tried to ignore the effect hearing that sound from him had on me. My body had never turned on me this way before, and I didn’t like it very much. “Sure. Why not?”
As soon as I wrapped my lips around the same straw his had just been around, I realized I should’ve insisted on getting my own. Who knew what germs this guy had, and here I was sharing a straw with him?
Why don’t I care more?
I parked the thought for later consideration when the tart liquid filled my mouth. After swallowing, I licked my lips and pushed the drink back to him. “You’re right. I’ll definitely be having a lot more of those too.”
His gaze was resting on my mouth when I looked up at him. He didn’t seem to be in any hurry to move it either. When he finally lifted it to mine, I knew I wasn’t imagining the smoldering heat in it.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because I was just thinking about kissing you.” He didn’t look away, complete confidence in his gaze. “I won’t, so you don’t have to worry about it. But I told you I hadn’t lied to you and I didn’t want to start now.”
“How can you just say stuff like that?” I didn’t think I’d ever met anyone quite like him.
“Why shouldn’t I? Would you have preferred if I lied to you?”
“No, I just…” I trailed off. “I’m not used to people just saying whatever is on their minds, is all.”
“You’d better get used to it if we’re going to be spending this week together.”
“Are we, though? Spending the week together? We could just pretend like we had a fight and that’s why we’re not doing everything together.”
“I don’t know anyone else here and I’m sure you don’t either. No one is going to buy a couple on their honeymoon spending all their time apart. So why don’t we just go with it? It’ll be a nice break from the real world, and neither of us will have to keep trying to keep track of a bunch of made-up bullshit about why we’re fighting.”
I studied him for a long minute, taking in everything from the serious set of his jaw to the caramel-colored warmth in his eyes. “You’re right. I suppose it will be easier if we just do some stuff together as opposed to having to make up excuses all the time. That sounds exhausting.”
His full lips spread into a smile. “I knew you’d make the right decision. I hope you’re hungry, wifey dear. That platter is huge.”
Twisting around in my chair, I spotted Big Mac carrying a tray laden with all kinds of seafood and fries so big they looked like they were half a potato each. The smells wafting from it were divine when he set it down between us with a lopsided grin.
“Dig in, my friends. Please enjoy your meal.”
We thanked him, and he winked at us before walking away. I smiled at the wide expanse of his back before turning back to Jaxon. “I like him. He’s interesting.”
“Yeah, I like him too. He reminds me of a guy I used to serve with. Alex was a Pacific Islander as well, and it just so happens he also cooked like a machine.”
“You were in the service?” I probably should’ve guessed he had been, but I honestly hadn’t gotten quite that far yet. “Is that how you became a pilot?”
“Yep. Air Force. I never would have left if I hadn’t been medically discharged.”
“What happened?” I asked before realizing I was now the one delving into deeply personal territory. “Sorry. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“I fucked up my knee.” He moved his right leg to the side and extended it. “Tendon damage. It doesn’t bother me so much anymore, but it still disqualified me from active duty.”
“I’m sorry you got hurt,” I said, surprised by how much I meant it. “It must’ve been a really difficult time for you.”
“It was, but it was also years ago.” He looked into my eyes. “I don’t mind talking about it now. You’ll get there too, you know? One day.”
“What happened to me was just humiliating. I don’t really think you can compare the two at all. You were a real-life superhero who wanted to keep fighting for his country, and I got dumped.”
“Maybe, but it’ll still get easier to talk about it.”
“My brother is in the military too. I haven’t seen him or heard