Of course, that person had died. But knowing that they were a scumbag helped. The guy dying had meant the world was a bit safer.
She frowned. “You were a SEAL, right?”
“Correct.”
“It must be nice.”
“What?”
“Well, you must feel really safe a lot of the time. Confident in your ability to protect yourself.”
The way she said it sat in his gut like a brick. “Do younotfeel safe?”
Her eyes flared. “I just mean…” Another pause, then she shot to her feet and stepped back, almost stumbling on the sidewalk. “I should go. Thank you for helping me pick up my change.” She cringed. “How embarrassing.”
He rose slowly. “What’s embarrassing?”
“No one keepschangeanymore.”
“I keep change.” Kind of. Not really. He was sure there were some loose coins somewhere in his truck. But hell, he didn’t want her to feel bad.
She took another step back.
“You’re not coming in?” he asked.
She glanced into the café through the window. And for a second, he almost thought he saw longing. Then she blinked. “No. I’ll see you later, Connor.”
He wanted to call her back. Fuck, he wanted just a bit more time to talk to her. Every time he did, he got lost in the softsound of her voice. In the way she looked at him with those beautiful blue eyes, so wide and vulnerable.
But she was already gone.
He stepped back into The Pancake Bar and took a new seat at the end of the table. His mind was still on Raven though. On the way she’d jumped at the sound of her name. The fear that flashed in her eyes every so often for no apparent reason.
Why?
Ryan glanced at him. “Everything okay with Raven?”
“She flinched when I called out to her.”
Ryan glanced out the window to where Raven had stood, before looking back at him. “You think she’s in trouble?”
“I think she has a past. And I want to know what that past is.”
“Doesshewant you to know what it is?”
“Not yet.”
There was a pause from Ryan. “Remember, we can’t save everyone.”
Connor’s hands fisted. Because he knew that. He knew that better than anyone. He’d dated a woman for five years who’d had a past. A past he’d thought she’d moved on from. A past she’dpromisedwould stay there.
But that hadn’t been the case. Fuck, it had hurt.
As the guys talked around him, he tried to focus on the conversation. On how lucky he was to have his team in his life, and not from afar. Not all doing different things in different states. They lived in the same town, working the same job. The feeling of rightness was exactly as it had been when he’d become a SEAL and met these men. They’d become an instant family.
As the team dug into their pancakes, a conversation behind him caught his attention.
“I still can’t believe Raven left him,” one woman said.
