“Yes.” Ben frowned. “I mean no.”
“Come on, sis.” Lydia, finished with her dessert, scraped her chair back. “I want you to take a walk with me before Ben distracts you for the rest of the night. I also want to hear all the juicy details of, well, whatever you’ve been up to lately.”
Tyler and Ben both groaned. Yeah, nothing was ever off limits when they talked and the men knew it.
They wandered down the gangplank and onto the wharf. Her sister unstrapped her heels and she followed suit. Leaving their shoes next to their mooring, they stepped onto the sand still warm from the day’s heat. The breeze cooled her skin, and the frothy-tipped waves rolled into shore and splashed her feet.
“I’ve missed these kinds of moments.” Lydia linked arms with her and let out a contented sigh. “Now, tell me everything. Is Ben pushing all the right buttons?”
“Yes, but we agreed on button-pushing for one day and no more.” She cleared her throat. “I want to share something with you but you need to keep it to yourself, okay?”
“I love a secret, and I promise not to say a word.” She crossed her heart.
“Like me, Ben was a virgin.”
“No way.” Lydia’s brown eyes went wide. “I know Tyler said he’d never even seen Ben date a woman before, but I didn’t realize that meant he was into abstinence. Still, that’s kinda cool you were each other’s first. Do you know why he chose to wait?”
“He said there were bad genes in his family’s stock. He has issues, and whatever they are, I’m keener than ever to get to the bottom of them. I certainly understand he doesn’t want a relationship, and not everyone does, but I think there’s so much more to it than that.” They strolled up the sand dune and sat with the coconut trees swishing in the gentle breeze behind them. Across the darkened water, light glowed from behind the ship’s slatted blinds.
“Yes, but you two are close. If anyone can get Ben to open up, it would be you. Ah, looky there.” Lydia motioned toward the ship where Ben and Tyler emerged from the dining room and walked across to the stern. Tyler leaned against the rail then hand to his brow, peered their way. Lydia waved and checked her watch. “A whole eight minutes. Those boys are slipping.”
Saria laughed as the men marched along the wharf toward them. “Poor Brigs. I hate to think how he’s going to handle them tomorrow.”
“My bet’s not very well since they hate not being in control.” Lydia shoved to her feet. “Time for you to have some one-on-one time with your man. See if you can’t get him to open up about those issues.”
“I’ll do my best. Thanks for the privacy.”
“Anytime, and think interrogation. Grill the man for whatever information you need.” Lydia grinned as she strolled toward Tyler, caught his hand then led him back toward the ship.
Ben jogged across, plopped down next to her and linked his hands over his raised knees. “Are you all right?”
“Never better.” She slid her hand over the back of his and rubbed a soothing circle over his knuckles. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I need more time alone with you.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her fingertips. “What did Lydia have to say?”
“She gave me the go ahead to interrogate you.”
“That sounds dangerous.” He watched the waves rolling in. “About what exactly?”
“Your issues.” She brushed a finger along his cheek and gently moved his gaze back to hers. “Tell me about your family. You never speak of them.”
“I don’t have any family. Raised in the foster system, remember?”
“Yes, but you must know who they are.” He had the ability to track them with such ease through his mass of contacts. “Was yours a closed case?”
“No, nothing I ever asked for was withheld from me. I requested my full file when I was thirteen and read all the damning evidence firsthand.”
“What evidence?”
“Saria, no.” He shook his head. “I’ve accepted my past and I’d rather it stay right where it is.”
“You mean controlling you?”
“Everyone who’s ever known the truth has turned away from me.” He slapped his legs and stood. “I can’t lose you too, which means this conversation is done.” He stormed along the beach and into the dark.
“Hey, you’re not allowed to run from me.” She chased after him. “Wait up, Hammers.”
“Go back to the ship, Saria. That’s an order.”
“You’re upset and I won’t leave you alone when you’re feeling this way.” She raced around him then hiked it backward, her hand pressed against his chest. “You also don’t have one bad gene in your body. You’re a man who has dedicated his life to helping others.”
“Yeah, to right the wrongs of my stupid father.”