"You could, though. No judgment."
"Sounds like a thin attempt to spy on me."
"Advanced recon. Not exactly spying."
She rolled her eyes. "Now you sound like my brother. Air Force tough guy, or so he wants everyone to believe."
"Flyboys are marshmallows."
She took another sip of water. "I'll tell him you said that." She twisted the cap back onto the bottle. Light glimmered on the remnants of her tears. "So which branch were you?"
"Marine Corps."
"Ah." She shifted in her seat, those long legs moved against each other again. An electric heat surged through my abdomen and stirred interest in…every part of my body.
I mashed dirt around the root ball, drizzling water into the pot.
She stood and moved closer. Hot and cold flashed across every inch of my skin. I wanted her touch… Instead, she placed her hand on the potted plant.
"He cheated, little flowers."
My stomach dropped lower; I sucked in a breath and held it.
"He's been cheating for a while, I was just too…caught up, I guess." She cupped one of the blooms. "I wanted to believe the lie."
I swallowed against something dry and lumpy in my throat. "I hear they like stories with happy endings."
"Do they?" Her fingers curled hair behind her ear. Glossy pink lips caught the light. "Well, luckily, mine has one. Because I have the self-respect to walk away."
The room buzzed in the silence of the moment, electric, waiting. My arms ached to hold her, but I didn't have permission…and the defiant tilt of her chin said she wasn't asking for sympathy. It occurred to me, then, that she was like my cornflowers—bold, vibrant, but trapped inside the wrong pot.
"I finally told him I just don’t want to be with someone like him." She shrugged one shoulder, but the glassy glint in her eyes gave her away. "Not anymore."
She gave me a small smile as she turned toward the flowers. Her fingers smoothed over the bag of soil, then tipped the smaller pot. She thumbed tiny blue petals as her eyes met mine. "What are they called?"
"Cornflowers."
"They're pretty." She threw me a side-eyed glance that made my heart trip, stumble and fall. "But it does seem like an odd hobby for a Marine."
"That sounded judgy." I crossed my arms over my chest. "You don't even know me."
She laughed, her fingers pressing to her lips as her eyes danced. Her gaze drifted down to my mouth then flicked back up. "Maybe I'm trying to?"
An electric thrill shot through my veins. Heat radiated from my neck and shoulders.
"I mean, it's ‘advanced recon.’" Her eyebrows dipped into a frown as her voice lowered. "So serious."
A cold sensation washed over me, like she'd lifted away my shirt to stare at the flesh underneath. Saw my scars…
Her cheating ex was officially a moron of epic proportions. I wanted to punch him and thank him and take her back to my room all at the same time. I hoped to God I'd never meet the prick—and that I wouldn't screw this up. That there could be athisto not screw up.
"My grandparents had a vegetable garden. Seemed giant-sized as a kid, a little less as an adult, but… It was something familiar. Found myself contributing to the community garden on base."
"And you went into the military?—"
"Seventeen. Right out of high school. Had a lot of reasons. Everything seemed complicated then." I dumped new soil into the old pot and set about mixing the two.
"Not now?"
