Page 10 of Securing His Heart

“I’m sure.” She yawned and her eyelids drifted down.

“You need some more sleep. What time do you need to be up by?”

“Hmm, I usually get up at six to get on my exercise bike and I’m at work by seven thirty.” Her voice got softer with each word.

“I’ll wake you up in time.”

“Okay.” She snuggled into him and he shifted further down the bed so that he was lying flat and secured Lindy by his side with an arm around her back.

She let out a small huff of air and began to snore lightly.

The sound was cute, and he closed his eyes, allowing the steady rhythm of his heartbeat to lull him into sleep.

“Thank you for walking me to my building, you didn’t have to.” Lindy glanced at a point over his shoulder, and Chris wished she’d look at him.

The walk from his hotel room to her office had been made in a tense silence. The streets weren’t busy, but there were people rushing to grab a coffee and pastry before heading to their workday. Most had a skip in the step knowing that in a few short hours they’d have the next two days off to forget about work.

“I wasn’t going to let you walk by yourself.”

She sighed. “I was the victim of a random bag snatch, the police said it themselves. They don’t expect to find my handbag. I’m going to call the locksmith when I get to my office and I’ll go to the house to meet with them and grab my new keys. I’ll also speak to the security company I use and ask them to up their patrols around my house for the next couple of weeks.”

Everything she’d said should comfort him. Lindy was doing everything they’d discussed, yet walking away from her was becoming harder and harder.

How could he be feeling this way for a woman he’d met only twelve hours ago?

It seemed impossible for Chris to have these strong feelings for her, yet he did.

He’d never believed in love at first sight, how could he when he’d seen so much tragedy in his life?

Yet he’d heard the stories of it happening to people, men he’d worked with in the past. They told the story of how all it had taken was one look and they’d known the woman in front of them was the one.

Surprisingly, those were the relationships that tended to last in the Army. Perhaps there was something to it, but he didn’t want to believe that about what he was feeling for Lindy.

There were so many factors and reason for a relationship between them to not work, the biggest one being Chris’ life was on the other side of the world to hers. He had a feeling her job was an important one. One that couldn’t be blown off making it impossible for her to move to America to be with him.

It would be best if they parted ways outside the front of the impersonal glass and steel structure. Chris looked down at her, her face lifted toward him.

All thoughts of saying goodbye for good disappeared at the look of longing he glimpsed in her eyes.

Was there an answering one in his? Probably. Should he kiss her?

Chris took a deep breath, and as if she could tell what his intentions were, Lindy took a step back and held out her hand.

“Thanks for looking after me last night, Chris Swanson. I enjoyed spending time with you.”

Her words were like bullets to his chest; the finality of them burned. Why was he upset?

This was what he wanted.

“I enjoyed spending time with you Lindy Jones. Take care.”

“I will.”

Their gazes locked, and for a moment he suspected she was going to hug him, but instead, she shook her head and turned to head into the building.

The glass doors whispered open then closed only a few seconds after she walked through.

He stood there looking at the blueish green glass, willing the doors to reopen and for Lindy to rush out and kiss him, as though she needed it to breathe.

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