you get home? One of your brothers?”
“Um, yeah. Lawrence, Patrick, and Seth were out that night. Some type of guys night out, so they picked us up about eleven.”
“Seth Garrett? The guy from the engagement party? Are your brothers back to trying to fix you up with him?”
Thank goodness her back was to him. It was so much easier to lie when she didn’t have to look someone in the eye.
She scoffed. “They aren’t trying to fix us up. He just happened to be with them.”
“Then which of your brothers brought you home that night?” He stepped to the side and leaned on the edge of the counter.
“Lawrence and Seth were in Seth’s car so they picked up Bethany and me.”
“So, Seth brought you home.”
She nudged his hip with hers. “No, silly. Not just Seth. Seth and Lawrence.”
“Hmm.”
She flipped the burgers and lowered the heat.
“What other trouble have you gotten into the last couple of weeks?”
Her first thought was all the talks and visits with Seth, but she wasn’t sure what his reaction would be. Heck, she wanted to tell him, but what if he shrugged it off, didn’t care, and wasn’t disturbed at all by her spending time with another man? Would a nonchalant reaction break her heart?
On the other hand, Seth being with Lawrence bringing her home had appeared to tweak him just a tad.
Rather than risk producing a reaction she didn’t want—not that she was completely sure what reaction she wanted—she leaned over and kissed him. “I’ve been teaching Katie to surf.”
“No kidding. That’s awesome. How’s she doing with it?”
“She’s a natural. Took to the board like she’d been riding all her life.”
“I’d love to see her ride. Maybe next time I have some time off, we can hit the North Shore and catch some waves.” He nibbled on the area behind her ear. Goose bumps popped up on her arms and she shivered. He knew that was one of her sensitive areas. “I’ve never seen you ride either.”
“I’ve seen you,” she said.
“You have?”
“Coronado Beach when I was on duty.”
“But I’ve hardly had my board out this year.”
She smiled. “Never said it was this year.”
He caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger and turned her face toward him. “You’d seen me before this year?”
Heat rushed to her face and she turned back to the burgers she was cooking, watching him from the corner of her eye.
“Once or twice.”
“Oh, yeah?” He smirked. “You’ve been watching me, huh? Wantin’ a piece of this?” he asked, waving his hand down his extremely fine body.
“I never said that.”
“Deny it then.”
She looked at him. “There is this one area of your body I always wanted to drag my tongue down. You know, that dip in the front of your hip that makes women lose their minds?”
He flipped off the stove and pulled her toward her bedroom. “I think you need to show me.”
Somewhere after midnight, the Imperial March from Star Wars rang from his phone. She knew what that meant. The base was calling.
“Blackwell.” He paused. “Yes, sir. I’ll be there as quickly as possible.”
“Sorry,” he said as he glanced her way.
“I know. You’ve got to go.”
He wrapped tightly in his embrace. “I wish I could stay.”
“But you can’t.”
“I can’t. I’m glad we had today.”
“Me, too.”
He wrinkled his nose. “We’re in the middle of something. That’s all I can say.”
“I got it. I do.” She pushed him away. “Go. What you do is important. Just promise to take care of yourself.”
“Always.”
With a final kiss—one that was long and deep—he stood and began to dress. She threw on a robe and followed him to the front door.
“Call me when you can,” she said.
“I will.”
Instead of leaving, he stood there staring at her.
“What? Do I have something on my face?” she asked, rubbing her fingers over her skin.
“You’re a wonderful person,” he said. “A great mom. A fabulous lover. You deserve to have everything out of life. You shouldn’t do without anything.”
She smiled, but at the same time, her brow wrinkled into a frown. “What are you talking about?”
He shook his head. “Take care.” After a swift kiss, he hurried to his truck and roared down the street.
Pressing her fingers against her mouth, she thought about his words. What had he been talking about… her doing without? If she didn’t know better, she’d think those words were the beginning of a goodbye speech.
Seth continued to telephone to talk. Ben did not. He’d send a text to let her know he was thinking of