The man I knew as Paul watched me with remorse in his gaze, but I was hesitant to address him. He had saved both my and my mother’s lives, but truthfully I had no idea who he was. His intentions in joining this cruise now seemed obvious; he had been intending to steal from my mother all the while. I still had no idea when he would have had time to steal the flash drive from her, considering most of our time on board had been spent making love.

Had it all been some game to him? Any sane person would come to the conclusion that he was a lowlife, a fraudster, but my heart still longed for him. Talk about desperate. My mother was deep in conversation with him, thanking him for saving our lives while completely oblivious to his actual intent. I had wanted her to like him, and it seemed I had gotten my wish. How ironic that I would now be the one to reveal that it had been his fault we’d nearly died. He’d saved us, yes, but if he hadn’t stolen that goddam drive…

Still, there was a pang in my heart as his eyes traced my face. It looked as if there were so much he longed to say, only he was afraid to say it on this crowded life raft.

I glanced into the distance, where the coast was now visible. It wouldn’t be long before we were on dry land, safe to pursue our futures, whatever they may be. I was troubled by the thought, because on some level, I still longed for that trip to Europe.

In spite of all he had done, in spite of the lies, I loved him. The question simply was whether I truly loved him, or the idea of himself that he had fabricated.

Minutes later, I was dragged from my thoughts as we struck land, and the small group that was gathered on the life raft scrambled out onto dry land. Paul, or whatever his name was, offered me his hand, smiling nervously. I grasped it in my own, familiar jolts of electricity shooting through my body. As we stepped out of the raft, I looped my arm through my mother’s to help her out as well.

As my bare feet touched the warm sand, an abrupt thrill shot through me. Perhaps he had told his share of lies, but if this man truly felt nothing for me, he would have left me to fry. Of that much, I was certain. He would have had little issue selling the stolen usb device if both my mother and I were dead. Who would press charges? He’d kissed that opportunity goodbye when he’d risked his life to save us.

That had to mean something, didn’t it?

“The paramedics will be here soon, Ms. Beck,” one of the crew members informed my mother, and I guided her to a seated position on the ground. She looked worse for wear, but at least she was alive.

I inhaled a shuddering breath, turning to face the man who had stolen my heart.

“Ella, I’m so sorry. You must think—” he began, but I was swift to cut him off.

Overcome with emotion, with the sheer thrill of having survived, I couldn’t resist the desire to kiss those perfectly formed lips, tangle my hands in his sweat-soaked hair. He seemed hesitant to return to embrace, but that suited me just as well. I was content to explore his mouth to my heart’s content.

When my mother cleared her throat behind us, however, I jumped away from him. He had a dazed expression on his face, and God help me, he was such a beautiful bastard.

“You son of a bitch,” I swore angrily, slapping him across the face.

My mother gasped, grasping at my skirt to pull me away from the man who had saved our lives.

“Ella, for God’s sake,” she blurted out, and Paul chuckled weakly, rubbing his reddening cheek.

“No, Martha. I deserved it, and so much more. The truth is, I didn’t join the crew simply to serve as an entertainer. I came into some information about your USB drive, and I was…eager to get my paws on it,” he admitted, turning to face me once more.

“But, Ella, I swear to you. You were never part of the plan. I never planned…I never planned to fall in love with you.”

I felt my cheeks redden, the slightest bit of delight welling up within me. There was one more score to settle, however.

“Give my mom back her goddam USB drive, will you? We nearly died looking for the thing,” I demanded, unable to help the iciness from creeping into my tone.

Paul tilted his head curiously, crossing his arms over his chest.

“But I don’t have it,” he said bluntly. “I never took it. After you told me that you wanted to change your fate, I knew that I had no choice but to go straight. I never touched your ma’s goods. Wait, that sounded wrong,” he muttered, making a face.

A laugh bubbled up past my lips, and I shook my head incredulously before pulling him into my arms. I buried my face in his shoulder, pressing tender kisses to the exposed skin there. His skin was covered in smoke and soot, and it wasn’t an appetizing taste, to say the least, but I was more than prepared to kiss every inch of him.

“You…you didn’t take it? You swear? Swear to me, Paul or…whatever the hell your name is,” I demanded.

