He came out of the bathroom looking sexier than any man had a right to at nearly forty. His chest and abs were ripped with muscles and covered in a light dusting of dark hair, his jaw chiseled with just the right amount of scruff and his eyes… He looked at her with such affection and desire. A man who looked at a woman that way could convince her to change her life for him.

After he got in bed, the heat of his body drew her to him, and he wrapped her up in his arms.

“Thank you for an amazing Christmas,” he said. “And for the painting of the lighthouse. I’ll find a very special place for that in my Florida house.”

“I thought you might like a memento of your stay here.”

“I’ll never forget staying here or being with you this Christmas.”

“I love my new necklace, too.” She touched the sterling silver sand dollar to make sure it was still there.

“Glad you like it. Looks as good on you as does that nightgown.”

She looked up at his handsome face. “Tell me something about you that I don’t know.”

Chapter 16

Erin wasn’t sure where the inquiry had come from. All she knew was that she wanted more of him—and not just sex, although more of that would be fine with her, too.

“Like a deep, dark secret?”

“Do you have a deep, dark secret?”

After a long pause, he said, “There is one thing that no one knows, not even my family.”

“You don’t have to tell me if it’s too personal.”

“It’s very personal, and I’ve honestly never told anyone. But I want to tell you.”

Intrigued and insanely curious, she propped her chin on his chest so she could see his face.

“My high school girlfriend got pregnant.”

His grim expression made Erin sorry she’d asked.

“We were juniors. She was my first, and I was hers. We were crazy about each other until she realized she was pregnant. It all went to shit after that, to put it mildly.”

“Did she blame you?”

“She never actually said that, but I blamed myself enough for both of us. We did it once without protection, and I thought I’d pulled out in time… I’ve never had unprotected sex again.” He sighed. “It’s hard to talk about even all these years later.”

“You don’t have to. I’m sorry. I never meant—”

He cupped her cheek and stroked her face with his thumb. “It’s okay, Erin. I wouldn’t have told you if I didn’t want to.”

“What did you do about the baby?”

“I left it completely up to her. I told her I’d support any decision she made, including keeping the baby. After a torturous month, she decided to end the pregnancy.”

“How did you feel about that?”