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“I’m not talking about guilt in the way I’m cheating on Will, but there’s even more I haven’t told you,” she told him, thinking back to the accident. “I’m kind of messed up.”
“You don’t think I’d understand being messed up? I’ve been through my fair share of messed up.”
“I guess.” It hadn’t really occurred to her that he might be struggling or having a hard time because of death. “I look at you as tough.”
“Like I said, I may not have lost a wife or son, and that would be hard. So hard.” He was quiet for a little bit. “But I lost my father. I still miss my mother, and it’s been a little over two years.” This was a tender part of him.
“She was a good lady.”
“The best,” he said, sniffing and then giving her a wide grin. “And I can imagine what an amazing mom you must have been. Because I hear you talk about teaching, and it just sounds like you love those kids and they aren’t even yours.”
She appreciated that he noticed this about her. How long had it been since she’d felt that way? Since Will? “I love teaching, but there’s this … this hole inside me after losing Ian. I have to be honest with you: I don’t know if I’ll ever be truly ready for a relationship again. I just don’t know.”
“Understood,” he said softly. “It was one date. I’ll take the risk.” He winked at her. “You can babe slay me if you want.”
“That’s the problem, I don’t want.”
“No, it’s my choice.”
She hesitated. She didn’t know what was happening between them. “I like you, Trent. I like hanging out with you, talking with you, flirting with you.”
“Is that what we were doing?” A tiny smile tugged at the corner of his lip.
“Never mind.” She tried to move out of his arms.
He held her close. “Hey, wait. Can I tell you something? If you don’t want me to hold your hand or kiss you, that’s fine. I won’t. We can just spend a couple of days hanging out over the holiday and hunting for the conquistador’s treasure.”
“I do love doing that with you,” she admitted.
“Me, too.” He nudged her. “And you can let me help you move those boxes you were talking about.”
“Maybe.”
“So stubborn.”
“I don’t want to give you the wrong idea.”
He grunted. “Lib, I’ll level with you. I have dated a lot and never been serious.” He waved a hand dismissively. “It might be cliché for military types, but I know how hard it is to be committed to my country and committed to a relationship.”
“I get it. You didn’t want to be your father.”
His eyes widened like he’d been caught. “I was there, too, when my mother walked around with that vacant look in her eyes. When she gave us a sad smile to cover her pain. It was years before Mom was even close to normal. Never completely.” He sighed. “I hate this,” he muttered, and he turned away from her. “I don’t even know what I’m doing. You’re probably right. I mean, what does it matter? You don’t want a relationship. You’re selling the house. I’ll be going back to Virginia Beach in a couple weeks. It’s not like this could work.”
A chill washed over her, and she saw Trent in such a different light. It was like his male bravado was there to cover up this very vulnerable part of him. Maybe all the “babe slaying” was just part of that act. It must be difficult to be Trent Stone, a committed Navy SEAL, never having any security except his brother. She almost wanted to tease him about the way he and Hunter teased about being codependent and how Hunter had told him he would get married. The whole situation lay stretched before her, easy to view. Trent was lonely. Very lonely. Boy, did she understand that. She thought of the last year and how hard it had been facing her grief alone. She wondered how this man faced so much grief all the time.
Gently, she placed a hand on his face. “You hold in so much,” she murmured, kissing him before she could think better of it. “Maybe we can try to be friends for the next couple of days.” She pumped her eyebrows. “But I probably shouldn’t kiss you.”
“No, you should definitely kiss me. So I’ll see you at ten tomorrow?”
She nodded.
“Okay. Wait.”
“Yeah?”
He bent down and kissed her. “If we’re not kissing anymore, I had to get one more in.”
