Everything was fine until he came along and turned her well-ordered life upside down, tempting her with a taste of what might be possible if only she had the courage to take a chance. Instead, she’d freaked out over what people might think and driven him away, probably for good this time.

How many times was he supposed to keep coming back for more of her special brand of punishment? How many times could she hurt him before he stopped wanting her? Before he stopped loving her.

That last thought finally broke her. Tears ran down her face, landing in a puddle on the paper that had been intended for new designs. The pencil landed on the desk as she dropped her face into her hands, letting the despair wash over her.

This whole thing was her fault. She never should have let him tempt her. She’d known from the very beginning that he was too young for her, but that hadn’t stopped her from walking straight into the flame of his love, knowing all the while she would surely get burned. And now that she knew what it was like to be with him, to be loved by him, to be consumed by him, how could she resist the life he offered? How could her mouth continue to say no when her heart and soul said yes, yes, yes?

She couldn’t continue to say no, because living without him now would be impossible. She’d learned to live without Pete because she hadn’t had a choice. Living without Seamus would be her choice, and she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t make that choice and go on with her life as it had been before. That was no longer possible. He’d seen to that with every word, every smile, every gesture, every time he called her “love” and stopped her heart.

Before the thoughts had been fully processed, she was up and moving, reaching for keys like a blind woman in the dark and rushing from the house without her purse or a care to what she must look like after the sleepless night.

Somehow she managed to drive into town without killing herself or anyone else, arriving at the ferry landing and parking outside the office building where he worked when he was on the island. It hadn’t occurred to her that he might not be there, that he might be on the mainland, working in his other office. It hadn’t occurred to her that he might be captaining one of the boats or off getting something to eat. If he wasn’t there, she’d wait for him. He’d come back eventually, and she’d be waiting.

She rushed into his office, stopping short when she saw that he was there but not alone.