She swallowed against the emotion tightening her throat. “That’s why I said you were too boring. To hurt you and make you hate me. It was never true. I loved you and wanted to be with you. But I didn’t know how. I’m sorry. I was cruel and I regretted what I did immediately. I knew the outcome was right, but how I did it was horrible. And I apologize for that.”

Del’s expression tightened. She braced herself for the well-deserved explosion, only there wasn’t one. He reached out and gently stroked her face.

“Well, damn,” he said softly. “I wouldn’t have thought it would matter to hear that, but it does. I get it. What we had was intense.”

“That’s one word for it.”

He smiled. “You were my first time, too.”

Her eyes widened. “What? No way. There were other girls.”

“Not like you. Not like that. I was shaking, Maya. Couldn’t you tell?”

“I was too nervous. What if I was horrible in bed?”

“Not possible.” The smile returned. “I came in eight seconds.”

She laughed. “I was a virgin. I didn’t know any better. Besides, you made up for it later. Over and over again.”

“To be that young again.”

Their tones were light, but she was feeling a lot of subtext. Maybe it was just her, but it seemed the cloudy morning had just gotten a little warmer. Del seemed to be standing close. Closer than he had been.

Danger signs flashed, but she ignored them all. Because this was Del, and maybe a girl was always supposed to have a special place in her heart for that first guy.

“I did love you,” she told him. “I hope you know that.”

“I loved you, too.” The sexy smile returned. “Talk about a lot of confessions for a very early-morning shoot.”

With that, he stepped in and kissed her.

Maya had about two seconds to brace herself, but instead of retreating, she leaned in. Maybe it was closure, she thought, as his mouth brushed against hers. Maybe it was simply something that had to happen so they could move on. Maybe it was the perfect light of a cloudy morning.

His lips were warm and soft with a hint of firmness. The kiss was exactly right. Not too demanding, not too sweet. There was a dash of heat and plenty of promise.

She put one hand on his shoulder. He rested his fingers on her waist. There was no reaching, no tongue. Just the perfect, wonderful I used to love you kiss.

They drew back at the same moment and stared into each other’s eyes.

Wanting was there, along with regret, she thought. But also a sense of rightness.

“I take it that means you accept my apology,” she said.

He chuckled. “Sure. Because I’m one of the good guys.”

“Ready to get back to work?”

He nodded.

She retreated to behind the camera. The red light was on, which meant she’d recorded the whole kiss. Talk about incriminating evidence.

She reached for the delete button, then reset the camera to record what they were here to do. She had enough memory to get through the shoot. She would deal with the wayward clip later.

CHAPTER SIX

THE COUPLE SITTING in front of Del had to be the oldest people he’d ever seen. Albert was ninety-five and his wife, Elizabeth, was ninety-two. They’d been married seventy-six years. Together they looked like those apple dolls, with wrinkled faces and tiny raisin eyes. They were small, bent and walked so slowly, Del wondered how they ever got anywhere. But despite their outward infirmities, they were both still mentally sharp and verbally outspoken.

Del sat on their front porch on the warm afternoon. The overhang provided enough shade for Maya’s liking. The C stands for the 3-point lighting she favored barely fit on the porch, but it softened the faces of the older couple.

He and Maya had already discussed the best way to handle the interview. They’d agreed that the technology might be intimidating and distracting. So they’d decided to simply do a two-camera setup and get what they could in a single long shot.

“Tell me what it’s like to be married for seventy-six years,” Del prompted.

Albert shook his head. “I know what you really want to know, sonny. Do we do it? You know what? We do. So put that in your pipe and smoke it.”

Elizabeth sighed. “Albert, he’s our guest. Be polite.”

“We do it,” Albert repeated. “A little slower because of our bones, but the deed gets done.”

Del held in laughter. He remembered he was on camera and kept his attention on the older couple. “Thanks for the inspiration,” he replied. “What’s the secret to a long, successful marriage?”

Elizabeth looked at him. “What makes you think our marriage is successful?”

“You haven’t killed him yet.”

She laughed. “You’re right. I haven’t.”

“She’s threatened to plenty of times,” Albert said. “But I knew she didn’t mean it.”

They sat next to each other on a padded bench. Their hands were clasped loosely together, fingers laced. Del wondered how many hours of their lives had been spent holding hands. Could it be measured in weeks? Months?

“Don’t take love for granted,” Elizabeth said. “Don’t assume he’s annoying you on purpose.”

“Talk a walk,” Albert added. “Clear your head. And don’t always have to be right.”

Although they were here to talk about romantic relationships, the last comment made him think about Aidan. Del wasn’t trying to be right, but he also wasn’t sure he’d been listening. While Aidan’s outburst had seemed to come from nowhere, he knew he’d heard the complaints in one form or another over the years.