Marcus

Saying goodbye to him at the airport would be impossible. The moment he touched her, she’d lose herself in his embrace. And then it would be awkward and frustrating. He’d feel compelled to kiss her and make some promise that they’d see each other again. And she’d be forced to do the same. And then she’d cry and the tears wouldn’t stop.

Eden crawled out of bed and walked to the kitchen. She grabbed the coffee from the cupboard next to the sink and poured the ground beans into the filter. Then she added water and flipped the switch. Her eyes fixed on the stream of hot liquid as she tried to rid her mind of the worry.

But it was no use. Eden turned and grabbed the phone, then rummaged through the drawer for the directory. There had to be an airport shuttle. She flipped to the back and found a service listed under ‘Limousines,’ then dialed the number, hoping there would be someone in the office but content to listen to a schedule. To her surprise, someone answered.

“Good morning, Newport Shuttle.”

She cleared her throat. “Hello. I’m interested in getting a ride to the Providence airport today. I’m in Bonnett Harbor. When does your shuttle run?”

“We have a shuttle that leaves Newport in about ten minutes,” the woman said. “And then we have one every hour on the hour. And we do have a pickup in Bonnett Harbor this morning for our 5:00 a.m. shuttle. Are you interested in leaving right away?”

Eden hesitated for a moment, glancing around the loft. It would be better this way, she mused. No goodbyes, no promises and no regrets. “Yes, that would be fine.”

“And where will the pickup be?”

“There’s a diner right on the main street. It’s called the Harborview. I’ll be waiting there.”

“The shuttle will be there in about fifteen minutes. I’ll radio the driver and let him know.”

“Fine,” Eden said. “I’ll be ready.” She gave the dispatcher her name and Marcus’s number, and after she’d noted a confirmation number, Eden hung up the phone. She hurried over to the bed and began to gather her clothes from the floor. Most of her luggage was still on Victorious, along with some of the things she’d brought from Europe. But she had her tote and stuffed what she could inside it. What didn’t fit, she tossed into a shopping bag, and five minutes later she was dressed and ready to go.

Eden stood at the door for a long moment, gazing around Marcus’s loft. It was a cowardly way to leave and she knew he’d be hurt. But this way she wouldn’t have to face the very last instant before they parted. The moment when she’d hold her breath and wait for him to ask her to stay, and then he wouldn’t. It was better to believe that it could have happened than to know that it hadn’t.

She hurried down the stairs and out into the boatyard. The sun was already up and the town had begun to stir. Eden ran to the street, then glanced around to make sure Marcus wasn’t on his way home. The diner was five minutes away, and when she got there, the first customers were already seated at the counter.

Eden sat down on a bench outside, and a few minutes later a van pulled up with Airport Shuttle emblazoned on the door. Eden handed her bag to the driver and he opened the door for her. But she hesitated, knowing this was her last chance to change her mind.

Her thoughts wandered back to the previous evening, to the fight on the sidewalk. Marcus’s eye was black. She’d watched the bruise grow over the course of the night. It had been a reminder of the problems she still needed to face. And for now, Eden wanted to face them alone.

She smiled at the driver, then crawled inside the van and took a seat next to an elderly woman. As the van wound through the streets of Bonnett Harbor, Eden smiled. She’d come a long way from the silly party girl who had hidden out on board Victorious. The changes had come so quickly that she wasn’t sure who she was right now. But she knew she was ready to make something out of her life, to become the kind of woman who might deserve a life with a man like Marcus Quinn.

MARCUS TURNED OFF THE ignition to the truck and leaned back in the seat. He’d made the drive to the Providence airport in less than a half hour on empty highways not yet clogged with rush-hour traffic. But now that he was here, he wasn’t sure what he was going to do.

He’d come home to find Eden gone, a note left on his pillow scrawled in big letters. No regrets. Nothing more, except an E at the bottom with a little heart beneath it. At first, he’d been angry. Why would she sneak out? Had she planned this all along?

But then he realized that she had been dreading their goodbye as much as he had. It was so much easier just to avoid it. Yet Marcus couldn’t let it end there. He needed to see her one last time, just to look into her eyes.

He didn’t know what he was going to say or if he’d say anything at all. But he wanted to kiss her and let that be the last thing between them, not some letter on his pillow. He glanced at his watch. Her plane didn’t leave for hours, but there was always a chance that she planned to catch an earlier flight. Hell, he wasn’t even sure she was at the airport.

Marcus clutched the steering wheel and drew a deep breath. This was it. If he had any intention of asking her to stay, now was the time to make that known. Every ounce of his being told him that it was the right thing to do. No matter what she was going through, she was better off with him. And she had to see there was more to what they shared than just sex. There was trust and affection and honesty and a friendship that had been growing since the first day they’d met. And though they’d spent less than two weeks together, it had been enough for Marcus to see that he was in love with Eden Ross.

These feelings were so strange and confusing, how could they be anything else? Marcus glanced at his watch, then closed his eyes. He’d wait ten minutes, and if he still felt the same way, then he’d walk into the airport and find her and ask her to stay.

He stared at the clock on the dash, watching as it ticked through the time. Each minute seemed to drag by, yet it only confirmed that asking her to stay was the right thing to do. They needed time to talk about a future, to consider all the pitfalls and the possibilities.

When the ten minutes were up, Marcus drew another deep breath, then smiled. There was no doubt in his mind. He needed Eden in his life. He didn’t want to think about what he’d do if she refused him. That wasn’t a possibility, for he’d thought of every argument to convince her not to go.

He jumped out of the truck, then ran across the parking ramp to the stairwell. When he reached the ground floor, he headed to the terminal, watching the signs for the airline he was looking for. He got on line behind several people, and when he reached the ticket clerk, Marcus gave her a charming smile. “I’d like to know if a passenger has checked in yet. Her name is Eden Ross.”

“I’m sorry, sir, we’re not allowed to give out information on our passengers.”

“I just need to know if she’s here in the airport.”

“You could have her paged.”

Marcus shook his head. “No, I don’t want to do that. Then the whole airport will know she’s here. She has a flight out at two to Los Angeles. How do I know this? Because I know her and I know when she’s traveling. Did she check in yet?”

“Are you a friend of hers? Or a reporter?” the woman asked, sending him a suspicious look.

“A friend, I swear,” Marcus said. “Actually, more than a friend.”

She studied him shrewdly. “Well, I suppose it wouldn’t do any harm. She did check in, but she’s already gone. She switched her ticket to an earlier flight, and it left about ten minutes ago.”

Marcus shook his head. “You’re sure?”

The ticket agent nodded. “I exchanged the ticket myself. She was anxious to get back home. And to avoid spending any time waiting in the airport.”

“Thanks.”

“Sorry,” she said.

“So am I.”

As Marcus walked back out of the airport, he wondered if maybe this was what was meant to be. If he was supposed to have stopped her, then he wouldn’t have wasted ten minutes screwing up his courage to stop her. He would have left earlier and driven faster and parked in the tow-away zone and run into the airport and gotten to her on time. But instead he’d dragged his feet the entire way.

It would be a long drive back to Bonnett Harbor if he planned to beat himself up about this. Eden was gone and there was nothing he could do about it now. If these feelings continued, then he’d have to deal with them. But for now, he’d try to get back to his life as it had been before he’d met Eden.