The Ranger's Chance: A Clean Army Ranger Romance Book One

by Bree Livingston

“Okay, true.” Ryder paused too long.

  There was a reason he was calling, and by the silence, Noah wasn’t going to like it. “Give it to me.”

  Ryder sighed. “She’s meeting Harrison at a coffee house tomorrow morning at eight. They’re going to discuss using her program in all his warehouses.”

  Noah pinched the bridge of his nose. “That doesn’t mean she’s working for him. That means he liked the job she did. I’m not convinced she knows who he is.”

  “Are you…are you falling for her?”

  Noah rolled his eyes. “No, of course not. That’s crazy. Besides, she’s an assignment. That’s all. I’m spending time with her because those are orders. And there’s the fact that I haven’t told her who I am. Once I do that, it would be over anyway.”

  Ryder took a deep breath. “Man, you’ve got it bad if you’re already thinking about how she’ll react when you tell her who you are.”

  “I don’t have anything bad except for an intense desire to wear a hazmat suit in this hotel you booked for me. Seriously, Ryder, this place should be condemned. It’s gross enough in here to murder a black light.”

  Ryder snorted. “I’m sorry. It’s all that was left. Want me to see if anything else is available?”

  “Please.”

  Noah heard the tapping of keys. Ryder sucked in a sharp breath between his teeth. “Spring break isn’t the best time to be looking for last-minute hotels.”

  “Find me something better than this.”

  “Oh, hey. How about a beachfront hotel with a view?”

  Noah exhaled in relief. “Tell me they have a room now.”

  “They do, and it’s Mia’s hotel,” Ryder said. “You want that?”

  “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. It could make her suspicious or creeped out.” Or not, since he’d stayed with her the night before. If Ryder knew that, Noah would never live it down.

  “Does she know where you’ve been staying?”

  “Yeah, but she knows it’s disgusting too. I think with her knowing that, I might be in the clear.”

  “As long as you’re sure. We don’t need to spook her. Kayla Clark isn’t making things easy for Gunner.”

  Noah chuckled. “You mean our finder is coming up short?”

  “Man, he’s ticked. She keeps giving him the slip. And I think he likes her.”

  “Gun? No way. I’d have to see it to believe it.”

  Gunner was never settling down. Not after what happened to his high school sweetheart. She was the only girl he’d ever loved, and he had never let anyone get close since. It would take a miracle for Gun to fall for anyone.

  Ryder laughed. “Yeah, that’s what I thought, but I’m telling you. The way he’s talking about her? He’s got it bad.”

  “I need to go. I’ve got a date,” Noah said and instantly regretted it.

  “A date?” Ryder asked, his voice rising on the second word.

  “Yes, I had to think of something to keep hanging out with her.” That she seemed to like Noah’s company just as much as Noah enjoyed hers wasn’t Ryder’s concern.

  “Right. Well, I’ve got your reservation, so go ahead over there. Based on the description of your current digs, you could be catching something just by breathing the air.”

  Noah grabbed his bag and headed out of the room. “You’re not far off, bud.” He took the steps down and tossed the luggage in the back seat of his rental. “Call me if you hear anything else. I’ll try to get a listening device on her before I drop her off tonight.”

  “I’ll be waiting for it.”

  Noah ended the call and slipped behind the wheel. He needed proof Mia was innocent. Something to back up what he felt in his gut. That Mia was caught in something she had no knowledge of, and that once she knew, she’d be more than willing to help them take Harrison down. At least, that was Noah’s hope. Well, one of them. The other he wasn’t willing to put into words yet.

  Chapter 11

  With a groan, Mia dropped her hair and pouted. For nearly twenty minutes, she’d debated on what to do with it. Up, down, up, down. It was like she was getting ready for the prom and didn’t want her pictures to be terrible. Gathering it again, she pulled it back and pinned it in place, turning from side to side.

  A knock at the door startled her. “Up it is,” she said with one last look as she stepped out of the bathroom, crossed the room, and opened the door.

