olivia’s watch. Dropping to her knees before Kendra, Olivia gently lifted the girl’s chin and looked into huge, swimming green eyes. “I want you to take the Cinderella costume for tomorrow night,” she said.