Page 272 of Hidden Tide
“You also promised you would stay on the boat.”
“I don’t remember that.”
“I do.”
“I may have had a head injury.”
I pull back and look at the blood on his face.
“You’re going to the hospital.”
He touches my cheek.
This time, he doesn’t argue.
“I love you.”
The words stop everything inside me.
The burning ship.
The shouting agents.
The sirens.
The years I spent refusing to need anyone because loving someone meant giving the ocean one more person it could take away.
Ben stands in front of me wounded, exhausted and barely able to remain upright.
But he is here.
“I love you too.”
His mouth finds mine.
The kiss is gentle.
It still feels like the strongest thing I have ever known.
Someone behind us clears his throat.
Piers.
“The declarations are touching, but his leg is bleeding through the bandage.”
Ben rests his forehead against mine.
“He ruins everything.”
“He saved your life.”
“That doesn’t mean he isn’t irritating.”
Piers points toward the ambulance.
“Move.”
Ben takes one step and nearly falls again.
