He'd met her soft gaze while she talked but now he turned away from her instead of arguing. He didn't see it that way; he thought it was too late. What he saw was a beautiful young woman agreeing to life with him, having a child or two, then waking up one morning to realize she hadn't really lived yet. She'd have gone from her mother's sickbed to Luke. She would still be young, beautiful, vibrant and sorry she hadn't looked a little further, for someone with more to offer her. Maureen was wrong. If that happened, if Shelby gave him a few years and then came to her senses and walked away, it was going to hurt a lot more. A lot more. She