by Macy Beckett
As he came deep within her, Devyn told him, “I love you more.”
After that, she went limp as a dishrag.
Beau took her in his powerful arms and turned off the water, then carried her to the king-size bed, where he tucked her beneath the covers and joined her. In the light streaming from the bathroom, she noticed the change in the skin above his heart for the first time.
“Your birthmark,” she whispered, stroking the spot with her thumb. “It’s gone.”
He glanced down and grinned. “Good riddance. I never liked that thing.”
“I guess we really did break the hex.”
“Of course we did,” he said. “Was there ever any doubt?”
They both knew the answer to that question. There had been doubt on Devyn’s part, and it’d nearly driven them apart. A shiver rolled over her skin when she remembered how close she’d come to letting fear and insecurity keep her from a fulfilling life with her true companion.
“Yes,” she answered. “But I promise it’ll never happen again. Beau, I’m sorry for ever doubting—”
“Shh.” He pressed a finger to her mouth and settled atop her, using a knee to part her thighs. “No apologies allowed on our wedding night.” A hint of amusement danced in his gaze. “Have you forgotten what your tongue is for?”
Smiling, Devyn opened for him and slipped both hands possessively over his broad back. This is my husband, she thought. Now and forever. It seemed she didn’t have room for any more happiness, but that wouldn’t stop her from trying. “I might need a reminder.”
“Lucky for both of us,” he said, “I love making you remember.”
The last thing she saw before his head dipped beneath the covers was a flash of dimples. Then he kissed a trail down her belly until he reached his destination.
After that, there was no more talking.
Epilogue
Beau spotted Devyn staggering up the bow ramp with an armload of textbooks, so he rushed to help her. He took the volumes and peered at the one on top of the stack. Science Content for Secondary Students. It sounded boring, but he’d never admit that and risk giving her a reason to change her mind again. “How exciting,” he said instead. “You’re on your way to being a licensed teacher!”
She rolled her eyes but couldn’t conceal a smile. “In four years.”
“Maybe three,” he reminded her. “If you take a full summer schedule.”
“We already talked about this.” As they climbed the outside steps, she shielded her eyes and admired the sparkle of sunlight dancing on the river. The wind tossed her curls, and her lush pink lips spread into an appreciative smile. It stunned Beau into a beat of silence, and he wondered if he’d ever get his fill of looking at her. Probably not. “I’m taking summers off to work in the education center during high season,” she said. “My mind’s made up.”
He knew better than to argue. And truthfully, he liked the idea of them spending summers together aboard the Belle. In their nearly three weeks as husband and wife, he’d had to leave her for only one overnight charter, and that was one night too long.
“And by the way,” she added, “you don’t want to know how much those textbooks cost.”
A receipt peeked out from between the pages, so Beau pulled it free and scanned the total. He nearly dropped the whole stack. A hundred dollars per book? She was right—he didn’t want to know. “Well,” he said. “I guess you can’t put a price on education.”
Devyn stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “Actually, you can. The university is really good at it.”
They made their way to the captain’s suite on the top floor, where they usually camped out when Beau was on duty. After depositing her textbooks, they linked hands and headed back down the stairs to the formal dining hall’s executive bar, where a family meeting was already in progress.
At once, Beau sensed that something was wrong.
Allie sat beside Marc, dabbing her eyes with a tissue while her husband stared blankly at a piece of paper in his hand. On the other side of the table, Alex and Nicky wore dazed expressions, their twin blond brows lifted and their blue eyes wide. The only sound in the room was the steady whir of a refrigerator behind the bar. Not only that, but the head purser was absent.
“What’s the matter?” Beau asked, glancing from person to person. “Where’s Ella-Claire?” Everyone at the table avoided his gaze, so he pulled up a chair and repeated the question while Devyn settled on his lap.
Marc scrubbed a hand over his face, then slid a piece of paper across the table. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary business letter, but then Beau recognized Ella-Claire’s signature at the bottom. He held it up so Devyn could read it at the same time.
Dear Marc and family,
Please accept this letter of resignation from my position as head purser aboard the Bell of the Bayou, effective immediately. I’m sorry for not being able to give you more notice, but I have accepted another position out of town, and they requested that I start right away.
Thank you for your support and understanding, both now and for the past decade. I have loved working alongside all of you, and I will miss you deeply. However, I’m at a point in my life where a change is needed, and I trust you to respect that.
Take care of one another while I’m away.
Much love,
Ella-Claire
Beau fisted the paper as his jaw went slack. Just days ago, he’d seen Ella when she had brought a gift to the house—a framed wedding portrait and an “Our First Christmas” ornament for the upcoming holiday. Now she was gone, just like that.
