Chapter 6
SIX
DOUGLAS
This time will be different.
For starters, I haven’t called in a favor with my helicopter pilot buddy. I’m not taking her flying through the air on a zipline.
Not only are we going to keep our feet planted on solid ground, but I made damn sure I won’t get called away. Again.
I have a mutual buddy looking after my sister and the kids. I have a couple of co-workers covering for me if there are any disasters.
Basically, I’m not going to fuck things up. I’m going to show Kathryn she deserves the best.
I’m going to show her that I care for the people who are mine.
And I want her to be mine.
Call it nerves or determination, but I’m once again early to pick her up.
I lean against the truck and check my phone once. Not because I expect another disaster, but out of habit. And because I need to do something with my hands.
Hell, I really am nervous.
Not wanting to tempt fate I slide the phone back into my pocket just as her door opens.
My pulse quickens. Not just in my chest, though it’s pounding there, but in my ears. And when she steps through the door looking as confident and gorgeous as ever…
Everything in my world makes sense.
It’s her, my heart tells my brain.
She’s the reason it never worked out with anyone else before. She’s the reason I fought so hard for so many years.
Every turn I took—right or wrong—brought me here to her.
Because she’s the one.
Thank God she gave me another chance. I’m not going to blow it this time.
Kathryn’s gaze meets mine, and my heart melts.
“Hey,” she says, flashing a shy grin. As if she’s not sure whether or not I’m going to make good on my promise this time.
I don’t blame her. I have a lot of trust to rebuild. That’s okay. I’m up for the task.
She’s worth it.
“Hey.” I return the grin and greeting. I give her a quick glance, appreciating the effort she put into looking as beautiful as ever for me. “You’re gorgeous.”
“Oh… Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” I take a step closer and offer her my hand. “And thank you.”
Her brow furrows. “For?”
“A few things, actually.”
“Such as?”
“First, for giving me another shot. I know.” I hold up my free hand before she can say it. “I know I’m on probation. You don’t have to worry.”
Her lips twitch, as if she’s trying not to smile. “What else?”
“Thank you for wearing that dress.” I give it another appreciative look. “You’re beautiful all the time, but tonight… Thank you.”
“For a Navy Seal, you’re an awfully smooth talker.”
I chuckle at that and squeeze her hand. “And thank you for not arguing with me when I said you were gorgeous. I could see you wanted to, and, well, I’d hate to start the night out by fighting with you.”
She laughs at that. The sweet sound is like winning the fucking lottery.
“Like I said…” She shakes her head. “You’re way too smooth of an operator.”
“You haven’t seen anything yet.”
She gasps when we pull in front of the botanical garden. I kill the engine and have the pleasure of seeing her face light up.
I swallow past the sudden lump in my throat. “You said you always wanted to come here.”
“And you remembered.”
“Of course, I did.”
Her lips part slightly. Close again.
Then she reaches for the door handle.
“Okay. This already feels better.” She darts me a sidelong glance. “For one thing, at least I don’t have to worry about flashing the strip because I wore a dress to go ziplining.”
“Sorry about that.” I wince. “I was trying to be impressive.”
“Believe me, remembering a throwaway comment is a hell of a lot more impressive than anything else Vegas has to offer.”
I nearly sigh in relief.
I clear my throat and take her hand once more. “Come on. I have a little more planned than us standing in the parking lot.”
She laughs again, and more and more of my nerves melt away.
We amble through the garden, pausing to take closer looks and read labels along the path. Nothing about stopping to literally smell the roses screams adrenaline junkie. But you wouldn’t know by the way my heart is still pounding.
If this keeps up, I’ll have to add a more time to my cardio workouts so my heart is up for a life with her.
But it’s hard not to have your heart race when you’re standing next to a woman who makes every cell in your body feel alive.
Kathryn is so caught up by the beauty around us—and I’m completely focused on the beauty that’s her—we nearly miss it. The picnic I had arranged. Courtesy of another buddy who owed a favor.
Once again, her eyes grow wide as I help her sit down and start to unpack the basket. I pour her a glass of chilled prosecco—her favorite brand—and reach for the box of assorted cheeses. I set aside another box in the process and she gasps.
“Is that—”
“Yeah.” Another smile pulls across my face. “It is.”
She turns to me. “You went to that bakery?”
“You said it was your favorite.”
“But it’s also across town and always packed and—” she shakes her head “—this is too much.”
“It’s pie.”
“It’s the best damn pie.”
“I know.”
She looks at me for a long second. Then shakes her head again, but this time she’s smiling.
“You’re making it very hard for me to keep holding a grudge.”
“Good. Then my plan is working.”
And it does. For real, this time. My plan works. My phone doesn’t ring. No one pulls me away. We eat. We talk. I fall a little harder with every passing second.
It’s easy. It’s all so damn easy. Especially for two people who’ve known each other a week and have had so much thrown in their way.
Once we’ve both had two much time, I can feel her gaze on me. Studying me. Like I’m a puzzle she’s trying to solve.
Then she shifts closer. A ladybug lands on her cheek. I reach out a finger, letting it slide along her smooth skin. She sucks in a breath as I capture the little red bug and gently set it on a nearby plant.
When I look back at her, I see it. The heat in her eyes that was there the night we met. The desire. The anticipation.
She moistens her lips before letting them fall apart.
I can read the question in her eyes. Like they’re asking, “Are you going to kiss me again?”
I answer to the affirmative.
Cradling her face in my palm, I lower my lips toward hers. Slowly. Giving her time to pull away in case I’ve misread her or the situation.
Thank fuck I didn’t.
She meets my kiss eagerly. Hungrily. When my lips part hers, and our tongues touch, she moans.
As if I taste even better than the pie from her favorite bakery.
Her fingers curl into my shirt, pulling me closer as I deepen the kiss.
Though it starts off slow and sweet, it escalates quickly. She clutches the front of my shirt, pressing herself closer to me.
I slide a hand to the back of her head, tangling my fingers in her gorgeous mass of hair. The other clutches her hip, pulling her even closer.
With every second that pasts, the fire igniting inside of my turns into a blaze.
If we don’t put the brakes on it soon, we’re going to be in trouble.
“Douglas—” she breathes against my mouth. “Don’t stop.”
It’s as if she can read my mind. That shouldn’t come as a surprise.
“I don’t want to,” I agree, bringing my lips back to hers for another searing kiss.
But the next time we pause to catch a breath, I rest my forehead against hers.
“But we have to,” I say.
She starts to protest and I shake my head. “If we don’t stop now, there’s a good chance I’ll do something that will get both of us banned from the garden for life.”
A giggle bubbles out of her, stoking my racing heart.
It’s all I can do not to stay the hell with it and push her down against the blanket and claim her here. But, like I said, I don’t want to get us kicked out. I want to be able to bring her back here again and again.
I want it to be our special place.
Forever.