as he closed her fingers around it. She faced him, seeming confused.

"Open it," was all her said.

She drew her hand close, and looked back up at Kevin. he nodded his head in reassurance. She smile slightly, and opened the box. Inside sat a golden ring. It was a band of seashells with a starfish in the center, a diamond peaking its middle. She looked at him again, shaking her head in a befuddled manner. "I don't understand."

"Will you marry me?" he asked, still staring intently at her.

Her mouth slightly dropped for a moment, then she looked down. She shut the small box and set it down in front of her. "I can't," she whispered faintly as she pushed it gently away from her.

This wasn't what Kevin had expected. "What do you mean?"

"I...I can't," she repeated, shaking her head and still refusing to look at him.

"But...Don't you love me, Morgan?" he stuttered.

"Kevin..I..." She faced him again. Within her eyes was something dark. Some hidden secret that she couldn't bear to face, and yet, she couldn't tell either. "I'm not always going to be here," she finally said, but her voice decieved her. He knew this was not what she really wanted to say. "Soon...I must go..."

"Go? Go whre?" he asked, suddenly worried.

"Away..I can't tell you..."

"Is there something wrong? Are you in any trouble? You can tell me, Morgan," he offered.

"No. It's nothing like that," she answered, shaking her head, but offering no more than that.

"Then what's wrong?"

Her eyes stared desperately into his, begging him not to pursue these questions. "PLease Kevin. Don't ask me to explain. You wouldn't understand. Please just believe me when I say, 'I love you'," she replied, sounding as though she were on the edge of tears.

Kevin nodded silently, not knowing what else to say.

After a quiet dinner, they returned to the beach house. Kevin tried to enjoy the ocean before him, the moon floating away on the sea, but his mind was thinking back through all the times they had shared and all the love he thought had been there. He felt betrayed. He thought she had loved him, that she had cared. But yet, with no explaination, she had turned down his proposal.

He looked over at Morgan who stood looking beyond the waves and the moon. She seemed to be lost in her own world as she looked down to the water below. She had a sad longing expression on her face, and for a moment, he thought he saw something sparkle on her cheek, but then, it was gone.

Sleep could not find him that evening. He had lain in his bed for hours, his eyes having never left the spot of ceiling he had been looking at when he had first decided to try to sleep.

He had been open wit her. He had shared his life with her, and allowed her to be close to him. She hadn't even bothered to try to explain why she couldn't be his wife. And the anger burned across his heart, till all he could feel was a numb pain.

"Can't sleep either?" he heard Morgan ask softly as she rolled over and faced him, propping her head in her hand.

"No," he answered flatly, his anger rising again.

She nodded her head as she ran her finger absently up and down the space that separated them. She paused, then looked at him. "Kevin?"

"Yes?"

"Have I...Have I made you happy?"

He turned sharply to face her, startling her. "Christ Morgan! I proppsed to you this evening! Do you even know what that means?! Do you know what that means to me?" he shouted, unable to controll his anger any longer.

She quickly averted her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whipsered, her voice sounding as though she were ready to break into tears.

He sighed and forced the anger back down into the pit of his stomach. "Morgan, I don't know why you turned me down, and to be honest, I'm not all that sure I want to know anymore. I don't know what I"m supposed to feel anymore, but I do know I feel hurt. Can you understand that?"

"I never meant to hurt you. Please believe me..It's just that..." she started to say, but hesitated.