Page 7 of Unveiled

Stabbing the button to summon the elevator, he shifted on his feet. He’d give her some space, let her clear her mind and come to terms with what had happened last night. Then they could discuss how to proceed from here. He’d be leaving soon on another deployment, anyway. He wanted to see more of her before he was shipped off this time, and he hoped after she’d had some time to think things over that she’d come to the same conclusion.

The ding from the elevator doors opening disrupted his thoughts, and he stepped inside, punching the button to the lobby. Doubt started to creep in. Maybe this was a terrible idea. As much as he’d wanted her last night—still wanted her—would they have enough in common? They seemed to get along so well last night. Even when they hadn’t agreed on something, it had been more of a friendly debate rather than a staunch refusal to see the other’s point of view.

That was refreshing. He’d dated several women who thought their opinions were the only things worth believing. He liked a woman who knew what she wanted—just not a woman who thought her opinion was the only one that mattered. Talking with Adalyn last night, he felt that she genuinely seemed to care about his thoughts and feelings on things.

He shook off the negative thoughts as the elevator doors parted, and he strode across the gleaming, freshly polished floors to the coffee shop in the corner of the lobby. Reaching the counter, he let out a mirthless laugh. This was one of the problems of being impetuous. He had no idea how she took her coffee. Did she even like coffee, or did she prefer tea?

He scanned the board, debating his options. Finally, he ordered a black coffee, a chai tea, and some frou-frou vanilla-flavored drink, just in case. As the barista whipped up the drinks, he automatically scanned his surroundings. A woman, her long red hair a halo of crazy, frizzy curls drifting around her head, sat at a table in the corner, phone in hand. Her eyes met his, and he offered a small smile, then continued to rove the room.

People bustled back and forth, busy even for eight o’clock on a Sunday morning. But that’s Vegas—some people were starting a day of sightseeing and tourist activities. Others were just now spilling back into the hotel after a long night out on the town.

He smiled. The thought of doing something domestic like that appealed to him. He didn’t take much time off, and he’d like to take Adalyn around a bit, explore the sights. They were only there for their friends’ bachelor and bachelorette parties, but Adalyn had divulged that she hadn’t seen much of the town. He didn’t care all that much to see the sights; he just wanted to spend some more time with her before they had to part ways.

She hadn’t mentioned when she was leaving, and thoughts of how they could spend their last day together spun through his mind. His imagination must have been running overtime, because the woman stepping off the elevator reminded him of Adalyn, right down to a pair of long, slender legs that he’d thoroughly enjoyed having wrapped around his waist last night; she was practically a doppelganger for his new wife.

His brows pulled together as he looked closer. Large sunglasses covered the woman’s eyes, and she moved at a fast clip across the lobby, pulling a small suitcase behind her, a powder-blue garment bag hooked over one shoulder. His eyes narrowed, and the words Something Blue jumped off the pale blue fabric.

Striding across the lobby, he caught up to her on the sidewalk just as she’d stepped outside. He reached out and grabbed her wrist, bringing her to a halt. Adalyn jumped and let out a high-pitched squeak. He almost felt bad for scaring her—almost.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he growled.

She slapped one hand over her heart. “Oh, my God, Jaxon! You scared the life out of me!”

He snorted. “Well, it’s nice to know you at least remember my name, even as you’re trying to run out on me.” Anger seeped into his tone, and Adalyn’s face contorted in aggravation.

“Come on. You and I both know this is best. We did something stupid last night that both of us regret.”

His grip on her wrist loosened, and he ran his fingertips up to her elbow, then back down, slipping her palm into his and lacing their fingers together. “I don’t regret it.” Or he hadn’t anyway, not until he saw how much it bothered her. Did she really want away from him so badly that she’d run off without even saying goodbye?

“Jaxon…”

He knew he’d have to act fast if he had any chance of keeping her. “Listen. I ordered us some coffee. Let’s just go sit down and talk for a while.”

She glanced indecisively over her shoulder toward the parking garage, and his voice turned hard. “You at least owe me that. If you want an annulment, you can spare ten minutes of your precious time.”

He released her arm and turned on his heel, stalking through the lobby to the coffee shop. At his approach, the barista picked up his carryout container with the three drinks and set it on the small side counter. She started to smile as they made eye contact, but she froze when she saw his face.

He could only imagine the thunderous expression; he could feel the scowl pulling at his mouth. Quickly averting her gaze, she moved to the back counter and busied herself with one of the machines. He picked up the container and strode to a table tucked into a corner furthest away from the comings and goings of the early morning crowd.

Kicking out a chair, he placed himself with his back to the wall and sat heavily. His eyes stayed glued to the coffee cups in front of him, but he saw her approach. No, that wasn’t true. He felt her. As if his body was attuned to her, he knew the second she drew up next to the table. She stood there for a moment before pulling a chair out and sitting primly on the edge of the seat.

He pushed the tray of drinks across the table, angry at her but mostly at himself for being such an idiot. “Coffee, tea, or some girly thing.”

One corner of her mouth kicked up in a tiny smile. Her voice was soft when she spoke. “Tea, please.”

He rolled his eyes. Tea. Go figure. That was just one of the many things they didn’t know about each other, wasn’t it?

Adalyn plucked the cup labeled Tea from the container and sipped tentatively. He snagged the plain black coffee and set it in front of him, transferring it from hand to hand to keep his body busy. His brain wouldn’t stop, and he needed something to do with his hands.

Maybe this had been a stupid idea. She didn’t want to be with him, that much was clear. No matter how well they’d gotten on last night, come morning she was already regretting their decision. Heck, she didn’t even remember it. And that fact alone made him believe that maybe he’d begun to regret it, too. It’d been rash, but he’d expected her to at least talk to him, not run away.

They sipped their drinks in silence for several moments, and he listened to her breaths moving in and out of her chest. The tension between them continued to grow. What had they been thinking? He almost snorted at the thought. Clearly, they hadn’t. They’d been more than half-drunk on alcohol and sexual attraction.

“What’s your favorite color?” Her voice cut through his musings, and he lifted a brow at her. Adalyn just shrugged.

“Green.” Although as he stared into her gray eyes, he began to reconsider. His new favorite color was platinum—bright and untarnished, just like her big, beautiful eyes, surrounded by those thick, dark lashes.

Said lashes swept against her cheeks as she glanced down at her cup. “Mine is red.”