“Well, thanks, Mr Bernstein.”
His face fell and I immediately regretted my words.
“Sorry, I’m just a little freaked. Maybe you could help me come up with some ideas about life in a military family.”
He pulled a face. “Depends on the family.”
That was true.
“How are Mitch and Ches?”
It seemed an innocent enough question but Sebastian looked away.
“Okay, I guess. I’ve only seen Ches at work.”
“And?”
I waited for him to continue but he just carried on watching sand run through his fingers. “Sebastian, what’s the matter?”
He took a deep breath. “Ches said that he knew I was seeing someone.”
I felt the blood draining from my face.
“How?”
Sebastian looked at me anxiously.
“He got… when I wouldn’t tell him anything he started saying that there must be a reason and what was the problem. He kept on and on at me. He was just horsing around but… ”
Sebastian didn’t need to finish the sentence.
“What made him… suspect?”
“Well, at first it was because I haven’t been hanging out that much. He’s been asking me to go surfing with him and the guys, and when I kept on saying no… I guess he worked it out.”
“Then what… you said ‘at first’?”
His expression was evasive.
“Tell me!”
He sighed. “Ches saw me getting changed into my uniform at work.”
“So?”
“He noticed… scratches down my back.”
Oh! I remembered doing that.
“What did he say?”
Sebastian shrugged, unable to meet my worried gaze. On second thought, I didn’t need to know what Ches had said; I could probably imagine how that conversation had gone.
“I told him to drop it but he wouldn’t. I got so mad at him…”
“We’re not very good at this, are we?” I said softly.
“It’s harder than I thought,” he agreed quietly.
My heart lurched painfully and I felt a little nauseous.
“Do you want to end it?”
He looked at me, horrified.
“No! Caro, no! Of course not! That’s not what I meant! How can you say that?”
“Just… if it’s getting too hard…”
He pulled my face to his and kissed me roughly.
“Don’t say that! Please don’t say that! We’ll work it out somehow. Promise me you won’t give up on us, Caro. Promise!”
I felt the edge of desperation in his voice so I kissed him back, trying to pour reassurance into my touch; words that I couldn’t say out loud because I was afraid they might not be true.
He pulled me down onto the sand so I was half-lying across his chest. One hand was tangled in my hair and the other pressing into the small of my back. My lips crushed his and he forced his tongue into my mouth, locking us together.
I had to break off the kiss before we went too far; it was still mid-afternoon and I was hyper-aware that someone could stumble across us at any time.
Sebastian was reluctant to let me go and I had to push hard against his chest to make him release me.
I was breathless when we rolled apart. He threw an arm over his face and groaned softly.
“Fuck, Caro,” he said softly, and he turned to stare at me, his sea-green eyes accusing.
“We have to get back,” I said, cowardly as ever. “You’ll be late for your shift.”
I started trudging back up the beach and, reluctantly, he followed me.
“Don’t forget to bring me an application form for the country club,” I said, trying to lighten his somber mood.
He smiled slightly. “I guess I could take some day shifts, if you’re going to be there.”
“And maybe you’d better arrange to go out with Ches a few times.”
“What for?”
I sighed in exasperation. “To throw him off the scent and…”
“And what?”
“Well, if our plans work out, you won’t be seeing him again.”
His eyes widened in surprise. He clearly hadn’t thought about what he’d be giving up if we did make it to New York.
I looked at him steadily, watching him regain his equilibrium.