8. Eden #2
A group of people near some food trucks waves at us after we go through the gate. My stomach rumbles.
“Are you hungry?” Sterling asks.
I nod. Even though the morning sickness has greatly subsided, I’m not taking any chances on letting myself go hungry and getting nauseous.
“There’s this taco place here that’s to die for.” He points at the turquoise truck.
“Sterling! Hey, man. Is this her? Holy shit. I never see anyone besides gnarly old truck drivers when I stop on the road.” One of the guys in the group slaps Sterling on the back.
“Yeah, this is Eden. Eden, this is Gray. We work together.”
Gray smiles at me, his buzzed blond hair glistening in the light. He’s short, close to my height.
He extends a hand, which I accept with a smile. “Nice to meet you.”
“I never understood the quick military-marriage thing until now.” Another one of the guys whistles as he walks up and shakes Sterling’s hand and mine.
“This is Charlie.”
“Hi, Charlie.”
“Hey, sweetheart. If you get sick of this guy, just want to throw it out there that we’re the same rank.” He winks at me.
Sterling clears his throat, moving me farther behind him. Duke, Charlie, and Gray all burst out laughing with each other. I don’t really get the joke. Sterling is shaking his head, like he wishes they’d all shut up.
A full-figured redhead steps up to me, a soft smile on her lips. She’s stunning, like one of those girls on a makeup display with perfect skin.
“Hi, Eden. My name is Layla. It’s great to finally meet you.” She extends a hand to me.
I like her instantly. “Hi, Layla. I’m glad I’m not the only girl here.”
She rolls her eyes at the guys. “You and me both. They’re good guys, trust me. Marines can get rowdy sometimes.”
Sterling tugs me closer. “Eden and I are gonna grab something to eat. We’ll meet y’all back over here in a minute.”
Layla smiles knowingly at him with her big blue eyes, batting her lashes. A ball of unease forms in my gut. I follow Sterling over to the trucks.
Duke comes up beside me. “What about Layla? Is she fair game?”
“Sure, but I think she’s with Gray these days, maybe Charlie. I don’t really know. Can you not keep your dick in your pants for three whole days?”
“So, she finally gave up on you since Blondie came into the picture, huh?”
My stomach cramps.
So, Layla liked Sterling. I knew I was keeping him from actually dating women he might like.
Sterling ignores Duke, walking up to a taco stand. “I’ll take a mixed taco plate with pork carnitas and carne asada.” He turns to me. “You want tacos or something else? I’ve had these, and they’re really good. They’re served with corn salsa.”
“This is fine. I only want two, please.”
He completes the order and pays for it. Duke wanders off to get something else, returning with a jumbo corn dog, a turkey leg, and roasted corn. He can barely hold it all.
He hands me the corn. “Try this. So damn good.”
I take a bite, the sweet and spicy flavors bursting on my tongue. “Oh wow, that is good.”
“Right?”
He grins at me, and it’s not flirty at all now, only friendly. Sterling’s jaw is set in a hard line. He grabs our order when they call his name up to the window.
“Let’s go sit at the picnic tables over there.”
I follow him over to the area, and we take one of the available wooden tables with an attached bench. A brisk wind flows through, making me shiver despite my sweater dress and the leather jacket.
Sterling frowns. “Are you cold? I have another jacket in the truck.”
I shake my head. “I’m fine.”
“She’s definitely cold,” Duke muses, taking a massive bite of his corn dog as he sits across from me.
Sterling glares at him, setting the to-go boxes of tacos on the table. “I’ll go grab the jacket. Start eating so you don’t get sick. Yours is the top one.”
He turns and heads for the parking lot.
“So, are you into him or what? You’re hard to read, and I can always read women.”
I blink at him and open up the box of food. “Um, he’s been really generous with me, despite my situation.”
“Yeah, but do you like him? He’s really into you—I can tell. Sterling has hardly ever dated anyone. He’s picky as hell.”
I stare at him, slowly taking a bite of the pork carnitas taco. “How can you tell?”
He gestures to the food. “Take your pick, sweetheart. He married you, for crying out loud. You clearly don’t know my brother as well as I do.
He hasn’t been in a committed relationship since the seventh grade.
Sterling doesn’t do the girlfriend thing.
I mean, sure, he’s a generous person and a nice guy, but that’s a bit much, even for him.
“He’s married to the Marines. He won’t even come home for the holidays if it interferes with training, and he took time off to take you to the doctor.
You’re sleeping in his bed every night. He never lets anyone in his bed.
He almost punched me in the face earlier, and getting Sterling riled up is usually fucking impossible, trust me.
I’ve tried my whole life to push his buttons. Shit just doesn’t affect him.”
I can’t even taste the taco anymore. Duke raises a brow.
“Do I need to keep going? I just wanna know where your head is at. You have a lot on your plate with the baby and all. I just don’t want him to get his hopes up if you’re not about it.”
I slowly feel myself nodding. This is a lot of information, a lot of things I didn’t know or even suspect.
Sterling likes me.
Butterflies erupt in my stomach.
“I … I didn’t know about the bed or the past relationship history, any of it. He said he wanted to get married so I could watch over his house while he was deployed.”
“And that’s all true, I’m sure. He doesn’t have ulterior motives or anything. He’s the best of the best, a true good guy. Much more than I am, to be honest. I’d have already kissed you seven ways to Sunday by now. He’s got the self-control of a damn monk.”
I lean in closer, my skin warming. “Something did happen between us, but then he said he wouldn’t touch me again if I told him not to. I didn’t, but it’s been two weeks since then. I just figured he … didn’t want to deal with my emotional roller coaster. I’m kind of a mess.”
Sterling is headed back with the jacket, moving toward us through the growing crowd. He stands a head above almost everyone.
Duke leans closer. “I promise you, he’s thinking you don’t want him—that’s it. I know my brother. He’s obsessed with you. Let me prove it to you. I’ll make a move on you, and he’ll kick my ass.”
I gape at him, shaking my head. “Duke, no. I don’t want you to—”
“Shh, trust me. If I try to kiss you and he comes after me, you gotta invite him into the bed tonight. He’d never actually hit me over a girl he’s not into. Deal?”
My heart is pounding in my chest. I want to say no. This is crazy. Duke is a maniac.
But on the other hand, part of me wants to know if he’s telling the truth. Also, the idea of Sterling punching his own brother over me makes my toes curl inside my boots.
I feel myself nodding as Sterling wraps the jacket around my shoulders.
“How are the tacos?”