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“I know.” Miles again wondered what Clint was feeling. “Anyway, I felt awful, I held her while she cried and then we parted ways without resolving anything.”
Clint peered at him. He stepped closer and tilted his hat back. Miles could see the Coleville blues. They had a bit of sympathy in them now. “You haven’t been promising you’d retire from the SEALs and come home and marry her? That’s supposedly why she never moved to California to be near you.”
“What? I’m not retiring, and neither of us has ever talked about her moving there. Who told you that?”
He grimaced. “Sheryl.”
“You’re still talking to Sheryl?”
“No. Six months ago, a couple days before she ditched me, she told me that when you came home for the wedding.”
“And you believed her? With all the other lies she told you and Cade?” Miles shook his head in disgust.
“You have a valid point.” Clint lifted his hands. He didn’t know humble. “I’m pretty messed up where Sheryl Dracon is concerned.”
“I can see that. Do you need some counseling or something, man?”
Clint bristled. “I don’t know what kind of mumbo jumbo is happening in Southern Cali, but here in Montana, real men don’t get counseling.”
“Oh, boy.” Miles rolled his eyes. He’d worked with a therapist after losing close friends in the military and following some of the horrific missions he’d been a part of. It had helped. “Yeah, that makes you really manly. Never deal with your issues so everybody around you can suffer. That’s exactly the kind of example Papa would want you to be.”
“Whatever. This isn’t about me.” Clint closed down quick. “So now that you’ve met the woman of your dreams, Eva Chevron, coincidentally the woman of every guy’s fantasies, you’re going to finally make the clean break with Lily so you can pursue Eva.”
“I have to make the clean break with Lily. It’s the right thing to do, even if it’s late. Whether I ever have a chance with Eva…” He shook his head. “That remains to be seen. I ticked her off after I rescued her and she almost kissed me and I told her I had a girl back home.” He didn’t repeat what she’d just said about focusing on the person who was loyal to him.
“Ouch.” Clint winced. “Makes sense why she’s conflicted about you. She’s definitely drawn to you, though. Anyone can see that, feel the ‘sparks’ between you, as Mama would say.”
“I feel them,” Miles admitted, not laughing at his tough big brother saying ‘sparks’. It was out of character. “After meeting Eva …” He shook his head, trying to think how to explain to a man who didn’t feel emotion. “I barely know her, but the way I’m drawn to her, the way she makes me sizzle with one look or touch. That’s what I want. She’s what I want.” He took his hat off and hit the brim. “Do you really think I have a chance with Eva Chevron?”
“Do you even see yourself? Women go insane over the humble Navy SEAL and cowboy hero combination.”
Miles shook his head. He didn’t care about that. “They go insane over you as well.”
“What does that matter if it’s not the right one?” Clint challenged.
“Who is your right one?” Miles threw back at him, praying he wouldn’t say Sheryl Dracon. That ‘dragon witch’ as Easton called her better never return.
“That’s not the subject tonight.”
“Is it ever going to be?”
“Doubtful. Back to you. If you’re wondering if you have a chance with the one and only famous actress Eva Chevron, the answer is probably no.”
“Ouch. Sugarcoat if for me, please.” Miles’s heart thudded dully in his chest.
“But if you care for Eva, the sweet, funny, trusting, brave, and talented lady you’re protecting, that’s a different story. If you’re interested in the real Eva, I think you two might have a chance. If you’re only after the famous Eva Chevron persona, you don’t deserve the real Eva.”
He’d had the exact same thoughts. “You’re right. I was enamored with Eva Chevron, as I imagine most men are, but meeting the real Eva, seeing how resiliently and bravely she dealt with being attacked, escaping with me, having to trust somebody she didn’t know, laughing and talking with her, the brief times we’ve touched, the way she smiles and looks at me. That blows Eva Chevron, and any other woman in the world, out of the water.”
“Good.” Clint stepped up and clapped him on the shoulder. “Sorry about your nose. I think it’s broken.”
Miles touched it. “Nah. I’ve broken it before. This isn’t too bad.”
“Good luck talking to Lily. Be gentle with her.”
“You know I will.” There was something in his brother’s eyes. Was Lily the woman Clint was interested in? He thought Walker had it bad for Lily, but maybe it was Clint who would pursue her. “If you’re interested in Lily, I am even more sorry that this has dragged on for so long.”
“No way.” Clint put up his hands and backed up. “I’m not. No. It’s a horse trough full of no for me.”
