Chapter 11
The ocean was clear blue and there were no clouds overhead though in the very far distance a storm brewed.
Leo glanced behind him as Anna steered and he tightened the rope on the sail. They probably had an hour or two before the rain began. Hopefully this was enough time for her to feel the freedom of sailing again and not let her fears take over.
He checked the levers near the wheel but let her captain, as he’d promised. For now all was good so he came beside her and opened a bottle of water, offering it to Anna who took it from him, before grabbing another from the cooler. He settled in next to her.
Anna’s soft brown hair wrapped in a tight ponytail whipped behind her with the clip of the wind, but it was as if she didn’t care. She lifted her face and smiled.
She was truly beautiful. How he hadn’t noticed her as a woman for a year seemed improbable now. Respecting boundaries shouldn’t have blindfolded his eyes.
Leo trusted her, though, which meant on some level he’d seen her true essence. Now he needed to earn her trust and handle his own problems. And let her face her fears while he stood beside her.
If only he could be as honest with her as she’d been with him and put the Francesca fiasco to rest, so they could move on. “Anna, I do wish I’d have just noticed you last year and not gotten involved with Francesca.”
Her gaze narrowed as she turned toward him. “What are you saying? What’s going on in your head?”
His skin buzzed and part of him wished he’d kept his mouth shut. He shouldn’t have told her. He swallowed and stared off at the distant gray clouds. “Nothing but regret for being blind.”
She gently bumped her shoulder into his. “Well, maybe it was good for us to get to know each other’s quirks without romance as a possibility, though I do admit I used to imagine some illicit late nights.”
“You’re a good woman, Anna.” He took her hand. “I’m just glad we’re here, together, now. And I don’t want to hurt you.”
She didn’t blink as she just gazed at him like she trusted him entirely. “Then you won’t.”
The surety of her words was a dagger in his heart. “It’s that simple?”
“It doesn’t have to be hard.” She tilted her head. “Let me give some examples to explain myself.”
His mind raced almost as fast as his pulse while he tried to imagine what she’d say as he hadn’t told her about Francesca’s pregnancy. “You haven’t stated what you’re proving.”
She held up a finger and placed her water bottle in the seat beside her. “Give me a minute.”
“Okay.”
She checked her bearings and set the boat’s course, then brought her seat closer to him, crossing her calves. “A few months ago you and I went to the children’s hospital to visit cancer patients?”
He remembered the day where he’d toured the facility treating children with no hair, fighting for their lives. “Yes.”
She let out a sigh like what she said made complete sense. “You said you wished the parents all had the funds to pay for advanced care and spoke about how you could help.”
He had to be able to keep Anna and figure out a way to be a good father if he had to be. The problem ran through his mind, but he stayed on topic when he squeezed her hand. “While our hospitals are free to our citizens, advanced care isn’t easy to get in Avce. I wanted to bring awareness so we could improve their situation.”
Her nod was an agreement that his point made sense. “Right. And a few months before that there was the auction ball where you bought art that you hated but said it was to help children?”
Thunder rolled in the distance. They needed to head back soon. And this conversation weighted against his shoulders. He ran his hands behind his skull and said, “Right, but I don’t think you understood my question.”
She lifted her head and said with absolute confidence, “Let me finish.”
Afterward he’d steer the conversation in a different direction. Hopefully Francesca wasn’t having his child and that she’d found a new man. All would be well then. He traced Anna’s arm. “Okay. What are you saying?”
She smiled up at him like she knew him and trusted everything about him. “I’m saying I know you have a heart that’s good. I trust we’re on course both in this boat and in our lives where it’s possible we get to be happy.”
Trust. If only it was that easy. If Anna had his son, he’d never leave her side. And it wasn’t because she was his wife. Unlike any other woman he’d ever met, she… she loved him and cared about his thoughts and listened to him and trusted him. He never wanted to let her down. “I’m not that noble. I wish I was, but I’m not.”
She cupped his face that must scratch her soft skin as he hadn’t shaved this morning. “Don’t be hard on yourself,” she said. “I’m quite positive that you’re changing for the better.”
Responsibility hadn’t always been his middle name, except for his duty. All Anna had just proved was that she actually cared about him. And despite her words, nobility wasn’t a character trait so much as a title and she’d clearly confused the two. He kissed the back of her hand. “I only want to be worthy of your love. It’s enough for me.”
