Chapter 2 #3
"Don't worry, you're not alone. Most men have no idea how much work goes into planning for marriage and preparing for a family. And I'm not just talking about once you're engaged or already pregnant."
He locked gazes with her, his face puzzled. "What do you mean?"
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "A person doesn't just wake up and decide I want to get married and have a family.
You have to consider the qualities you want in a spouse and do all you can to make yourself attractive to the opposite sex.
Then there's dating... Just because you put yourself out there doesn't mean you're going to attract the guys you're interested in, or that they will have the same goals and values as you. "
"I take it you're single too and have had your share of failures in the dating department." Damon's face was wary as he spoke.
Grace scowled.
Have I ever.
The last guy she fell in love with—the guy she thought she’d marry—turned tail and ran the moment he found out she'd given a child up for adoption.
"Okaaay, I see that's a sensitive topic." Damon straightened, hands out in surrender. "Let's agree that men are clueless, because we usually are. And let's acknowledge that being a wife and mother belongs on your list. What else are you going to put on there?"
Feeling defensive and riled up from old memories that had surfaced, Grace opened the bag of expensive chocolate truffles from the basket. She didn't bother picking her phone up again until after she'd offered Damon a chocolate and eaten one herself.
"Keep it simple. What's something new you'd like to learn to do?" Damon chewed his chocolate then swallowed. "You said you just moved. Is there something you'd like to do in your new neighborhood to get to know people or help yourself settle in?"
That's easy.
Ever since she and Gabe started the paperwork of buying the duplex in Providence, she'd been making a mental list of the advantages of moving to a small town, mostly to convince herself living in the country wouldn't be all bad.
Grace started typing: 3. Learn to drive a stick shift. 4. Ride a horse. 5. Shoot a gun.
Damon leaned toward her again as she typed. "Really, you've never done any of those things?"
"I'm a city girl who has never needed to do any of those things."
"Good point." He nodded thoughtfully. "You should put 'get your Doctorate in Radiology' on there."
"Mm...I'm not sure if I want to do that yet." She'd only just started to think about it. She wouldn't have time to even consider it while she helped care for her mother, but after her mom... Well, she'd need something to occupy her time and help fill the void.
"If money wasn't an issue, what's something you'd like to do?" Damon helped himself to another chocolate. "Is there something you'd buy yourself? Would you travel?"
Grace added: 6. Visit Holland when the tulips are in bloom.
"I inherited my love of flowers from my mother, and visiting Holland was something we've always dreamed of doing."
It felt wrong to put it on her bucket list, though, knowing her mom couldn't go with her.
"Visit Holland. That's a good one. I almost went there once. No idea if the tulips were in bloom or not, but my orders changed at the last minute." He scrolled through his list. "I have visited the Eiffel Tower and the Vatican though."
Grace leaned closer to him to see his list as he scrolled. His was broken into sections labeled Skills, Destinations, Unforgettable Moments, and Dumb Things I've Done.
"May I?" She held out her hand for his phone.
He handed it over with a shrug, and she scrolled through them again, noting all the check marks. The man was very skilled, well-traveled, and had done a lot of things; both unforgettable and dumb. She slowed as she scrolled through the Dumb Things I've Done section.
"Skateboard while holding onto a car?"
Damon nodded. "On the Dumb List for obvious reasons."
"Rode a bull?" Grace looked at him with raised eyebrows.
"My best friend in high school convinced me to participate in a rodeo with him. Yeah, that didn't last. I sang soprano for a week."
Grace busted out laughing. She couldn't picture the tough soldier beside her singing let alone in a high voice.
"Polar plunge? Eat a ghost pepper?"
"I would not recommend the pepper."
"Get tazed? Sprayed with pepper spray?"
"Part of my training." Damon grimaced and shook his head. "Wouldn't recommend those either."
Grace's eyes jumped down several lines. Kiss a Stranger. In parenthesis after it was the date September seventh. Just over two weeks away.
She stiffened and pulled away from Damon before turning to glare at him. A chill skittered through her body despite the stuffiness and rising temperature in the elevator. Her chest tightened, and her breathing came a little faster.
Was this whole talk of bucket lists an elaborate ruse to get her to let him kiss her, so he could check a box on his list? She hardly knew Damon, but she felt betrayed. He'd used his charms and played on her anxiety to lull her into trusting him.
