Page 60 of No Words

But I couldn’t. Even after knowing what he’d been through, I couldn’t. My mother’s Sicilian blood wouldn’t let me.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “But that still doesn’t explain why you were so mean about my books, especially after—well, after I thought we got along so well in the green room.”

I was appalled to find that tears had sprung to my eyes.

Which was ridiculous, because I obviously didn’t care what he thought.

Fortunately I was wearing my sunglasses, so I was sure he couldn’t see the sudden waterworks.

Except maybe he could. Because suddenly he tore those large, tanned hands away from the console, slid from his captain’s chair, and reached out to seize me by both arms. His dark gaze swept my face, searching for... what?

“Jo, I—” His voice was broken, ragged even. He seemed to want to tell me something else, but couldn’t—really and truly couldn’t—find the right words.

Was there such a thing as verbal dyslexia? Because if so, Will had it, or at least some kind of oral impairment that seemed to make it impossible sometimes for him to grasp the words he was searching for.

“What?” I asked. I had to work to make my voice sound coolly incurious, because the truth was, my emotional state and his proximity—the raw heat coming off his body, the feel of those hard hands on my arms—had my heart jackhammering in my chest. This close, I could see that he needed a shave more than ever.

And I wanted to feel the scrape of that dark, prickly facial hair all over my neck, those hard hands on every inch of my body.

What waswrongwith me? I couldn’t stand this man.

Or at least that’s what I was thinking right up until the moment I pulled him close and started kissing him.

Chapter Nineteen

Yeah, okay, so what? None of us are perfect.

It wasn’t my fault that I grabbed Will and started kissing him. I couldn’t help it. Sometimes actions speak louder than words, and he was just so... kissable.

At least that’s what I was thinking—to the degree Icouldthink—as I pressed my mouth to Will’s, and felt those cool, strong hands slide from my arms to my waist, pulling me closer to him as the sharpness of his facial hair pricked my skin.This,I thought in some detached part of my brain, as my body strained to press even closer to his.Yes, this.

Being kissed by Will was like crawling into a cool, soft bed with newly washed cotton sheets.

It was like sunshine on your face, after weeks and weeks of gray, drab rain.

It was like diving into the clearest, bluest pool of sweet warm water.

It was like coming home.

It was definitely something I could get used to.

Except that I couldn’t. Icouldn’t. I couldn’t go around kissing Will. What was I,insane? It was wrong, all wrong! I knew it was wrong....

And yet I stood there, kissing him—and letting him kiss me back....

Until I finally came to my senses, and pushed him away. Possibly with a little too much force, since he backed into the console and may have jiggled a few of the controls, because the boat engines made a loud whirring noise. He turned quickly to adjust them while I held on to the back of the co-captain’s seat, trying to catch my breath.

“Okay,that,” I said, when I finally found my voice, “was messed up.”

Will glanced at me in surprise. “I rather liked it.”

“No,” I said, horrified more at the way I was feeling—which was as if I’d just run a marathon, not that I would ever do something so stupid—than by what had actually happened. “We can’t—I mean, that can’t happen again. That was... that just can’t happen again.”

“Granted, I’ve heard you’re on the rebound,” Will said. “But frankly, I’m willing to take the risk.”

“Oh my God.” I wanted to dive overboard. “I’m sorry.”

“What are you apologizing for? I said I liked it.”