Page 18 of Saved from Obsession

Then he smiles, and all the tension in his face is gone. “It’s fine. You don’t need to apologize for hugging me. I’m just glad you like it.”

Phew. I didn’t humiliate myselftoobadly. As my cheeks cool and my heart slows, I say, “Ido. It’s perfect.“ My hands are nearly twitching to open it up and start downloading books to it, but I can do that later when Leo isn’t here.

When I put the box on the coffee table, Leo gives me a curious look. “Don’t you want to open it up?”

“Of course.” I’m grinning at him, and I don’t even care that the skin on my cheek is tugging a bit. “But you promised to show me how to make Carbonara sauce. And then I’m going to beat you in Jenga. So I’ll wait until after I win to open up the Kindle.”

A short laugh bursts out of him. “You think you’re going to beat me? I doubt it.”

“We’ll see.” I jump up to head into the kitchen. “You said that about Scrabble, and who won?”

“Only because I let you win.” Leo brushes past me as he moves into the kitchen, his hand grazing against my hip. Just like every other time we accidentally touch, little tingles rush up and down my spine.

When I stop at the fridge and turn back to look at him, Leo’s eyes are a deep forest green, heavy with unspoken emotion. For a moment, there’s a loaded silence—then he reaches into the cabinet to grab a pot and whatever he was thinking is gone.

For the next hour, the conversation is casual and there aren’t any more lingering glances or electric touches. Leo shows me how to make his favorite dinner—pasta with Carbonara sauce—and I follow his instructions well enough to not ruin it.

Well, mostly. I may have had to fish out some pieces of eggshell from the sauce, but I got them all out in the end. And as Leo said when I fretted about missing some, “Just add more cheese. More cheese fixes everything.” And that’s one good thing about not modeling anymore.Cheese.

Once we finish dinner, we settle around the coffee table to play our game. Since it’s Jenga, we’re both sitting on the floor to get a better angle while we play. Today, Leo is sitting next to me, instead of across, so when he leans over to remove a piece from the tower, his leg touches mine. It’s just the tiniest of contacts, but enough to distract me.

We’re both doing pretty terribly at the game, but I don’t mind, because we’re really talking more than playing, anyway. Between moves, we take turns asking questions—it’s not planned but just seems to end up working out that way.

After Leo pulls out a block and the tower sways precariously without falling, he gives me a little triumphant smirk and I playfully swat his arm. As he waits for me to take my turn, he glances over at the basket of yarn I have next to the couch and asks, “Have you always enjoyed making things? I don’t know much about crafting, but the stuff I’ve seen you make looks amazing.”

I carefully slide a wooden block out of the pile and let out a little hoot of triumph before answering his question. “Pretty much. My mom taught me how to knit and crochet when I was in elementary school. I didn’t realize then that it was a way to save money, I just thought it was fun. Once I got into high school, I took a lot of art courses, which got me into things like painting and jewelry making.”

“Did you ever think about making art into a career?”

“Yeah.” I turn to face Leo, meeting his gaze. “I looked into some art programs, but then I got the offer to come to New York City and sign with an agency, and—“ I give a little shrug. “If I worked as a model, I could make money right away. And enough to help out my mom, so she wouldn’t have to work two jobs.”

Leo’s eyebrows arch up in question. “So it wasn’t your goal to be a model, then?”

“I never really thought about it, honestly. I lived in Killeen, Texas—not exactly a hotspot for modeling. When I was approached by a scout, I thought it was a scam. It wasn’t until my mom called the agency that I knew it was for real.”

Leo shifts position, and his leg brushes against mine again, setting off little flurries of electricity through my body. The sensation is so distracting, I almost miss his next question.

“So did you leave right after high school? Did your mom go with you?”

A little twinge hits me, remembering those first lonely weeks in New York City alone. “I left before graduation, actually. I had all my credits to graduate, and there was an important go-see my agent wanted me to do, so I missed my last two months of school. My mom had to stay back in Texas to work, so I went to the city on my own, lived in one of those crowded apartments with seven other models.”

A little frown creases his features. “That seems kind of scary. Was it?”

“Sometimes.” I give him a small smile. “But I made it through. And somehow managed to keep working for another twelve years as a model. Until—”

No. I don’t want to think about that. So I quickly change the subject. “Anyway, you went into the military—that sounds much more intimidating. Did you go right after high school?”

Leo’s eyes narrow slightly—he knows what I’m doing—but he doesn’t push it. “Yes. A week after graduation, actually.”

“What made you decide to join the Army?” Is that too personal of a question?

“A few reasons.” Leo stretches his arms, and I have to force myself not to ogle his flexing biceps. “I wanted to travel,” he explains, “and I wanted more training on computers. A teacher got me into programming in middle school, and I thought there would be a lot of opportunities to learn more skills in the Army.”

“It’s funny, really.” His lips quirk into a smile, and he continues, “I thought I’d be doing something in IT, spending most of my time indoors. But once I got into basic training, I realized I really liked all the physical aspects of it. And I could use my skills for communications out in the field.”

“What made you decide to join the Green Berets? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“I don’t mind.” Game completely forgotten, Leo’s gaze is focused on me. “I heard about the Green Berets and I was intrigued. What they stood for, their mission—it all resonated with me. So I did all the Special Forces training—over a year of it—and eventually became a Communications Sergeant in the Green Berets.”

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