Page 39 of His One True Wish

“Yeah, you’re right.” I laughed, too. “You were a pain in my ass and should have stayed inside with the dog.”

She splashed me. “You are so mean,” her playful smile balanced her teasing words, “but you are not a liar.”

“No, I am not.” I hoped it was true. There were things I wasn’t telling Billie, but they didn’t matter, did they? Besides, the moment had passed. It was too late to tell her more about Angel and me or my past. It would be weird to bring it up right now.

“I suppose my stupid neon coat made it easier to find me in the snow,” she said, her eyes focused on the bubbles and away from me.

“It is a horrible color, but it’s cute on you,” I said, cascading more water down her back. What was I doing? That was flirtatious and a compliment.

“Okay, now you are lying.”

“Impossible.”

“Well, I’d be lying if I said I liked the color of your car.”

“You already told me that it’s obnoxious. I know how you feel about it, and I’m over the hurt.”

“I know,” she said, looking up at me with her wide brown eyes. They looked dark and endless, and I wondered which one of us would look away first. The heat of her stare felt loaded with a message I couldn’t read.

She looked away first, moving the bubbles with her hands. “Yesterday you said you were used to defending that car. What did you mean?”

Okay, so this was a safe topic. “You want more water, or are you good?”

She looked up at me and bit her lip. My cock jumped, and it took effort to keep my expression neutral.

“I’d like more,” she said softly. “Please.”

“Okay then.” I scooted closer to the tub and crossed my legs instead of kneeling on the hard floor. “So you want to know how I got ol’ Lemon.”

“You named your car.”

“Um, yeah,” I grinned. “If you had a car the color of a lemon Starburst, what would you name her?”

“Why is it a her?”

“Because,” I stumbled over my words, “uh, I don’t know … cars and boats, they just are.”

She looked at me, lips pursed.

“Are you going to tell me I’m being sexist.”

“I don’t know, are you? They are objects that men with power like to control.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” I sighed. “What if I told you that my car is nonbinary.”

“Perfect,” she said.

“After I left the military — ” I continued.

“Did you fly?” she interrupted.

“Yes, I did. I enlisted at eighteen. I dropped out of the local college in Modesto. School was not my thing. When I retired from the military, I ended up connecting with one of my Air Force buddies who lives in Florida. We started a business.”

“Did you guys buy a Bubba Gump shrimp boat together and make millions?”

“As a matter of fact, we did not, and I have seen that movie. I get the reference.”

“Because it’s a super-old movie, and you mentioned you like old-school rock.”

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