Page 79 of Cowboy SEAL Homecoming

“Well, you could tell me about Navy SEAL life.”

To her surprise, that’s exactly what he did. They managed to have a nice conversation all the way to Bozeman. He took her to a more upscale restaurant than she was used to, and it was really…comfortable. Nothing exciting or nerve wracking, but it was nice and relaxing and sweet.

Either Alex was an expert at conversation or they clicked really well, because she never felt like she was breaking down the communication or making things weird. If she ever felt like she’d said something silly, he either didn’t notice or pretended not to.

It was easy to see how he’d commanded a regiment. Easy to see how he was the kind of man who could walk into a dangerous situation and fix it. At least try to. He awed her.

He laughed at her goofy jokes, and he asked questions about whatever story she was relating to him. They talked a little about Burt, but mostly they had a conversation about themselves. As people.

She never would have imagined there was someone in this world who was this easy to be around. As much as she’d loved Burt like a father in the end, he’d still been someone she’d had to get used to in the beginning. Someone to learn to settle into. Someone she’d had to learn to trust.

But maybe because of that, she had learned. To trust. To open up. To give.

They walked back to the truck after their all-too-delicious dinner, and Alex took her hand. A very gentlemanly, sweet gesture, and there was so much about him that was…exactly that.

He had the truest, most intrinsic sense of goodness about him. She knew he wasn’t perfect. No one could be, and she couldn’t expect someone to be. But within all of his imperfections—including being uptight, a neat freak, and far too bossy—at the center of his being was true goodness.

He wanted to do right by people, and sometimes that could be annoying and frustrating. But she could trust that he wanted what was best for her. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt her, because that would hurt him, having hurt somebody.

She got into the truck, lost in her own thoughts, but it hit her then. What she wanted. What she needed.

“Stop,” she blurted as he started to pull out of the parking lot.

Alex stopped the truck at the exit to the restaurant. “Why am I stopping?” he asked.

But wasn’t that something? That he would, that he’d do it, and ask questions only after? “I need you to take me somewhere real quick.”

“Somewhere?”

“Yes. I need you to stop at, like, a drugstore or the like.”

“Okay.” He pulled onto the street. “Why do you need to go to a drugstore or the like?”

“Oh, you know, to pick up something.”

He gave her weird look, but he also drove toward the drugstore. Which made her even more sure of this spur-of-the-moment decision.

She was going to buy condoms. Even if that was awkward, and even if they didn’t actually do anything tonight. She wanted to be prepared. She wanted to be ready. Because that was something she definitely wanted.

Maybe she should care more about what that meant for the future, but she found right now she couldn’t. She didn’t want to worry about what might happen in a month or two or six. She didn’t want to worry about next year. She wanted to enjoy what she had, the possibility of what she had, right now.

She wanted him. To be with him and to experience all of these firsts with him. So she would do what she’d been doing all these weeks.

Go for it.

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