“What are you suggesting?” Janine asked, wondering if she was reading more into this conversation than he intended.

“Nothing yet. I’m trying to be as open and as honest as I can.” He gripped the railing with both hands and braced himself, as though expecting a fierce wind to uproot him.

“Are you saying that our getting married wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all?” Janine ventured. Initially he’d made a joke of the whole thing. Then he’d seen it as an annoyance. Now he seemed to have changed his mind again.

“I…don’t know yet. I’m mulling over my thoughts, which I’m willing to confess are hopelessly tangled at the moment.”

“Mine aren’t much better.”

“Does this mean you’d consider the possibility?”

“I don’t know, either.” Janine had been so sure she was in love with Brian. She remembered how he’d done everything a romantic hero should do. He’d sent her flowers, said all the things a woman longs to hear—and then he’d casually broken her heart. When she thought about it now, she couldn’t really imagine herself married to Brian. But Zach, who’d never made any romantic gestures, somehow seemed to fit almost naturally into her life. And yet…

As she pondered these contradictions, Zach started walking again. “I’m not the kind of husband you want,” he was saying, “and not nearly as good as you deserve. I’d like to be the man of your dreams, but I’m not. Nor am I likely to change at this stage of my life.” He paused, chancing a look in her direction. “What are you thinking?”

Janine sighed and concentrated as hard as she could, but her mind was filled with so many questions, so many doubts. “Would you mind kissing me?”

Shock widened his dark eyes. He glanced around, then scowled. “Now? Right here?”

“Yes.”

“There are people everywhere. Is this really necessary?”

“Would I ask you to do it if it wasn’t?”

As he searched her face, she moistened her lips and looked up at him, tilting her head slightly. Zach slipped one arm around her waist and drew her close. Her heart reacted immediately, leaping into a hard fast rhythm that made her feel breathless. He lifted her chin with his free hand and slowly lowered his mouth to hers.

The instant his lips grazed hers, Janine was flooded with a sensual languor. It was as if they’d returned to the moors of Scotland with the full moon overhead, pouring magic onto their small corner of earth. Everything around them faded. No longer did Janine hear the sound of water slapping against the wooden columns of the pier. The blustery day went calm.

She supported her hands on his chest, breathing erratically, when he stopped kissing her. Neither spoke. Janine wanted to, but none of her faculties seemed to be working. She parted her lips and Zach lowered his mouth to hers again. Only this time it was a full-fledged kiss, deep and probing. His hands slid up her back as his mouth abandoned hers to explore the sweep of her neck.