Page 42 of A Soldier's Return

He looked down at her lovely features, tucked against his chest, and was astonished at how absolutely right she felt in his arms.

No. This wasn’t right at all. Hadn’t he been telling himself all night how he couldn’t be the kind of man she needed?

None of that seemed to matter, not here in the darkness. Here, he could admit the truth he had been running from since he’d returned to town.

He was falling for her.

More accurately, he supposed, he was finally allowing himself to acknowledge that he had fallen for her a long time ago and simply had been biding his time, waiting for life and circumstances to bring them together again.

He didn’t want to admit it, even to himself. What good would it do? There was no happy-ever-after in the stars for them. He had obligations elsewhere.

His heart ached at knowing this was all they could ever have, these few stolen moments together in his father’s SUV in the darkness while the waves pounded relentlessly against the sand.

He wasn’t sure if his sudden tension communicated itself to her or if he made some sound or perhaps the dog did, but she began to stir in his arms. She opened her eyes, and for one startling moment there was a blazing joy in her expression, as if she were exactly where she wanted to be, then she seemed to blink a few times and the expression was replaced with confusion and uncertainty.

“Eli. Wh-what are you doing here?” She sat up a little and pulled back to the passenger side of the vehicle, hands in her hair. “What amIdoing here?”

“We went to see Puddle of Love, remember? Then we stayed for the next group and the next, and there’s a chance you may have had a little too much to drink. You fell asleep as I was driving you home. I waited in the driveway for you to wake up but I must have fallen asleep, as well.”

She looked out the window, where a light, misty rain had started to fall.

“Okay. That’s embarrassing.”

“For you or for me? You at least had a moderate degree of alcohol consumption for an excuse. I had one beer all night.”

She looked around. “Alcohol or not, I’m still not sure what we’re doingherein your SUV in the middle of the night. And how did Max get here?”

Quite clearly, he was the one who should be embarrassed about the situation. “You, uh, didn’t want to sleep alone tonight so I offered to bring Max up to stay with you.”

She shook her head, massaging her forehead. “Well, that will go down in history as one of the most awkward episodes I’ve ever had with a coworker.”

She glanced at the clock on the dashboard. “Is it really after one?”

“Yes. If it’s any consolation, I think we only dozed off for an hour or so.”

“I should probably go inside. Either that or go down to the beach and dig a giant hole in the sand to climb into.”

“You have no reason to be embarrassed, Melissa. Seriously. It was kind of sweet, actually.”

He shouldn’t have said that. He knew it the moment the words were out. She gazed at him, her blond curls tousled and her eyes soft and her mouth parted slightly. It was all he could do not to yank her back into his arms.

“I’ll walk you in,” he said, a little more gruffly than he intended.

“Thanks.”

“Would you still like Max to stay with you for the night? I can take him home if you’d rather not bother.”

She looked at the dog in the back seat, who was beaming at her with that goofy look of his. “I’d like to say no, but I would actually appreciate his company. Having him here might help the house not feel as empty.”

He opened the rear door for Max, and the dog trotted up the sidewalk as if he owned the place. Eli grabbed Max’s blanket, leash and bowls.

As they walked toward the house, she pulled out her key. “I’m suddenly starving. Are you hungry? I’ve got stuff on hand to make an omelet, if you want.”

He was torn between his conviction that it wasn’t a very good idea to spend more time with her and his overwhelming desire to do exactly that.

As if to seal the deal, his stomach suddenly growled and he realized dinner had been hours ago, before he picked her up to go to The Haystacks. He had nibbled a bit on bar snacks, but apparently that wasn’t enough.

“There you go,” she said with a winsome smile. “Come in.”

---