Page 33 of Soaring and Steadfast

“Me? Never…” but he laid a playful hand on his chest in mock protest that had her laughing again. They turned and moved together toward the passenger side of his car, and she wasn’t even upset or bothered by the gesture as he opened it for her.

It was nice to have someone treating her kindly and gently. It was honestly nicer than she anticipated. Her ex-husband never held the door for her, but Louis seemed to be going out of his way to be a perfect gentleman around her.

“My lady…” he gestured as she slipped into the seat looking at him – and he winked at her.

Was he flirting?

She couldn’t help but watch him as he circled around the car and joined her, sliding into the seat easily. She felt herself flush slightly and caught herself admiring his legs, the way he moved so easily, and breathing deeply of his spicy cologne.Oh man, this was nice.She could almost let herself imagine that there was something more starting between them, could almost let herself hope, but that went against everything she’d promised herself all those months ago.

“Are you ready?” he asked simply, starting the car. “Food first, then the baby? Then I’ll drag you to the beach.”

“Yes – but after I get a swimsuit somewhere.”

“Oh yeah,” he said innocently – and then winked at her again.

“My gosh, are you seriously hinting that I could swim naked on a public beach? I don’t think so, buster.”

“I would never suggest such a thing,” he replied, again with that mocking, playful tone that said differently. “I would insist on aprivatebeach.”

“Good thing we’re not going to a private beach then.”

“Hmm… wouldn’t that be something if the beach on base was private,” he smirked, and her mouth dropped open. “I’m kidding! I’m kidding. It’s not really because of all the sailors, but it won’t be as packed as the others down the coastline.”

“Yeah, not my idea of a private beach.”

“What do you picture?” he asked suddenly, surprising her as he drove easily down the streets. “I’m thinking clear blue waters, white sands, and…”

Lila closed her eyes for a moment, letting the sound of the road fade away as she wrapped herself in the dream she was painting with her words. “Shells,” she whispered as if the verythought of them was a fragile thing that might disappear if spoken too loudly. Her heart ached with the need to escape, to carve out a moment in time that was untouched by reality.

“Lots of palm trees and large conch shells being washed onto the shoreline. White sands, a crescent-shaped beach so you felt like you were completely alone, and maybe the water is turquoise – a brilliant blue that makes you feel like you’re in heaven.”

She didn’t dare look at Louis as she spoke, afraid that if she saw his expression, she’d lose the magic of the moment. But she felt him there, the warmth of his presence filling the space between them, his quiet, steady breathing the only sound aside from the hum of the tires on asphalt.

“That’s my thoughts too,” Louis murmured, his voice low, like a confession. Her heart stuttered at the weight of those words. Was he offering her an escape? A temptation? A stolen dream meant only for them?

She swallowed, her fingers curling in her lap. Would she do something so reckless, so completely out of step with the life she had promised herself? The logical part of her said no. But the part of her that longed for something more, something breathtaking and wild, wasn’t so sure.

“I’d love to hide away someday and just exist like that…” His voice was wistful, full of unspoken longing, and for a brief, aching second, Lila let herself imagine it—just the two of them, lost in paradise, their world stripped down to nothing but sun, sea, and each other.

Her pulse thrummed in her throat as she turned her head slightly, catching the shadow of a smile on his lips. Did he mean it? Could they ever have something like that?

And then the car slowed, the tires crunching over gravel as they pulled into the parking lot of a Cracker Barrel. The moment shattered like a fragile piece of glass slipping from her hands.

Louis exhaled, his expression shifting back into something easy, unreadable as if the conversation had never happened. He popped open his car door without hesitation, breaking whatever spell had been cast between them.

“Time to chow down,” he said with a grin, his voice light, unaffected.

Lila forced a smile as she followed, but inside, she felt the loss of something unnamed, something precious that had slipped through her fingers before she could grasp it.

An hour later, they were walking into the hospital once again, but this time, she didn’t feel that overwhelming sense of horror and dread from her own past, her loss of her child at five months pregnant. That had been such a hard time, but finally letting it out seemed to have eased a little bit of those raw devastating feelings that seemed to savage her soul – and she would never forget how the man beside her had just held her and allowed her to cry on his shoulder.

“Louis,” she started as they got to the hospital room door, and he turned to her, but Trophy was already there just over Louis’s shoulder, greeting them.

“Hey! You made it. Come see our little Angel…”

Louis gave her a steady look that silently seemed to ask ‘Are you okay?’ and she nodded. As they stepped inside, she saw Stephanie’s tired yet proud expression, and the baby was in the bassinet beside her.

“I’m so happy to see you, Lila,” Stephanie began and chuckled. “Sorry I wasn’t much fun yesterday – and I might be a little poor company today while you are in town because I’malready feeling a second nap coming on, and it’s barely eleven in the morning.”

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