“Your idea of fun and mine are completely different,” he said.
They shared a look and he realized how his words could be misconstrued.
“Keys are in the ignition. Be safe.” He felt like he wanted to hug her, but she was a stranger. That would be weird. Even weirder was the fact that he wasn’t the hugging type.
While he knew a lot about sadness, Chelly seemed to embody it. Even when she smiled it didn’t quite reach her eyes. A woman so beautiful shouldn’t have those kinds of worries. No person should have the burden she seemed to be carrying.
He waved goodbye and then headed over to collapse the tables. He was about to shut the garage door when he noticed she was still sitting in her truck.
Was she having car trouble again? He’d checked everything out, and had even driven the truck around the block to make sure it was okay. As he drew closer, he saw that she was staring at her phone as if it were an alien. Her teeth worried her bottom lip.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as he walked up to the driver’s side.
She jumped.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. You okay?”
She shook her head. “I, uh. My friend texted me. She got married...in Vegas.” She sounded desolate.
“And that’s bad?”
“No. I’m happy for her.” She worried that bottom lip again. He had an urge to run his thumb across it.
What is wrong with me? The woman was having a difficult day. The last thing she needed was being ogled by him. “I’m not the best judge of emotions, but I’m pretty sure that’s not a happy face.” He pointed to her.
That made her smile, slightly. “Really, I am happy for her. She’s loved this guy for a long time. He surprised her with a trip to Vegas last night. They were married at a drive-through chapel.”
“That might not be the most romantic place to get married, but if you’re happy for her, what’s the problem?”
She rubbed the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. He had an urge to brush her hair from her cheek and tell her everything was going to be okay, even though he had no idea what was going on.
“I drove here from Nashville to be her roommate. I was supposed to move in today.”
Realization dawned.
The roommate had filled the position with a new husband.
“So you’re—”
“Homeless.”
2
CHELLY TRIED TO keep a positive attitude through the downs of life, but the last month had about done her in. Between the stalker ex and everything she’d gone through emotionally and financially, she was on the slow train to oblivion. Those dark places she tried not to dwell in were closing in on her.
“That’s rough.” The Marine leaned in her window. He gave her a look of pity. She hated that.
“I’ve been through worse. I’ll be fine.” And she would. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t been in bad situations before now. There was that time in Turkey when she’d nearly been thrown in jail, and in Mumbai when she had that bug that laid her up for three days in some stranger’s house.
She sat up a little straighter and took a deep breath.
He nodded. “Strong. That’s a good character trait. But you look like you could use a break, and to be honest, I’d like to get away from the house for a bit. Do you have a swimsuit in that luggage of yours?” He nodded at the trash bags, aka all her worldly belongings in the back of her truck.
Where was he going with this?
Her thoughts must have shown on her face because he chuckled. “I’m not sure what you’re imagining, but I was going to grab some dinner and head out to my favorite place to clear my head. You’re welcome to join me, unless you have better plans?”
He had her there. “Are you a serial killer?”
He frowned. “No. Uh, I’m not.”
Shoot. She’d done it again. “Are you sure you want to hang out with me? I have a tendency to say the wrong thing all the time.”
“Well,” he said, a slow smile gracing his mouth, “I think I can handle it for the next few hours. Why don’t you pull around back and we can park your truck in one of the garages. That way your stuff will be safe. Get what you need and I’ll meet you there. Go down the street and turn into the alley.”
She should tell him no and move on, but he was right. She had nowhere else to go, and she did need a break. Dinner with Hot Guy was not the worst option. “Okay.”
His smile actually made her heart beat a little faster.
No! No more men.
A few minutes later, she had her change of clothes, a bikini and her flip-flops and was waiting by the two-story garage. The building was almost as long as the house, and it looked like there was an apartment on top. His parents must have had a great deal of money. This place was at least two and half acres in the middle of one of the nicest neighborhoods in town.
At least from what she’d seen so far.
When Lila had said she could move in, Chelly had looked up Corpus Christi and saw there was a beach. That was all she cared about, being near the water. She’d been tired of being landlocked in Nashville. Just one more reason to move.
The grime from having driven for so long was now starting to get to her. She couldn’t wait to hit the waves.
The garage door opened and she saw Matt standing there in board shorts and a clean white tank shirt. Those arm muscles were a powerful aphrodisiac.
Hey, that’s the last thing you need! No guys—it was the number-one rule she’d made in the first hour of her road trip. Ever. Well, at least not until she had her business in a good place and her life straightened out.