  Noah.

  Holy smokes. Designer jeans, a dark-mahogany button-up that made his eyes as bright as light-blue LED flashlights, and that incredible cologne worked together like a three-piece orchestra. Her theory that he’d walked down from Olympus was getting some solid proof.

  His mouth dropped open. “You look…wow,” he said. “I feel underdressed.”

  Uh, yeah, no. Man, those butterflies were vicious tonight. “I don’t think so. You look great.” Smell great. Kiss great. His list of greats was getting longer by the second. Whatever boxes she needed checked, he was doing it. “And I’m just wearing a cotton sundress.”

  “Never thought I’d be jealous of cotton.” Squeezing his eyes shut, he said, “I said that out loud.”

  She giggled. “Yeah, you did, but I ran into a door yesterday, so I’ll say we’re even.”

  He opened his eyes and sighed. “No, Mia. What I said was disrespectful. I shouldn’t even have thought it. You aren’t an object.”

  Laying a hand on his arm, she smiled. “And if we’d just met, I might be offended, but I know you don’t think of me that way. To be honest, it was flattering. And I can’t say my thoughts were very far from that.”

  He nodded. “Still, you look beautiful, but your wit and intelligence are the draw.”

  Whew. Deep breaths, girl. Running into a door was bad enough. Swooning would be worse. Would he catch her? Talk about motivation. Only she’d stay upright at the moment. “Thank you.”

  “Are you ready?”

  “Yeah,” she said. “Let me get my wristlet.” She hurried to her bedroom, grabbed it, and hurried back. The door clicked shut behind her, and she wrapped her arms around his bicep. It was like a rock wrapped in a blanket. Yep, she was as jealous of cotton as he was. “So, where are we going?”

  Noah shot her smile. “It’s a surprise.”

  Her heart skipped a beat. “I love surprises.”

  “Most people hate them, but you can usually get away with it when it’s dinner.”

  She shook her head. “I love them. Well, the good ones. I mean, I like to plan, which is why I’m trying to stretch my spontaneity muscle this trip, but birthdays and Christmas and all that type of stuff…I love it.”

  “I don’t mind birthday surprises, but all the others make me jumpy. Hazard of the job.”

  “That’s not shocking. I suspect while being a bodyguard you like to know everything that’s going on.” Although, she was beginning to wonder if bodyguarding was all he did. Something about him said he what he did was a little more important than that.

  They stepped into the elevator, and the doors closed.

  “Uh, I need to tell you something, and I don’t know how to exactly.”

  Oh no. He was going to tell he was married or something equally awful. “What?” She braced herself for the answer.

  “I changed hotels to this one today.” He held up his hand. “My company took mercy on me, and there was a cancellation at this one.”

  Mia instantly relaxed and chuckled. “It’s okay. Did you get a room next door or something?”

  “No, actually, it’s two floors up. The penthouse.”

  From the photos she’d seen, it was at least a grand a night, and it was like a small apartment with views that were to die for. “Whoa. Nice of them to spring for that.”

  He nodded. “Yeah, and I appreciate it.”

  She smiled. “It totally works in my favor. You being closer is a good thing in my book.”

  “Can’t say I didn’t like that perk either.” He smiled and held her gaze. “You really do loo
k amazing tonight. I’ve never seen a more beautiful woman in my life.”

  Her cheeks burned, and she cast her gaze to the floor. “That can’t possibly be true.”

  Noah tipped her chin up with one finger. “Absolute truth.”

  Her heart was screaming, Kiss me, and her head was screaming, It’s a glass elevator, idiot. Did she really want their first real kiss to be in front of the entire hotel? No? At the moment, she wasn’t sure she cared.

  The doors opened, and he dropped his hand, tangling his fingers in hers as they walked to the car. The entire drive she was engulfed in him. From his scent to his voice. And no matter how many times she reminded herself that it was crazy to be this attracted to a man she’d just met, she couldn’t deny the irresistible pull he had over her.