"Are you okay?" Damon's face filled with concern. "What's wrong?"
She dropped his phone on his lap, screen up.
Frowning, he looked down at it.
Grace knew the moment he spotted the line item that made her pulse race and ice fill her veins.
He brought his hand to his forehead. "Oh man, I forgot that was on there."
"I doubt that." She narrowed her eyes on him. "That's why you guided this whole conversation toward bucket lists, isn't it?"
"No, of course not." He shook his head. "I didn't put it on there. I swear."
"Then why is it there?" Grace wasn't sure she believed him. "And why is there a date after it?"
Damon let out a heavy sigh. "One of my Army buddies put it there three months ago after I lost a bet.
The deal was that the winner got to put an outrageous task on the loser's bucket list." He turned off his phone and pocketed it.
"I'm supposed to have it checked off before we deploy in a couple of weeks. "
He sounded sincere, but she wasn't sure she trusted him. "What bet did you lose?"
"It was a timed obstacle course thing. Howie bet he could beat me.
I was feeling cocky, so I took the bet. I always finished before him, so it felt like a sure thing.
" Damon stared at the doors as he shook his head.
"But I lost. I'm almost certain he had help from the guys in our unit, but no one will admit it.
So now, I have to check it off before we deploy. "
"What happens—" Her phone buzzed in her lap, cutting off her words. She picked it up to see a reminder. "Shoot."
"What's wrong?"
"I'm supposed to be at a dress fitting in ten minutes."
"I think it's safe to say you're going to miss it. I'm sure they'll let you reschedule it."
"It's not that simple. It's for a bridesmaid's dress for a wedding that's in two weeks. This was supposed to be the final fitting. The seamstress has been really busy, because she's the only one in town, and there's another wedding the following week."
Grace stared at her phone, frustration building in her chest. "When I don't show, my soon-to-be sister-in-law is going to tell my over-protective brother, and he'll freak out when I don't answer his calls and texts. Then my mother is going to worry. And that's the last thing she needs right now."
"Hey, it'll work out." Damon's voice was calm and soothing as he put a hand on her arm. "There's nothing you can do at the moment, so there's no point in getting worked up over it."
"You're right." She took several deep breaths. She’d deal with it later and hope Iris could squeeze her in sometime in the next week. She had a more pressing problem to worry about.
Was Damon trying to convince her to kiss him?
Would it be such a bad thing if I did?
She gasped. She couldn't believe the thought even crossed her mind.
Sure, he was good looking and had been a complete gentleman so far. But she wasn't that kind of girl. Not anymore. She'd learned too many lessons the hard way, and the last time she kissed a stranger—on a stupid dare—it had backfired on her.
The simple fact she'd been there, done that, meant she couldn't judge Damon too harshly. Especially since—if he was telling the truth, and she wanted to believe he was—he wasn't even the one who put it on his bucket list.
She watched the candlelight dance across his solid cheekbones and strong jaw that was covered in a five o'clock shadow.
He really was handsome. It didn't help that this whole situation felt romantic with the chocolate, candlelight, and just the two of them.
The only thing missing was romantic music.
Stop it.
"What? Why are you staring at me like that?" Damon quirked a brow.
"What happens if you don't check it off your list?"
Damon grimaced again and averted his gaze. "Nothing."
"Why put it on there with a date if there's no consequence?" She pressed as she shoved another chocolate in her mouth.
His gaze focused on the flames of the candle. "There is."
"What is it?" She folded her arms and continued to study him.
"I have to...streakacrossthequadduringmorningPT." He mumbled the words so fast, Grace had a hard time understanding him.
But then the words registered in her brain, and she burst out laughing. "You have to streak across the quad? Naked, I assume, and while everyone is lined up for PT?"
Damon looked so miserable, she continued to chuckle.
"It's not funny. I'll get an Article 15." His wide-eyed expression said that explained it all, but Grace needed more information.
"Which is what exactly?"
"I could be arrested for breaking a handful of regulations, including disorderly conduct and indecent exposure. I could be punished with anything from extra duty to loss of pay for a couple of months. I could even be demoted."
Grace sobered. "They wouldn't see it as a harmless prank?"
"Some Commanding Officers would, but mine definitely would not." His expression turned grim.