He was midway through the salads when the soft pad of footsteps sounded. Maggie stepped into the kitchen, his shirt drowning her, and fuck, how could he get hard again already?
She offered a soft smile. “Hey.”
“You’re supposed to be on bed rest.”
She stopped beside him. “I got bored. I can help.” She reached for a knife.
He growled and lifted her to the island. “You sit and relax.”
“Ethan—”
“I’m serious, Maggie.”
She rolled her eyes, but there was a half-smile on her face as she lifted a piece of cucumber and nibbled on it. “I never asked… How’s it been being out of the military?”
“Different. The first year was challenging, but that was mostly because I was away from the guys. They’re family, and being separated after being together for so long was hard.”
“But now you get them back.”
“Thanks to an anonymous donor.”
She frowned as she chewed. “Do you think Maureen has a secret stash of cash?”
“I have no idea. I’ve done background checks on a lot of the locals, and from what I can find, no one seems to have that kind of money.”
“Someone does.” Her bottom lip disappeared between her lips. “You were the main reason I came back, you know.”
He paused. “Really?”
“Mm-hmm. When Polly told me you were in Deep River, I couldn’t stop thinking about you being here. Being back. I wondered what you were doing. Whether you were visiting Basil and the river and all the places we used to hang out together.” She paused. “At first, I thought there was no way you’d ever forgive me for what I did. Then this little voice said, what if he does? What if he doesn’t hate you? What if you can have everything you ever wanted? Then that stuff continued happening in LA and I just…I got on a plane and came here. You’ve always been my safe place.”
“You coming back here was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
A small smile curved her lips.
His phone vibrated with another message, and he went back to chopping the vegetables.
Maggie lifted a brow. “You’re not going to answer that?”
“It’s probably Joel talking about his cat.”
“Joel got a cat?”
“Kind of came with the house.”
“I want to read about the cat.” She lifted the cell and her smile dropped.
“What?”
She handed him the cell. “It’s Jay.”
He took the cell and opened the texts.
Jay: Can we talk about what happened?
Jay: Look, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have kissed you. But I don’t want to lose you as a friend.
He clicked out of the messages and set the phone on the counter before stepping between Maggie’s thighs. “Maggie, look at me.”
