by Diana Gardin
“I see.” I nod, holding her gaze once more. But before I can get a read on her, she glances down at Decker.
“Ready for cake?”
He pumps his head up and down, turning toward me. “Let’s go, Uncle Ronin.”
Olive lifts her brows, her expression surprised. “He calls you Uncle Ronin?” she asks as we follow the little boy toward the patio.
I chuckle, rubbing the back of my neck with a hand. “Yeah. Brains’s fault. I don’t mind, though.”
She frowns. “Brains?”
I smile down at her. The muscles it takes to do so feel unused, rusty. I’ve smiled at plenty of women before, just not women who affect me the way Olive seems to. And not with a smile as true as the one I’m using now. “Nickname. We all have one.”
She nods, understanding dawning across her face. “It’s a military thing.”
“Yep.”
Walking onto the patio, Decker rushes straight into Rayne’s arms, and Jeremy edges toward me. We both watch as Decker stands between Rayne and Olive, both women showering the eight-year-old with loving attention. When Olive brushes a lock of his hair off his forehead, my chest pulls tight.
The fuck? It’s the sentimentality of this day, drawing me in and fucking with my head. That’s all it can be.
“I’m a lucky bastard.” Jeremy folds his arms, and when I glance at him his eyes are locked on his family.
The family he never even knew he needed but is now willing to die to protect.
I watch them, too. My eyes keep straying to Olive, who looks so comfortable with Decker.
“You talked to her tonight?” Jeremy asks suddenly.
Glancing away from Olive, I find that he’s staring directly at me. “Who? Olive?”
He nods, studying me. “Yeah.”
Shaking my head, I look back at the two women and Decker. “Not really. Why?”
He turns away from the women, and I follow suit. Walking a few feet from the patio, he starts talking. “I don’t know, man. She got into town last night. I picked her up from the airport, and…she was off. I mean, I don’t know her that well, not since high school. But she seems…worried.”
The protective instinct inside of me, the one that’s lain dormant now for exactly seven years, lifts its head. “You ask her?”
He shakes his head slowly. “Didn’t know how to. I mean, we knew each other back in high school because of Rayne, but we weren’t close. And we certainly aren’t best friends now. But she’s my sister-in-law, and she means the world to Rayne. I want to know what’s going on with her. I don’t think she’d tell me if I asked.”
“Why do you say that?”
He runs a hand through his long hair. “Olive is…capable. She likes to do everything herself. She likes to be in control. At least that’s how Rayne tells it, and there was some of that back then, too. She wouldn’t respond well if she thought I was stepping in where I don’t belong, or trying to help her when she thinks she’s got it handled.”
I nod. I get that. Every vibe I’ve ever gotten off of Olive tells me she was independent as fuck. She’s always well put-together, she drives a nice car, she owns her own house. And she has a successful career. So if she were in trouble, she wouldn’t necessarily see it as fit to ask for help.
“What do you need?” My tone cautious, I wait for Jeremy to roll out whatever it is he’s asking.
“Rayne and Decker and I are going to Aruba for a couple of weeks. You know that. I just want you to keep an eye on her, Swagger. Make sure she’s okay. Shit, make plans with her if you have to. I just need to know that you’ll be there if she needs you. Obviously if need be, we can be on the first flight back to Wilmington. You copy?”
Yeah, I copied. Jeremy’s all about family, now that he has one, and he wants to protect Olive as a part of that family. As his best friend, I’m the first person he’d ask to make sure she’s okay while he’s away.
My eyes straying back to Olive as she takes a delicate bite of cake, that instinct inside of me to protect is now fully awake. Even if Olive wants me nowhere near whatever problem she’s having, I’ll be there. I’ll step in whether she wants me to or not.
When her eyes meet mine, her fork freezes halfway to her mouth and a strong current of something I can’t understand pulls taut between us. When the cake finally makes it to her mouth, I watch, fascinated, as she chews. Then she swallows, her slender throat moving with the action. Her tongue darts out to lick the stray pieces of sugar from her lips and my dick stirs in my pants. I want to lick those plump, succulent lips. And where the hell does that desire come from?
Maybe getting to the bottom of whatever bothers Olive Alexander won’t be work, or just a favor for my best friend.
Maybe it’ll even be fun.
About the Author
Diana Gardin is a wife of one and a mom of two. Writing is her second full-time job to that, and she loves it! Diana writes contemporary romance in the Young Adult and New Adult categories. She’s also a former elementary schoolteacher. She loves steak, sugar cookies, and Coke and hates working out.
Learn more at:
DianaGardin.com
Twitter: @DianalynnGardin
Facebook.com/AuthorDianaGardin
Also by Diana Gardin
BATTLE SCARS SERIES
Last True Hero
Saved by the SEAL
Man of Honor
NELSON ISLAND SERIES
Wanting Forever
Ever Always (novella)
Falling Deep
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