Page 14 of Bossy Hero

He nods, then cuts them off.

Hidden in the dark, it’s easier for me to speak. “Thanks again for your help. Sorry to suck you into my mess. And I appreciate you helping to get Leo some time off. We’ll get this handled quickly so it doesn’t take away from his responsibilities for long.”

“No problem, Madeline.”

“My friends call me Maddie.”

His tone barely conceals his amusement. “And am I your friend?”

“Any friend of Leo’s is a friend of mine. Assuming you want to be.”

“I would like that. I don’t have many friends. Just my squad.”

“I don’t either,” I admit.

Travis keeps it that way.

After the silence stretches, he rumbles, “It’s lonely, isn’t it?”

“Terribly. Especially since my kids are grown.”

“I bet.”

I fight a yawn. “Do you have children? Or a wife?”

Not that I care.

“Nope. Lifelong bachelor.”

“A playboy, huh?”

Since my eyes have adjusted to the dark, I see him ardently shaking his head. “Not quite. Just never found the right woman. Besides, the family thing isn’t conducive to my line of work.”

“Why is that? Lots of soldiers get married and have families.”

“What woman wants to spend month after month alone? Worried constantly? Always wondering if each knock on the door will be the one with a folded flag delivery?” He scoffs. “No one wants that.”

Aiming for a bit of levity, I quip, “I don’t think that’s accurate. Aside from the folded flag thing,I’ma married woman who’d love to be alone for months on end.”

“Well, you’re a special case. An exception to the rule.”

“I suppose so. But I’m still sorry you haven’t found someone to love.”

Even as the words leave my mouth, they feel wrong. Through my sleepy thoughts, I shake off the absurd idea that it pleases me he’s single.

I’ve lost it. Perhaps being knocked onto the concrete gave me a concussion after all.

I’m a married woman. Unhappily, but married, nonetheless.

For now.

Then again, maybe that sentiment rings untrue because love isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. I say as much. “Maybe you’ve got it all figured out, and people like me are the ones who messed up. Aside from my children, what good has love and marriage done for me?”

The sound of his breathing mingles with the hum of the heater turning on. The moments tick by, my words playing in my mind on a loop.

We’re silent for so long I assume he’s fallen asleep. Out of nowhere, he says, “It’s not my place to ask this. However, since we’re friends now...” The trepidation is clear in his tone. In my heart of hearts, I know what he’s about to ask before he says it. “Are you going to leave him?”

I grind my teeth. Isn’tthatthe million-dollar question?

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