After a small sigh, he says, “It was an IED in Qatar. My team was sent to exfil a team of SEALs who had been given bad intel.One of my teammates and a good friend was killed that day. They recommended amputating my leg, but I refused.”
He tilts his head before he goes on. “You now know more about what happened to my leg than anyone outside of the U.S. government, including my family.” A small smile tugs at one side of his lips. “If the military were to find out I gave you any details about that op, I could be court-martialed for violating the Uniform Code of Military Justice. That puts my future in your hands.”
My face splits with a smile from feeling special again, and I tip my head as I turn to walk again. He moves in beside me, close enough that our arms touch with each step. His skin is warm against the cool breeze that would normally have my skin pimpled with goosebumps, but cold is the last thing I feel right now.
Keeping my eyes on the ground in front of us, unable to wipe the smile from my face. I say, “Thank you for telling me.”
“You’re welcome.”
Bumping his arm with my shoulder, I use a teasing tone to say, “Just so you know, there has been a lot of talk about your playboy lifestyle, from multiple fronts.”
He stops again, making me stop and turn toward him. His gaze moves over my face. “I’m not that man anymore, that man died with my military career.”
Not sure what to say to that, I stare into his eyes trying to see any dishonesty, and he stares right back, making sure I know there is none. My heart pitter-patters even faster as I recognize what this is. In his own guarded way, he’s reaching out to me. Silently conveying my understanding, I smile and nod.
Even though it’s the middle of the night and there’s no traffic, we look both ways before we cross the street to the driveway of the B&B. The gravel crunches under our feet as we get closer to the steps of the big wrap-around porch.
The porch light is on, and there are a few cars parked in the wide driveway. I stop at the bottom of the steps and turn to face him. It almost feels like a scene from one of those cheesyHallmarkmovies - the ones I watch every year during the holidays.
That felt like the fastest five minutes ever, and I wish I could talk to him more.
With a slightly more exaggerated hitch than before we started walking, he turns to face me. That’s when I realize he’s hurting.
My eyes drop to his leg as surprise and guilt wipe the smile from my face, and I suck in a breath, stunned. I look back up at him. “You’re in pain.”
His lips tip up on one side. “Just a little. I’m used to it.”
Touching my fingertips to my chin, I take a step back and look back down at his leg. “What can I do? I should have insisted you drive. Can I get you anything?” I feel horrible, and I look back up to find his smile even bigger.
I was right; he’s even more gorgeous when he smiles.
“What? Why are you smiling? I don’t want you to hurt because of me.”
When he takes a step toward me, to fill the space I just made when I stepped back, and cups my cheeks in his palms, the world falls away from my feet, and I feel like he’s the only thing holding me up.
Rough calluses turn gentle against my skin; his hands hold my face like he’s holding a delicate piece of glass.
His eyes volley between mine for a moment, and he slides his thumb across my cheek. “I wanted to walk because that would give me more time with you than driving.”
My heart speeds up as I realize he’s going to kiss me; my mind is lost in the bubble I’m floating in. I’m practically speechless, but I manage to whisper, “Oh.”
The small step he takes erases all the space between us, his hard chest is against me and somewhere in the back of my mind, I hope he can’t feel that my nipples are sharp enough to cut glass right now. My head tips back more, and his soft lips press to mine, the scruff tickling me.
A breath that was lodged in my chest rushes from my nose as I lean into him, and my palms find his hips. The kiss is short and soft and addictive. Oh, so addictive, but he pulls away.
Still cupping my face, he opens his eyes before I do, his lips just inches away. “I’ll wait here until you’re inside.”
I don’t want to step away from him, but I do, letting my hands fall to my sides. Taking a step backward, I look over his face trying to find any duplicity, but there’s none, only the fleeting softness I’ve seen a couple of times before. My tennis shoes thud softly against the steps as I turn and jog up.
He’s still standing in the same spot, his fingers in his pockets, when I turn around to shut the door. The smile I give him is involuntary. I feel like I’m walking on a cloud, and he smiles back as I push the door closed and lock it.
14
TUCKER
WE HAVEtwo paddocks next to the main stables, one for our horses and one for the boarded horses. Lifting the wheelbarrow full of mixed hay slices in front of me, I push it around the perimeter of the paddock for our horses from one tray to the next to drop them in.
My mind has been on last night’s kiss the entire day. I’ve even caught myself smiling a few times, and I had to erase it from my face before my dad or brothers see it.
