Never Falling Again: An opposites attract, Navy SEAL on vacation romantic comedy (Falling in Maui Book 3)

by Mercer Scott

She’s still staring up at me like she wants to fling more of her conspiracy theories in my face, but she can’t quite figure out how I could have known she would be here. Finally, she crosses her arms over the little, blue sundress she’s wearing and gives me one last, long glare.

  “Fine, you couldn’t have known that I would be here. I didn’t know I would be here until an hour ago. I’m going to sit way over there. Pretend you don’t know me.” She motions to the seats all the way across the big room, and then starts walking in that direction.

  “I don’t have to pretend. I don’t know you, Natalia. But I’m starting to think that I’d like to.” After saying the words slowly, I watch for her reaction.

  It comes fast and angry, so I don’t have to wait long. “I don’t care what you’d like to do because you’re not doing anything. At least, not with me!”

  “And I’m starting to think maybe you’d like to get to know me, too.” I know it’s only going to piss her off, but I can’t help myself.

  “What? No – well, I don’t!” Natalia mutters and then marches off to her seat across the room.

  Fine by me, since it’s time to take our seats anyways. Maybe I would have liked her closer, and maybe I would have leaned over and whispered in her ear to try and make her laugh, but it’s not entirely terrible being across the room from her. Because this way, I get to watch her. I get to see the shy little smile that’s on her face when she’s called on to introduce herself. I get to see the pride slide across her face when she tells us that she’s a nurse and works in the emergency room and the oncology clinic.

  The meeting turns out to be pretty much what I expect. A lot of administrative types telling other administrative types what veterans need. Why they don’t just ask the veterans, I have no idea. I guess that’s why I’m here. To be a voice for all of us. Please, maybe we were one voice when we were still in service. But now? Now, we all have a million different problems. There’s no one size fits all for wounded veterans.

  The person who seems to be in charge is Captain Grieves. We went through basic together. A desk job suits him perfectly. He looks way more comfortable calling a meeting to order than he ever did on his hands and knees in a foot of mud.

  “Cooper? Cooper? Captain Hamilton?”

  I turn away from studying Natalia to look at Grieves. I don’t really like when people call me by my rank and title now. I’m not Captain Cooper Hamilton anymore.

  “Captain Hamilton, I’d like you to work with Ms. Roy regarding the rehabilitation needs of our veterans. You two are uniquely suited to working on this issue as Ms. Roy has medical experience and you have your years as a Navy SEAL and then…” he trails off, not sure what to say. No one’s sure what to say around me. They haven’t been for the last six months.

  “I have experience being blown to shit and then put back together?” I finish for him. If no one else is going to say it, I will.

  I don’t give a shit about making people feel comfortable. That’s what happened. I have the scars, the pain, the Purple Heart, and the honorable discharge to prove it. There’s no point pretending that it didn’t. I glance around the room, ready to enjoy the squirming. Just as I expected, Captain Grieves and everyone else in the room is shifting in their seats, their eyes darting around for a safe place to look. But Natalia’s staring right at me. Not with pity. Not with judgment for being such an asshole and making everyone uncomfortable. Just watching.

  Her mouth is open like she’s about to say something, but she never does. The room is silent for a minute, and then Captain Grieves decides to speak up.

  “Yes, thank you for your service. Your country will be forever grateful.”

  Like he’s been specially appointed to speak on behalf of my country doling out thanks? I don’t think so.

  “Moving on,” he says, ready to take back all the attention and run his meeting like an actual captain would run a mission. I try to stop my eyes from rolling, but I’m pretty sure that I don’t succeed.

  I’m only half listening to the rest of the meeting. It’s more bureaucratic red tape and pleasantries, and I’m not interested. I try not to think too much about what happened, except when Major Farrow gets something out of me in group. Instead, I pretend that I’m fine. I crack jokes. I smile. I make other people feel comfortable. Just because I can’t be comfortable – maybe can never be comfortable again – doesn’t mean that no one else can.

  “Did you plan this?” A sweet, angry voice demands next to me.

