“I’m not incredible. I’m beginning to think it was all a mistake.”
“No. It wasn’t a mistake,” Marc said steadfastly. “I want to help you with it, if I can.”
“You do?” she looked up at him, her golden-brown eyes huge in her face.
“Does that surprise you?”
“No. Yes. A little.” She bit at her lower lip. “Ryan wants to help, too.”
“Does he?” Marc asked, not paying as much attention as he should because he was still enthralled by the vision of Mari’s white teeth scraping across her damp, plump lower lip. He blinked when he realized she was staring at him, her brow arched in a query. “Oh,” he said as understanding dawned. “So you’re foreseeing conflict between the Itanis and the Kavanaughs if we try to work together on this project.”
“It did cross my mind.”
“It could potentially be a land mine,” Marc conceded after a moment.
“It seems like I’ve done nothing but navigate around a land mine since returning to Harbor Town,” Mari admitted bitterly.
“Which brings me to the reason I climbed your tree tonight.”
She gave him a wry glance. “I thought you did that because you’re an idiot.”
He smiled good-naturedly and flicked his eyebrows. “In addition to that. See, it struck me sometime today— maybe it was as your brother came to save you from the evil Kavanaughs—that you and I really need to get out of this town. Just for a few days,” he added when she looked at him like he was crazy.
“Marc, I have a million things to do in order to get things started with the Center before I leave the week after next. The last thing I should be considering is leaving town.”
“You just said that Ryan was going to help, and Colleen is on board now. Once Liam hears about the news, he’ll likely volunteer some of his time. And I’m assuming Eric Reyes is involved in the project?”
Mari nodded doubtfully. “And his sister, Natalie. You remember her?”
Marc closed his eyes briefly and glanced away. He’d remember the young girl who’d been injured and scarred by the crash until the day he died.
“Of course I remember,” he mumbled. “You’re making my whole point, Mari.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, obviously bewildered.
“You said you’d give this a chance,” he murmured as he flicked his finger between them. “But I don’t stand a chance with you while we’re here in Harbor Town. There are too many obstacles. Too many memories. It’s not a fair playing field.”
“So what do you suggest?” she asked, looking wary.
“That you come to Chicago with me this weekend. Just for two nights,” he added quickly when he saw her mouth open to argue. “There’s nothing that can’t be taken care of at The Family Center for a couple days without you.”
“I can’t, Marc!” she exclaimed. “Ryan just got home!”
“We won’t be leaving for a few days, and you’ll be back by Sunday,” he reminded her. “Ryan is home for a while, isn’t he?”
Mari nodded reluctantly.
When he sensed her wavering, he pulled out all his ammunition. He pressed his forehead against hers and kissed the end of her perfect nose. “Don’t you think you owe it to yourself to get away from all the distractions for a period of time and just focus on us? Wouldn’t you regret knowing that you’d never found out…for sure?”
She leaned back slightly, and he saw a world of doubt and longing in her eyes.
“I let you go once, because I thought I didn’t have a choice,” he whispered hoarsely. “I’m not willing to do that again. If you spend this time with me in Chicago, and you decide to walk away, I’ll accept it. But I’m not willing to let you go this time until I know for sure you’re certain, absolutely certain, that it’s what you want. How else can you know that until you spend some time away with me, away from all the history of this town and the people? It’s almost impossible to figure out here with everything and everyone around us.”
He put his hand on the back of her head and tilted it forward, so that their foreheads once again met and their breaths mingled. Her long hair fell like a drape around them, increasing the sense of solemn intimacy.
“It’s only fair, Mari.”
“You always could talk me into anything,” she whispered.