  When they reached the restaurant, surprised wasn’t the correct word. Floored was more like it. As he helped her out of the car, she said, “This place is booked three months in advance.”

  “I know the owner.”

  Her eyes widened. “You do?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, he had some trouble not too long ago, and I helped him out. I have a standing reservation anytime I’m in Miami.”

  Oh, he was totally more than a simple bodyguard. “Wow.”

  Noah shrugged. “It’s not that big of a deal. He needed help. That’s all.”

  In her head, she said, Right, but what came out of her mouth was, “That’s nice of him.”

  “He’s a good man with a sweet family. He’s successful because he works hard, and he treats people well. The food is delicious too, which helps.”

  Before they even got to the door, she knew that was true. The smells coming from the place made her stomach growl. Once inside, Noah gave his name, and they didn’t even wait. They were taken to a booth in the far back corner. It was cozy, private, and romantic with rose petals spread across the table.

  “This is like a fairytale,” Mia said. “It’s so nice.”

  Instead of taking a seat across from her, he slipped into the booth beside her, stretching his arm along the back of it. “I was hoping you’d like it. I swear I’m not trying to impress you. Once you taste the food, you’ll know why I wanted to come here.”

  “Well, consider me impressed anyway. Thank you.”

  His arm came off the back of the booth, and he pulled her flush against him. “I think I could get used to this. Maybe not this fancy of a place, but spending time with you. Wherever that might be. Greasy burger joint, taco truck, or whatever.”

  A waiter stopped at the table. “Might I interest you in some wine?” he asked.

  “I don’t drink, so I’ll take sweet tea, but,” Noah said and looked at Mia, “if you’d like something, go ahead.”

  He didn’t drink? Another piece of information about Noah that she’d tuck away. And if he wasn’t drinking, neither was she. “Just some water, and I’ll be good.”

  The waiter smiled and left them alone again.

  “You don’t drink?” she asked.

  “No,” he whispered.

  She so wanted to press him as to why, but something in his voice said that it was a conversation for a different time. Perhaps when they’d known each other longer than a couple of days. “I respect that.”

  “I want to tell you why, but…I don’t…”

  Mia cupped his cheek. “You don’t have to tell me why.”

  His eyebrows knitted together as he held her gaze, like he was warring with himself. “It’s not that I don’t want to. I’m afraid you’ll think less of me.”

  She dropped her hand. “I’d think less of you if you were still drinking.”

  He touched her cheek, skimming his fingertips down and along her jaw.

  Just as she was thinking she wished she could will him to kiss her, he did. Only this time, there was nothing quick about it.

  Slow, soft, and delicate, like a slow flame with the slightest current of air fanning it. His kisses were everything she’d hoped for and more. The anticipation paled in comparison to the actual kiss. And fireworks? It was like every stand in Texas went off at once.

  With the last brush of his lips, he deepened the kiss, and she didn’t care if the world slipped off its axis. Her hands threaded through his hair as he pulled her even closer. The feel of him against her, the way he held her, she felt desperate for all of him.

  The clearing of a throat broke through the bubble of the moment, but that didn’t lessen how close he held her. But after what she’d just experienced, a millimeter was too much distance.

  With their drinks dropped off and their orders taken, the waiter left again. As soon as the man was out of earshot, Noah returned his focus to her. “I hate that you were in that contest, but I find myself grateful that you were.”

  Mia nodded. “Yeah, me too.”

  Was it possible that this was just a vacation infatuation and that the second it was over, the feelings she was having for him would be too? Her heart broke at the mere thought. She couldn’t possibly feel this way about him and it not be real. She’d never believed in soul mates, but as he held her gaze, she was becoming convinced that she was wrong. Her soul longed for his, and every second was like a whisper that she’d found someone she could fall head over heels for.

  * * *

  This wasn’t a real date. No matter how much Noah wanted it to be, it wasn’t. He was keeping Mia close because it was his job. It didn’t matter that she was an oasis in a desert of loneliness. Or that her skin was soft. That her shoulders were delicate and her smile made the world disappear. How the smell of her citrus shampoo made him think of bright sunshine. That her kiss short-circuited his brain and he was still recovering.