  “Plan what?” I ask, knowing exactly who that voice belongs to and exactly what she’s talking about.

  “Plan having us assigned to work together?” She’s sounding angrier by the second.

  “I’m as surprised as you are. Though not entirely disappointed. Apparently, we’re uniquely suited to working together,” I remind her because I know it’s going to piss her off. “We’re a very good fit.”

  We both know that I’m not talking about meetings.

  “I can assure you that we’re not!” Natalia’s pretty brown eyes flash angrily at me. “Well, when do you want to meet? We’re expected to have met by next week and have some ideas or feedback or whatever.”

  “How about now? I know a great little place where we can get some fried shrimp,” I tell her. “Do you eat fried shrimp? Because if you don’t, you’re missing out!”

  Natalia lets out a frustrated sigh. “I’m pescatarian. So, yes, I eat shrimp.” She taps the fingers of her hands against her crossed arms as she thinks over my offer. “Fine. Let’s just get this over with. Where do you want to go? Tell me the address, and I’ll meet you there.”

  “It’s not far. We can walk.” I motion for her to walk towards the door ahead of me. Between group and rehab, I already spend way too much time in this hospital.

  “Are you sure? What about your leg? How does it feel?” She’s not angry now. She actually seems interested. For once, talking to me isn’t absolute torture for her.

  “It’s fine. Exactly like you said. Some bruising. Didn’t hurt after a couple of hours. So, I don’t need to go to the doctor. But if you wanted to examine me again…” I offer, as I reach for the button of my jeans.

  “I’ll take your word for it. Let’s just go.” Natalia rolls her eyes at me and then marches towards the door.

  Her purple Converse sneakers are making little squishing noises on the linoleum floor as she walks, and I have a great view of her ass. So, all I’m good if she wants to walk ahead of me the whole way to the Glass Balls.

  After a couple of minutes, she must realize that she’s walking too fast for me because she slows down. She was, but it’s not like I was going to say anything. I walk at a pace that works for me, and people can walk ahead or behind. But I’m never going to ask them to slow down for me. The one thing that explosion didn’t shatter is my pride.

  Natalia slows automatically and falls into step with me. There’s a long silence between us punctuated by our footsteps and the occasional car horn as we walk away from the hospital. When I was lying in a hospital bed, I swore that once I was released, I’d never set foot back here again. That proved to be more than a little naïve, because one I finally got out of here, I still had to come back for daily rehab and eventually group therapy. My parents tried to ship me off to Manhattan or at least some fancy clinic in Switzerland, but I refused to go. I spent the last ten years of my life in the military, and even if I don’t get to do the job I love, I’m not ready to give it up entirely. But I spend so much time here that this hospital is starting to feel like home, and that freaks me out more than anything.

  As we walk along the sidewalk, leaving the hospital behind, the waves crash in the distance as we get peeks of the beach between the buildings we pass.

  “There’s nothing like Maui, is there?”

  She nods. So, we agree on something for once.

  “You never said what brought you to Maui.”

  “Didn’t I?”

  “Nope.”

  “Maybe that’s
because I didn’t want to tell you-”

  “Come on, give me a hint.”

  “Fine… I’m just visiting friends,” Natalia says, as she pushes a long chunk of dark brown hair behind her ear. She looks uncomfortable as she glances over at me.

  I figure there must be more to that story and it probably has something to do with her cheating ex. But I don’t get the chance to ask her anything else because a black Range Rover pulls up right next to us. I instinctively step closer to her and press my hand against her back. The tinted front window rolls down, and two men are staring out at us, assessing whatever is going on here. Hell, if I know what’s going on here. Maybe if they figure it out, they can fill me in?

  “Ms. Roy, is everything okay here?” The guy in the driver’s seat scans me for threats.

  “Oh hey! I’m so sorry! I forgot all about you. I was assigned some homework,” she tells them, waving a hand in front of my face. “We were just going to get some food and have a meeting at… I’m actually not sure where we’re going.”