It didn’t seem real.
But as the seconds passed, he recalled her behavior on the last charter, and the puzzle pieces clicked into place. Anger flushed his cheeks because he knew exactly why she’d left. He shook the letter at Marc. “This is because of that asshole she was dating.”
Marc sat straighter. “What asshole?”
“I don’t know,” Beau admitted. “She wouldn’t give me his name, but I could tell that he messed with her head.” He pointed the letter at Alex, her best friend. “Did she tell you anything about this guy?”
Before Alex had a chance to answer, Devyn spoke up. “I think we should mind our own business and do what Ella asked of us: respect her choice. She’s a grown woman, and she knows what she wants.”
Nicky waved her off. “Screw that. If someone hurt her, I’ll have his ass.”
“Not before me, you won’t,” Marc said in a low growl.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Allie said, but then the table erupted in a riot of conversation and arguments, each voice raised in an effort to be heard.
It went on for several minutes until Alex stood up from the table so quickly that his chair tipped over. His typically fair skin flushed dark when he locked eyes with Marc and yelled, “It was me. I’m the asshole. Are you happy now?”
Allie and Devyn shared a sideways glance that told Beau this wasn’t news to either of them. But he sure hadn’t seen it coming. “What’re you talking about?” he asked.
Alex never took his gaze off Marc when he answered. “Ella wanted to be more than friends, but our brother made it perfectly clear that I couldn’t touch her. So I told her no.” His tone was charged with contempt when he added, “Looks like you got what you wanted.”
“Don’t twist my words,” Marc ground out. If he clenched his jaw any harder, he’d break his face in half. “This is not what I wanted.”
“Bullshit! You’ve been riding my ass for months about keeping away from her.”
“Damn straight—because I don’t want you riding my kid sister!”
Devyn held up both palms and said, “Everyone needs to calm down.” But the staring match didn’t end until she said, “Ella-Claire talked to me about this.”
Marc whipped his head around. “And you didn’t make her stay?”
“She didn’t tell me she was leaving town,” Devyn said. “But even if she had, I would have let her go. I know she’
s your little sister, but she’s not a child, Marc. She knew that pursuing a relationship with Alex would have consequences, but she was willing to accept it because she’s been in love with him for years. Maybe she resigned because she doesn’t need a big brother to protect her from the things she wants in life. Have you considered that?”
The room fell silent and everyone went back to avoiding one another’s eyes.
It was Alex who spoke first. “You can have my resignation, too.” And then he strode from the table.
“Wait a minute,” Marc objected. “We haven’t talked about—”
“I’m done talking.” Alex never slowed his steps, leaving them with one final message before he disappeared out the door. “At least to you.”
Well, add that to the list of things Beau didn’t see coming today.
“Wonderful.” Marc threw his hands in the air. “Now we’re missing our head purser and our personnel director.”
“And your half brother and sister,” Allie reminded him in a chiding voice.
His shoulders drooped an inch. “That, too.”
Beau wrapped an arm around Devyn’s waist and bent his mouth to her ear. “Your first day back on the job,” he whispered, “and you’ve already caused a mutiny, Mrs. Dumont.”
“It’ll be all right in the end.” For a while, she peered quietly out the port window. “Alex learned something today that took me a long time to figure out, too.”
“What’s that?”
She looked at him and her gaze turned soft. “Some things are worth the risk.”
Beau placed a kiss on her nose. “I’m proud of you.”
“For what?” she asked.
“For turning down Larabee’s partnership and going back to school.” He knew she hadn’t taken the easy road, and he respected her for that. “It’ll pay off in the end.”
She looked confused at first, but then realization dawned in her eyes. “That’s not the risk I was talking about.”
“Then what was it?”
“You,” she said, locking both arms around his neck. “It took me a long time to make peace with the fact that I can’t control the future. We might have one year together, or fifty. But I’ll cherish each moment, because it’s a gift.”
Her words made him go all warm inside. Just when he thought Devyn couldn’t make him any happier, she outdid herself. “I’m a lucky man,” he told her.
“The luckiest,” she agreed, then proved it by leaning in to kiss him.
Beau brushed her lips with his and whispered, “There was never any risk, Kitten. I’ve been yours since our first date.”
“Ditto.” She grinned as if replaying the memory, and Beau could swear that he heard the chirp of bayou crickets from his old fishing hole. “Something happened that night. It was . . .”
She paused until their eyes met, and then they answered in unison, a smile on both their faces.
“Magical.”