Page 25 of My Forever Soldier

If only her mom was still alive. Here with her so they could talk.

“Penny for them?”

Olivia’s eyes opened with a snap. She jumped to attention, elbows smashing hard against the counter.

“Luke! What are you doing up?”

He grinned at her. “Heard you crashing around in here and thought I’d help.”

She could see the smile in his eyes. She hadn’t been making a noise, and he knew it.

“Okay,” he admitted, walking toward her. “I couldn’t sleep and I knew you were in here.”

She moved away from him, back toward the sink as he walked closer. She felt distinctly like an animal being watched, stalked by a lion. Only this predator was more scary than a lion. He didn’t want to eat her—he wanted her heart.

“Want a glass of milk?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She couldn’t help it; Olivia cracked a smile and tried her hardest not to laugh. That old-fashioned charm had always made her flutter inside.The soldier has manners.That’s what she’d thought when she’d first met him, one of the first things she’d noticed about him, aside from how great he’d looked in a pair of too-long denim shorts and a T-shirt.

Olivia poured two glasses of milk and then turned back around. Luke was closer than she’d realized. He reached out and took one of the glasses from her. When he didn’t move, she stepped out and maneuvered around him, desperate to keep that sense of distance between them.

“You okay?”

She nodded. What else could she do? Aside from tell him that her heart was beating way too fast and she wanted him so badly. Wanted his arms around her, his mouth on hers, and to stop thinking about what had happened and just let him love her.

“Just, uh, thinking about the party tomorrow,” she said, trying to keep her eyes diverted from him. Especially from his low-slung pajama pants and bare chest.

Stop looking at his chest. Ignore the bare skin.

Luke drained his glass of milk and wiped his mouth.

“I feel like a kid who’s had a nightmare,” he teased.“Next time I might need it warmed.”

She knew the truth behind those words, though. There had never been anyone to fill a glass of milk for Luke when he was a kid. He’d been a fighter, had to be, just to make it through to adulthood.

They stood there in silence. Luke tall like a statue in the middle of the kitchen, her tucked around by the counter. She sipped at her milk—not something she would ordinarily drink, but perfect for now. If she’d poured a coffee she would be awake all night, if not bouncing off the walls.

“Luke, how are we doing?” She’d been rolling that question around in her mind all night. The cake had been baked on autopilot; she was lost to her thoughts and hoped she’d remembered all the ingredients. Hadn’t put in salt instead of sugar, she’d been so absentminded.

Her question had him thinking. That slightly humorous, confident twinkle in his eyes had faded. Fast. Now he looked serious.

“I don’t know, Ollie,” he replied, his voice gravelly.

She toyed with the glass, her fingers gliding across the smooth surface. She pushed her shoulders up and then down in a gentle shrug. That was the problem. She didn’t know, either.

“It’s hard, being back.” He nodded as he spoke. “If I’m honest about it, I’m liking it, but it’s still hard.”

That wasn’t the answer she’d hoped for. It washard? As in she was hard, being here was hard, what?

“Do you not want to be here?”

He closed his eyes for a second, inhaled deeply and then shook his head, almost sadly.

“It’s hard being a civilian again, Ollie. It’s not that I don’t want to try, but it’s just a big change. It’s different, that’s all, but I don’t mean in a bad way.”

Relief fluttered in her throat, like a leaf in the breeze.

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