If Grace knew the kind of man Romero was and the way he used women, she'd never call Damon Romeo.
"I'm nothing like Romeo, I assure you." He set aside the bowl of fruit and took her hand again. "However, I hope I've stolen the heart of Lady Grace."
She looked down and studied their clasped hands for a long moment before raising her eyes again. "Consider me your captive." Then she burst out laughing. "That sounded so cheesy."
"I like cheesy." Damon laughed and planted a quick kiss on her lips. "But I'm the one who is a captive." He cleared his throat and went on. "I want to be with you, Grace. Forever." He pulled back and held up a hand. "I'm not trying to rush things between us, because I know this has all happened really fast, but I'm due to re-up after I return from deployment. I won't do it if there's a promise of a future for us."
"You'd leave the Army for me?" Her eyes were wide, skepticism filling her face.
"Yes," he said without hesitation. "I'd never considered settling down and starting a family until recently. I didn't want to worry about leaving a wife and kids behind every time I deployed. But since meeting you, Iwantto settle down. Iwanta family. But military life can be rough. Even if I didn't deploy, I'd likely be re-stationed every few years. Gabe is your only family. I don't want to take you away from him."
"I appreciate that. It means a lot, but I would never ask you to do that. I know I'm not as sure about all of this as you are, but I want a future for us too."
Damon's heart swelled in his chest. He claimed her lips in another breathtaking kiss.
He understood Grace's hesitation to jump into a relationship that caught them both by surprise, but he had a feeling her reservations stemmed more from what happened in her past than the speed at which things had developed between them. He wasn't sure how to get her to trust him though.
Maybe I need to confide in her.
"I'm sorry I uh...brushed you off last night after I had that nightmare."
"That's okay." She put her hand on his knee. "I imagine some of the things you've experienced are difficult to talk about."
"They are." Damon slowly nodded. "I don't usually have them—the nightmares—when I'm home, but I think because I'mdeploying right after my leave ends, they've started early. They always get worse before we deploy."
"Your buddies have them too?"
"We all have them at one time or another. I used to worry about the guys in my unit when it first started happening to them, but then it happened to me, and I realized it isn't something you can control. And it doesn't mean you're not tough enough or you're doing something wrong.
“We try not to make a big deal when it happens to one of us. We check in with each other at random times and encourage one another to talk to the counselors, but otherwise, we don't talk about it much. We all recognize that it's a hazard of the job."
"That's a difficult job."
"It's not all bad, but there are days..." He shrugged unsure of how to finish his sentence, instead he let out a heavy sigh. "Deep down...we all share the same fears."
"What fears?" Tenderness filled Grace's big brown eyes as they studied his face.
"That we won't come back home or that it won't be in one piece. That the nightmares won’t ever stop. That the PTSD will consume us."
"Those are heavy fears."
He shrugged. "We all have things in our lives that shaped who we've become."
Grace lowered her gaze to her hands as she nodded. "When my dad walked out...I handled it badly. I...I did a lot of things I'm not proud of."
Damon held his breath when she stopped talking, praying she would continue.
"I can't imagine how hard that must have been for you."
"I was so angry. I'm ashamed to admit that I took it out on my mom in some ways. I made life so much harder for her." Graceleaned her elbows on her knees and rubbed her hands over her face. "I did so many stupid things."
"Like what?" Damon was careful to keep his voice gentle and encouraging.
"I started hanging out with a bad crowd. We skipped school and smoked cigarettes one of the boys took from his mother's purse. Passed around beer that another kid snuck out of the house." Grace’s gaze grew distant as shadows flitted through her eyes.
"During that time, Zoey became my best friend. She was much more outgoing than I was, but I went along with all the stupid stuff she suggested." She shook her head as she gave a small grimace. "We always dared each other to do crazy things. One day, we were hanging out at the mall, and I dared her to go up to a guy, who was with another girl, and take his hand, just to see how he reacted." Her lips lifted in a smile.
"Not only was she crazy enough to do it, she told the guy she'd tried to stay away, but she just couldn't forget about him. The other girl got angry and stormed off, leaving the guy dumbfounded. Then Zoey said, 'Ooopsies, I thought you were someone else,' and walked away laughing."