  She turns to me suspiciously and demands, “Where are we going?”

  “The Glass Balls.” I nod at the two guys in the car. I’m not sure who these guys are to Natalia, but I know private security when I see it.

  Natalia doesn’t exactly scream private security detail with her scuffed Converse sneakers and inexpensive purse. But neither do I, I guess. And whenever I’m home in New York, it’s a fight if I want to go anywhere without someone tailing me.

  “You didn’t tell me we were going to the Glass Balls,” she says accusing me of… what I have no damn clue. “I love that place!”

  She turns back to the two guys in the Range Rover. “Could you please pick me up at the Glass Balls in an hour?” She uses a sweet tone of voice that she’s never once sent in my direction, and damned if I don’t see that as a challenge.

  “Make it two,” I tell them. “We have a lot of homework to do.”

  They look like they want to jump out and kick my ass, but thankfully for me they’re professionals. Hell, I’m pretty sure I’d want to protect her, too. There’s something sweet and innocent about her, even if she has been pretty pissed at me most of the time that I’ve known her.

  “Is that alright Ms. Roy? Two hours?” the driver asks.

  She turns to glare at me while she answers him. “Yes, fine. Two hours. I’ll call you if I need you to come and pick me up earlier. Or I can just make my own way home.”

  “Call us. We have explicit orders from the boss to not let you out of our sight,” the driver says, with a quick smile.

  Natalia smiles too, like they’re in on some big joke. A pang of jealousy stabs through my gut. I don’t think I’ve made her smile like that once since I met her. And I’m pretty sure I want to.

  “Okay, see you in a bit. Thanks, again.” She watches as the black SUV pulls away from the curb. Then suddenly, it’s like she remembers that I’m still standing right next to her.

  “You can move your hand, thanks.” She’s not smiling anymore.

  “You famous or something?” I ask her, after removing my hand from her back as instructed. “That’s a whole lot of private security.”

  “It’s not mine. I’m definitely not famous. I’m not even an or something. They work for my friend, Lara, and her fiancé. You met her yesterday. She told the guys to babysit me. I’m an adult, and I definitely don’t need a babysitter. But if everyone else wants me to be driven around in a Range Rover, it seems like a pretty good problem to have.”

  “So, your friend is famous or something,” I say. “That adds up.”

  “What do you mean?” Natalia frowns at me.

  “Just that your friend isn’t exactly one to get lost in a crowd. She could kill a man with those heels she was wearing yesterday, and he’d probably thank her for it.”

  “Did you not hear me say fiancé? She’s engaged. She’s actually very happily engaged, so you and your observations can just keep your distance.”

  “Jealous?” I ask, smiling down at her glaring face. I don’t hate the idea of her being jealous.

  “Absolutely not!”

  My lips quirk into a smile. Methinks the lady doth protest too much. She might not want to be interested, but she’s interested.

  Natalia glances up at me, and she looks like she’s almost sorry for shouting at me. Almost. “It’s just that Lara’s the happiest I’ve ever seen her in the entire time I’ve known her. She’s been my best friend for more than ten years, and I just don’t want anything to ruin it like-” Natalia stops herself before she says whatever she was about to say.

  “Not like what?” I’m pretty sure I want to hear whatever it was she was about to say.

  “Not like none of your business!” She looks away from me. “Look, there’s the Glass Balls. I’ll go ahead and get us a table.”

  Then she storms ahead of me on her way to the Glass Balls. Against my better judgment I want to rush ahead to keep up with her, but I know it’s not worth the pain. I don’t exactly want to end up on the floor in pain – grey and sweating – just because I wanted to prove that I could keep up with her.

  Part of me is wondering why I’m so interested in her. It’s probably not that complicated. It’s been a long six months and she’s gorgeous. And yeah, I like a woman with some fire in her. But I think I’m just happy to actually feel something for anyone. To be attracted to a woman. To want to take her to bed. It shows me that I’m still alive. That I still have needs and wants. That maybe I can find a few moments of distraction from my own problems by satisfying a woman’s needs. And I’m pretty sure I’m going to enjoy satisfying every single one of Natalia’s needs.