He quirked a brow, looking more than vaguely bemused.

“I swear to you, little bird. I didn’t take the damn thing. I know I can’t ask you to trust me, but come on, baby. I have to get some lifesaving brownie points or something, right?”

Tears pricked the corners of my eyes, and I cursed myself for how easily I was overtaken by my own emotions. I kissed him again, desperately clinging to him as if I would die if he slipped away. At that moment, I wasn’t sure I could survive without him. Still, if he hadn’t stolen the USB…

“If you didn’t take it…and I believe that you didn’t. At least, I want to believe it. But if you didn’t take the USB device, where could it have gone? My mother never takes the blasted thing off. Hell, I doubt she even takes it off to shower,” I huffed.

Paul shrugged his shoulders, and I breathed a frustrated sigh. Realizing with a start that my mother had been all too quiet for the past few moments, I turned to check and make sure she was still breathing.

She was alive, all right, though significantly more pale than I remembered. I stepped away from Paul, dropping to my knees in front of her and grasping her hands.

“Mom, Mommy, are you okay? You don’t look so good. God, where are those paramedics?” I wondered aloud, squeezing her hands.

She met my gaze, an inexplicable sadness in her eyes. I parted my lips to ask what was wrong, panic sweeping over me. After all that had happened, she couldn’t die like this. She was too damn tough to die.

I reached out to touch her cheek, and she coughed weakly before clearing her throat.

“Ella, honey…I’m so sorry,” she began, and I felt tears pool in my eyes.

“Mom, it’s okay. Whatever you have to say, it’s okay. Just try to hold on until the paramedics get here,” I said desperately.

Her sadness shifted to confusion, and she quirked a brow.

“Jesus Christ, Ella. I’m not dying. You’re so melodramatic,” she groaned, drawing me into her arms.

“If you’re not in pain or… Well, if you’re okay, why do you look so troubled?” I demanded.

She hesitated, looking as if she would like nothing more than to bolt from the scene. Just to ensure she did no such thing, I tightened my grip on her. She frowned, trying to shake off my hands.

“Darling, I told you, I’m fine. It’s just…” She paused, glancing between me and Paul. She chuckled weakly, brushing her hair behind her ear. “Funny thing is, um, I can confirm that your little lover boy didn’t steal my flash drive. I, uh…” She paused, eyes darting to and fro.

“Mom,” I began, my voice dangerously low.

“See, the thing is, Ella, after we had our…disagreement last night, I was up all night, thinking about what you said. I decided to take a dip in the pool this morning, to relieve some stress, just before everything got out of control. I had forgotten up until this very moment, but I, uh…” She paused again, her voice strained.

Paul stepped up beside me, crossing his arms over his chest. While I knew I looked prepared to strangle my mother for what she was about to say, he had the nerve to look entertained.

“Go ahead and spit it out, Martha. I won’t let her hurt you…too much.”

My mother narrowed her eyes at him. Then, she exhaled a defeated sigh and shrugged her shoulders.

“I took the flash drive off before getting in the pool. I must have left it on the table there,” she admitted reluctantly.

My eyes widened, and the desire to strangle her came on even stronger. I actually raised my hands, but Paul rested his hand on my shoulder, drawing me away from her and towards his chest.

“I can’t…I can’t believe,” I sputtered out.

My mother shifted away, obviously eager to make her escape. I narrowed my eyes at her, pointing an accusing finger in her direction.

“We nearly died looking for that damn thing! And you left it at the pool? Of all the ridiculous…” I trailed off, noting the tears shining in my mother’s eyes.

Paul tightened his grip on me, drawing back to look me in the eyes. His expression was stern, and before I could offer an apology on my mother’s part, he spoke.

“Ella, don’t be too hard on your mother. She’s made her mistakes, but we all played our part in what happened today,” he said calmly.

I hesitated, looking towards my mom. Her shoulders shook with sobs, and it was the most human I had ever seen. She was normally cold and callous, caring only about herself, but it was obvious that she was deeply troubled by what had happened. I sighed, the anger flowing out of me as I realized Paul was right.

We had all had our fair share of screw-ups; the important thing was that we were alive, and Paul was not the traitorous scumbag I’d feared him to be.