Excerpt
The last two days were idyllic. She even liked his tofu scramble! They worked together on the boat and she actually helped, listening to his instruct ions and following them to the letter. She looked so good, his little shipmate. Today her hair was in a ponytail that hung to the side and she looked almost childlike. For a moment, he felt like the luckiest man in the world. Everything he'd done in life brought him to this moment. Somehow, now the planets aligned and brought them together. He wondered if the time had come for him to change his ways. Maybe he could find for real happiness. He knew that without her, he would return to his former life and suddenly, even with all that money, it didn't seem to amount to much.

Each night, although they should have been exhausted, they made intense love. Today, when he woke up late, he found himself actually smiling! This felt so right that, for the first time ever, he thought he might be comfortable enough to open up and tell her a little about his past. He'd never confided in anyone before because never trusted that they would keep his secret safe. Today that would all change. He sat up on the bed and she instinctively followed suit. She smiled up at him and he knew he'd made the right decision.

"I feel our relationship is very special to both of us and I want to open my soul to you."

When he started talking, at first, he purposely left out things he thought she would find repulsive. In order to win her sympathy, he made it sound like his family deserted him when they sent him to the States. When he thought she could handle it, he began to tell her part of his secret.

"I have a confession."

♥♦

The words gave her a sinking, nauseous feeling in the pit of her stomach and her heart started pounding in her ears. She remembered the last confession she'd heard and how it ultimately changed her life. She didn't want to hear what she thought might be coming next, yet then again, she did. She wanted to know what he felt he needed to share.

"I'm afraid the police may become involved in looking for me very soon. I did some things that weren't exactly legal that associated me with certain people. They found one such associate dead and they think I may know something about it. Hold on, I'll show you."

She watched him put on his robe and leave the bedroom. Terri wondered how afraid she should be of his return and something told her to get up and run. Instead, she drew up her knees, rested her head in an upright fetal position and waited.

When he returned with only a newspaper in his hand, she realized she'd been holding her breath and finally exhaled. She relaxed and cracked a small smile. What's he gonna do, spank me like a puppy? Then she realized she never even missed not seeing the paper. Has he been purposely keeping them from me? A frown crossed her face as he sat next to her on the bed and spread it out in front of them. She saw his picture and looked up, puzzled.

His expression matched that of the saddest little boy, like one who just realized that divorce is final and Dad would never be coming back and her heart melted... until she look back down at the newspaper and focused on Shevaughn's name in the article. She's Homicide. Good Lord, they think he murdered somebody!