  A smile pulls at the corner of my mouth as I walk into the Glass Balls. The dumb joke gets me every damn time. The restaurant’s named for the vintage glass fishing net floats that line the windows and just about every other vertical and horizontal surface in the place. But the restaurant is still named after balls – glass or not.

  Natalia’s sitting in a booth in the corner, probably because she doesn’t want to be seen with me. But I’m good with a private booth in the back. She has a notepad in front of her, and she’s staring down at it with a blank expression on her face. When I slide into the booth, not nearly as gracefully as I’d like, she glances up. We both pretend that I didn’t just intake with breath from the pain of sitting down.

  “I think we should begin with some brainstorming to get this going. So, we can both get out of here sooner rather than later.” She’s twirling a pen in her fingers, and not meeting my eyes.

  “And here I was going to suggest we get started with some beers and garlic fries. My idea definitely sounds like a hell of a lot more fun.” I flash her a smile, hoping she’ll lighten up a bit.

  “We’re not here to have fun. We’re here doing work for the hospital. I take that seriously, even if you don’t.” Natalia frowns at me like a disapproving third grade teacher. I had the biggest crush on my third-grade teacher, Miss Lacey.

  “Trust me, no one takes the need to provide meaningful healthcare to veterans more seriously than I do,” I reply easily, before a smile tugs at my lips. “I just think we can have some fun doing it, that’s all.”

  “I’m not here to have fun.” She’s holding that pen poised above her notepad ready to take notes like her life depends on it. She’d do anything to avoid talking about whatever it is she doesn’t want to talk about.

  “You’re on vacation on Maui. What else are you supposed to be doing?”

  Clouds pass over her chocolate brown eyes before they dive for her notepad sitting on top of the table. Then she looks back up at me with a slow smile stretching across her perfect, pink lips. “Exactly how many times do I have to tell you that I’m here visiting friends, and that what I’m doing here, and basically anything else about my personal life, is none of your business?”

  After letting out a low chuckle, a sheepish smile crosses my face. “I guess a few more times?”

  She s
lowly shakes her head and then laughs at me. “Well, at least that’s honest. A rare trait in most men, in my experience. Look, I’m sorry if I’m not being friendly or whatever. I’m just not interested in being friends or anything else with anyone – any human man – at the moment. Or maybe never. Definitely probably never.” Then she slaps a polite smile on her face. “And before you can ask. No, I don’t want to talk about it. Can we please just do the work that we’re here to do?”

  She may not want to talk about it, but she’s just told me everything I need to know. Some cheating, piece of shit broke her heart and made her hate all men. Seems fresh, too.

  “I guess we can do that. But only if we can also get beers and garlic fries.” If beers and the Glass Ball’s garlic fries don’t cheer her up, I don’t know what will.

  “I thought we were here for the fried shrimp?”

  “Nothing goes better with fried shrimp than garlic fries and beers. Trust me!”

  She shakes her head, but there’s a smile dancing across her lips. “Fine. Order whatever you want. But let’s get to work.”

  Chapter Six

  Natalia

  I have officially sworn off men. All men. Every single man on planet earth. And any other men floating around the galaxy. I’m not interested in having anything to do with a man. Not any man. Ever.

  But I’m starting to get the impression that Cooper Hamilton is trying to charm me. Like he thinks I’m a challenge for him to win. I’m not interested in being anyone’s damn challenge.

  “Is this guy bothering you, Nat? Because I’ll throw him out for you in ten seconds flat for you,” Grant Graham tells me, as he walks up to our table. A former pro-surfer and the owner of the Glass Balls, and also Veronica’s soon-to-be uncle-in-law, Grant is the epitome of the mellow, surfer guy. And the Glass Balls is an everyone’s welcome kind of place. Since he’s practically family and Lara doesn’t cook – but refuses to let Deacon hire a chef – we come here a lot whenever I visit Maui. Like a lot. Thank goodness the food is delicious.