The Ties That Bind by Jaci Burton Page B

swim, see the sights, loll about in the water, eat and sleep whenever we want.”
    “Don’t forget all that sex.”
    “Yes. All the sex, too.”
    He continued to stare down at her.
    “What?” she asked.
    “I’m waiting for your point.”
    “Don’t you see?” She shifted around so she faced him, pulling her legs in and crossing them over his. “It’s not reality. None of this has been.”
    “And that’s a bad thing?”
    “No. Yes. I don’t know.” She pulled her hands through her hair. “I’m confused, I guess.”
    “What do you want, Lisa?”
    That was the million-dollar question. “I guess what I’m trying to say is, this vacation will end.”
    “Yes.”
    He stared at her expectantly. God, how was she going to say this? She supposed the best way was simply to put it out there. “And I don’t know how to…end things with us.”
    His lips curled. He laid his hands on her thighs, leaned forward, and pressed his lips to hers. “Do we have to?”
    “I don’t know, Rick. I don’t know where we are. Like I said, this has been a fantasy. It’s been wonderful. I’ve enjoyed the time with you so much. But it’s not reality. It’s not our lives, not who we are, who we’ve been for the past fifteen years.”
    He leaned back. “You mean divorced. Separate.”
    “Yes.”
    “Is that what you want?”
    Did she? She didn’t know anymore. “I can’t say.”
    “I arranged this week as a way for us to reconnect, Lisa. To rediscover each other, to see if we still had the magic.”
    There was definitely magic between them. More so now than there ever had been before. But was it enough to sustain a relationship, to build a future on? She reached for his face, sliding her palm along his jaw. “It’s been amazing. More than I could ever hope for.”
    “But?”
    She sensed his tension, knew anger simmered just under the surface. But she owed it to him, and to herself, to be honest. “I just don’t think it’s enough. I think we’re trying to recapture something that’s long gone, Rick.
    “I think our time is past. I think it’s time we both move on with our lives.”
    His jaw clenched, the parts of his body touching her tightening, too. All the joy, the relaxation she’d felt tonight, evaporated in the steam rising from the water.
    She’d hurt him. And that tore her up inside, made her stomach clench with pain.
    “Is that how you really feel?” he asked, not making a move to rise from the tub, but draping his arms over the sides. He seemed casual and relaxed, but Lisa knew he was anything but. “Do you really feel like we’re over, or is that the line you’re using because you’re afraid?”
    Defenses up, she lifted her chin. “I’m not afraid, Rick. I just don’t think you and me together is a wise idea.”
    “Because?”
    “Because it’s too much history.”
    “All bad?”
    “No. Of course not. We have Kayla.”
    “We have more than just Kayla between us.”
    She rubbed her head, knowing where this was going. “Do we? There’s always been Kay between us. She was the reason for our marriage, the reason we fought it out for three years before finally giving in and divorcing.”
    “We divorced because we were too young, not ready, not able to handle a relationship and a child. We needed that separation until we both grew up.”
    She nodded. “Yes. But still, would we have stayed together if Kayla hadn’t come along?”
    He shrugged. “I don’t know, Lisa. I think we would have. We’re still together now.”
    She let herself smile. “Not really. We’re divorced, we share custody of our daughter. We raised her together. But everything has always been about Kayla. Now that she’s heading off to college, I’m afraid there’ll be nothing left for us to build on together.”
    “There’s a lot we can build on, Lisa. We have amazing chemistry, we love being together.”
    “Great sex doesn’t make a relationship. I’m afraid we’re both holding on tight to the past because