  They weren’t a couple. He wasn’t her…whatever his label might be, and she wasn’t someone he could be with, no matter how things turned out. He’d lied about his name and kept who he was from her. And, before he dropped her off, he’d be attaching a bug to her purse so Ryder could hear her conversation with Harrison.

  His main problem at the moment was that no matter how hard he tried to convince himself that this wasn’t real, his heart was having none of it. He was falling like a penny down an endless well. What was he going to do?

  “You’ve gotten pretty quiet,” Mia said as she glanced at him.

  He’d put the top down on the car he’d rented and taken her on a drive. He shouldn’t have, but it had popped out of his mouth before he could reel himself in. “Enjoying the company and the night air.”

  She nodded as she looked up. “It is incredible. Not as great as a Texas sky, but it’ll do in a pinch.”

  He chuckled. “Yeah, there’s nothing quite like a Texas sky.”

  “In Hill Vale, you can go about a mile or so out of town and it’s so dark you can’t see your hand in front of your face. There are a gazillion stars, and they just pepper the sky like diamonds.”

  “Is that where you live now?”

  “No, I live in Dallas. It’s easier to maintain a client base there. Granted, I can do what I do anywhere, it just makes it easier if there are emergencies.”

  He nodded. “I can see that.”

  “You have to travel a lot for your job, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, sometimes I’m gone awhile too.”

  She leaned her head against the seat. “Is that hard? Being gone all the time for long periods of time? Does it get old?”

  Noah swallowed hard. “Sometimes.” More often than not, if he was honest. Not that he wanted to quit, but a little balance would be nice. Having someone to come home to, to love, to be loved by. But that someone couldn’t be Mia. Even if he hadn’t lied to her, there was the issue of his discharge. “I guess we should get back.”

  “Sure,” she said softly.

  The silence stretched as he drove them back to the hotel. As the top of the car clicked into place, Mia covered his hand with hers. “I think my question was a lot more loaded than I intended.”

  He leaned his head against the seat and looked at her. “It’s
okay.”

  In an instant, she was out of her seatbelt and leaning across the console, brushing the back of her hand across his cheek. His eyes slid closed as her cool skin caressed his. “You are worthy to be loved, Noah.”

  His breath caught, and his eyes popped open. “What?” His worth had been in question since his discharge, but he thought he’d buried that pretty well. It wasn’t as if his job afforded him the luxury of a relationship.

  “Whatever secrets are locked behind those layers of walls you’ve built, they don’t change the fact that you are a good man. Whatever happened, it very well could have been your fault, but not because it was deliberate,” she said and held his gaze. “You can’t change the past. You can’t will it to be different. The only thing you can do with the events of the past is to learn from them and try not to make the same mistakes.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Am I wrong?”

  The lump in his throat kept him from speaking, so he shook his head. The level of emotion she’d excavated took him off guard and made him uncomfortable.

  She smoothed his hair back. “Please don’t run. If you haven’t noticed, I’m pretty stinking terrific at keeping details under lock and key.”

  When he didn’t respond, she leaned in and kissed him. He needed to stop her, but the longer he stayed close to her, the more he wanted to be close to her.

  Breaking the kiss, he held her at arm’s length. “There are things you need to know before you kiss me any more. Things I can’t tell you right this second, and you need to know them before this continues.”

  There. He’d done it. It had taken every ounce of willpower, but he’d stopped whatever this was between them.

  Mia tilted her head, a small smile playing on her lips. “And this is why I say you are a good man.”

  He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. “I’m not.”

  “Noah,” she said softly. “Whatever this is, it has me a little scared too. I’ve always been told courage is being afraid and still running into the fire.”

  Was he afraid? Was that why he was pulling away? Not because he was trying to keep from hurting her, but to keep himself from getting hurt? That could be part of it. Until he could tell her the truth, though, he needed to keep himself in check.