I’m glad he’s getting out and I’ll be eager to hear about his time. We didn’t cross paths much, but I know he did well for himself. And I’ll look forward to hearing what he has planned for life post-military.
But I can practically taste the longing coming from my parents’ end of the table. The wistful hope that we knew when Mac would be back.
I can’t fix the broken feelings that pop up whenever we think of missing Mac, but I can hunt him down and talk to him. If I can get him to answer the phone, maybe he’ll clue me in to his plan so I can at least convey that, whatever it might be. I’ll check in with May, too, and see if Davis has a free day for lunch, as well.
Life is busy enough, but it hasn’t been busy enough to keep from wanting something I can’t have with Sam. So it’stime to get focused on my family—the people I do have, and whom I love most in the world—and that should help.
I should be doing more for them, anyway. And prioritizing my familywillhelp me stop daydreaming about a woman I might not even be the right match for.
It’s got to.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Sam
My morning crawls by while I do everything I can think of to distract myself from the impending landlord visit.
And yes, my landlord happens to be a gorgeous, intense single dad who is never more than a heartbeat from my mind.
Honestly, that’s been the biggest problem. It’s like deciding we’d be friends but knowing he’d like to explore more hardwired him into my brain and now, I can’t stop thinking about what would happen if we weren’t friends.
No, I haven’t let myself fully explore what would happen if I get to a point where I feel like I can be open to something more, but it’s tempting.
It’s… impending.
Especially when I see him loading up the girls into his truck. He’s so patient with them, even when I can tellthey’re running late. Or when I see him walk by the diner in his uniform looking all kinds of cowboy sheriff dreamy. Or when he’s on his deck, staring out at the fields and mountains beyond, and I can see a tiny part of his silhouette highlighted in the glow of the moon as I gaze out there, too.
The knock startles me into action, and though I’ve scrubbed the apartment so it’s clean enough to eat off the floors, I still scramble around for a second, swiping a hand over the counter to make sure there’s no dust and straightening a throw pillow on the couch.
Before I open the door, I do give myself one steadying breath. We’re friends. He’s here to do a simple job. I can act completely normal because everythingisnormal between us.
Except the electric eye contact and the way his palm seared through your clothing and made your heart nearly explode last night.
Yeah, well. Except that.
He is, as usual, heart-poundingly attractive when I open the door. He’s standing in a wide-legged stance staring down at his phone, tapping out a message with a furrow in his brow.
“I’m sorry, I’m just—” He looks up to see me, and his thumbs halt their action. His gaze sweeps over my face and his eyes shut for a long blink. “Damn, you’re beautiful.”
My cheeks flame and a not-small thrill erupts in my chest.
“And I shouldn’t have said that out loud. But that’s how the morning’s going.”
The lopsided, almost boyish smile he gives me is absolutely brain-melting.
This man is so masculine and solid and formidable, seeing this playful side is problematic. It makes him sohuman and appealing. He’s supposed to stay an untouchable two-dimensional version of a person so I can’t quite convince myself it’s safe to try anything with him. But this? This and everything else I learn about him? It all serves to push him into stark 4K.
“Tough start to the day?”
Oh, thank goodness.For a minute there, I thought he’d robbed me of my power of speech.
“Nothing major, but you could say that. Lil had nightmares, and I apparently forgot to add grounds to the coffee maker, so I had a nice carafe of hot water when I stumbled into the kitchen after waking up on the floor of Lil’s room.” His eyes widen. “Nothing makes me more aware of my age than waking up and feeling like I’ve been outnumbered in a bar fight, but what actually happened is I slept on the floor with one pillow instead of three.”
I bite my lip because he’s adorable, and I like him like this.
I really, really like him.
“That sounds pretty miserable. Just the one pillow?” I shake my head.
