Page 45 of Bossy Hero

Love at first sight isn’t something I’ve ever believed in. It’s a foolish notion. One for children. Love at second sight?Nah. That’s almost as silly.

At third sight, though?

Perhaps.

The dining table separates us, and I’ve never been so grateful for a partition. The urge to fling myself against him is better tempered from across the room.

Eventually, I find my words. “Hello, Alan. It’s wonderful to see you again.”

Have truer words ever been spoken?

Sawyer eases around the table, approaching me with wide open arms. “Sorry to spring an extra guest on you. I only found out he could make it this morning. Just picked him up from the airport.” Sawyer brings me in for a hug, quietly adding, “I wouldn’t call him that, Mrs. M. He goes by Big Al. I saw him kill a man for something far less egregious.”

I chuckle into his chest, then reach up to pat his cheek. I’m so relieved he’s here safely too. “The more the merrier.”

Sawyer’s Army contract expired a few weeks before Leo’s. He’s been staying here, waiting for Leo to arrive. They plan to get an apartment together until they figure out where life will take them next.

Sawyer backs away, then disappears to help Sammy and Drew unload the car.

And I’m alone with the man I’ve longed to touch for years.

But I can’t do that.

I’m not strong enough yet.

The draw to him is so powerful, and IknowI’ll lose myself to him if I go there. And I’m only just now figuring out who I am. Learning to live again.

Like a lightning bolt, realization strikes me with brilliant clarity—that’swhy I didn’t invite him.

Without Travis holding me back, even mentally, there’d be nothing to stop me from tumbling headfirst into Alan’s orbit.

I sweep my gaze around the room. Desperately, I search for something to distract from the magnetic pull toward Alan.

With a painful gradualness, he inches forward, claiming the space Sawyer vacated. “I hope you aren’t mad that I showed up without telling you.”

“I’m not mad,” I confess, succumbing to the pull and slinking toward him.

He takes another step. “Any chance you’re happy to see me?”

Despite being tempted to screamhell yes, I play it off. “I suppose I am. Just a little.”

“How much is that?”

We match each other step for step. Slow and steady.

I raise my hand, leaving an inch of space between my thumb and pointer finger. “A tiny, itsy-bitsy speck of happiness.”

He’s so close I can smell him. My tongue twitches, and my mouth waters. Another part of me—one substantially lower—is also suddenly damp.

His cheek quivers as he fights off a smile. “Liar.”

“I’d never lie to you, Alan.” I gulp around a giant lump in my throat. “Honest. I barely noticed you when you got here.”

His boots draw to a stop a foot away from me. I force myself to do the same.

“There it is.” Exhaling pointedly, he slices his head in a slow arc, biting down on his lower lip. “I’ve waited almost a decade to see it. Totally worth it.”

All those butterflies in my belly take flight in a rush, threatening to carry me into the clouds with them.

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