Free When It's Love by Bella Andre, Lucy Kevin

filmmaking, Morgan is often off-island for her TV commitments, and Dad tends to be busy with the school and his educational trips. But for our fall dinner, everyone rearranges their schedules to make sure they can be on the island for the night.”
    “It must be nice having everyone you love around you.”
    It was, and the family get-togethers were wonderful. But at the same time, her sisters' successes with both career and love could also sometimes feel like a reminder that Rachel was not only still on the island working in insurance, but that she hadn't found anyone who made her heart beat as fast as her rotten ex had. When she was younger, she'd assumed that once she was old enough, she'd go off into the world to explore all of its exciting nooks and crannies. But that wasn't the way it had worked out.
    Well, she thought, aside from the part about her heart beating fast. Because Nicholas certainly kept sending it into overdrive, with nothing more than one of his gorgeous smiles...
    Once they got to the house, Nicholas carried Charlotte inside. After silently checking with Rachel to make sure it was okay, he headed for her room and laid her down gently on her bed. He did it so softly and quietly that Charlotte barely murmured in her sleep, rolling over and reaching for the stuffed rabbit Nicholas had given her.
    Deciding it wouldn't hurt Charlotte to sleep in a dress instead of her jammies for one night if it meant getting a few extra minutes of sleep after such a busy evening out, Rachel pressed a kiss to her daughter's cheek and said, “I love you.” Then she crept out of the room after Nicholas, who had headed back into the living room.
    Once they were alone, it would have been so easy to reach for him. But she knew if she did, that one touch would inevitably lead to more. He would pull her even closer to him, their lips would meet, and—
    Rachel swallowed instinctively at the heady thought. That was the problem. It was too good of a thought. Too good to ever be real. To ever be safe with a man like Nicholas.
    Still, when she looked up into his eyes, the heat in them had her wondering if he would be the one to bridge the gap between them and kiss her impulsively, the same way he seemed to do everything else in his life. A part of her wanted his kiss so, so badly. But at the same time, despite the instinctive pull she felt toward Nicholas—one so strong that it had been there from the very first moment she'd set eyes on him at the ferry—the days when she could just dive into something on instinct were long gone.
    As if he could sense her conflicting thoughts, instead of grabbing her and kissing her, he simply said, “You’ve got a great kid there. She’s so bright and enthusiastic. She’s going to go out and conquer the world one day.”
    A surge of pride rose within Rachel. It was true that Charlotte was precocious. She wanted to know, and do, and try everything. Yet, just the thought of what all those things out there might be—off the island, where Rachel couldn’t do anything to protect her—was enough to bring fear a beat later. Nicholas was talking as though it was good that one day her daughter would be going out into a big, scary world full of dangers. But, then, of course he would think like that—his life of adventuring had worked so well for him that he assumed it would work just as well for everyone else.
    “I want her to explore, but I can't stand the thought of her ever getting hurt.”
    “You've raised a smart kid. She'll know how to make the right decisions when the time comes. It’ll be okay,” Nicholas assured her.
    “Until you have kids, you can't know how scary the world can be.”
    “Maybe not,” he conceded, “but I still know how important family is.”
    Every time he talked about family—about how much he was enjoying getting to know hers and how lucky she was to have them all nearby—a part of her started to think that maybe falling into his arms wouldn't be the worst thing