“You can park in this bay, but let me move my bike first.” He rolled out a black motorcycle. It was big and powerful-looking, just like him. A sexy Marine on a motorcycle.
No! Just say no.
She gave him a quick grin as she pulled into the garage. That was when she realized what he meant about his mother’s collection. There was a new Ford truck in the next bay, but the rest of the garage was filled with antiques.
“Heaven,” she whispered.
He laughed as he opened her door to help her out. “Maybe to you. To me, it’s nothing but a headache. I have no idea what’s expensive or not. I mean, I can tell from some of the wood—walnut and maple—that it’s worth something, but I don’t know what year anything was made or the value of it.”
From where she stood, she saw a wardrobe from the eighteen hundreds and, if she wasn’t mistaken, the buffet was from the same period. “Do me a favor, when you decide to sell all of this, call me first? This is a gold mine. These things should be in an air-conditioned space. The heat and moisture will play havoc with the wood.”
He winced. “I collected it all in here so I could sort through it. I didn’t know.”
“How long ago was that?”
“About a month,” he told her.
Not too bad. “Should be fine for now. But you need to make sure none of it gets wet or it’ll warp. It’s warm and humid, but if it the temperature goes higher, you might want to think about moving the stuff back indoors, until you sell it. I can help you, though, at least, figure out what you should get for the really good pieces. You won’t get retail prices, but there are five or six premium items in here.”
He made a face and grunted. “You serious?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Huh. Okay. I’ll have to take you up on that because I’ve got a lot of renovations to do.” He pointed at the bike. “We better get on the road if we’re going to be at my favorite spot in time.”
She wondered in time for what, but she figured he wanted to surprise her. After closing the garage door from a keypad, he passed her a helmet. She pulled it over her curls and then he helped strap it around her chin.
H
e climbed on the bike.
She eyed him warily. Not that she minded putting her arms around the hunk, but they had just met.
“I hope this is okay. It’s easier to use the bike rather than the truck to get where we’re going.”
She happened to like bikes and she didn’t want to insult the guy who had done her a favor and fixed her truck. “Works for me.”
He sat down on the massive seat. The sign on the side of the dark blue bike said Harley. She had some regulars at the diner where she’d worked who rode them. The chrome bike was a piece of art. It was customized with some slogans, Semper Fi she recognized, and a symbol she wanted to look up later.
“You can sit back here,” he said, patting the seat behind his. “Be careful of your calves with the exhaust pipe. Keep your feet up on the foot pads and you should be good.”
She did as she’d been told, but considered if her sneakers would have been a better choice, instead of the flip-flops. Though he was wearing flip-flops, so she wasn’t worried. What she didn’t know was where to put her hands. “You can wrap your arms around my chest or hold on to my shoulders. I recommend the chest since it’ll be easier where we’re going.”
He started the bike and the monster rumbled between her thighs. She wrapped her arms around his hard chest. He must work out every day, she thought. Her fingers itched to slide down and feel the rigid abs she knew were only a few inches below.
She was concentrating so hard on him that it was a good five minutes before she realized Matt had already driven them to the beach. The salty smell bit into her senses. She loved the water.
He steered into a burger joint and turned off the bike. “I’ll be right back, I’m going to grab us some dinner. Anything you don’t like?”
She shook her head, still trying to deal with the throbbing between her legs.
“I won’t be long.” Five minutes later he came out with armfulls of food, sodas and bottles of water. He stowed them in one of the side compartments of the bike.
“I could have helped you,” she said as he climbed back onto the motorcycle.
“No problem. I’m pretty hungry so I got a little of everything. We’re heading over there.” He lifted his chin toward the nearby hill and then put the bike into gear.
They rode right out onto the beach. It was slightly elevated and marked private. He stopped the bike and she climbed off.
“Is it okay for us to be here?” she asked.
He pulled a blanket out of the other side compartment and handed it to her. “It’s owned by some friends of mine. They let me use it whenever I want. Their place is up there.” He pointed up the hill again to a stunning beach house. “They’re gone this weekend, or there would probably be a whole crew of people running around. It’s the go-to spot for a lot of us on the base, especially on the weekends. Put the blanket by the fire pit. I’ll bring the food and meet you down there.”
The sun was just above the horizon, and the reflection was unforgettable on the blue water and white sand. The waves were calling to her. “Do you mind if I swim before we eat?”
“That was the plan,” he said as he stripped of his tank and took off his flip-flops.
Oh. My. Those abs. Seriously. She had to stop herself from gasping. They made men well in Texas. Very well.
After he’d gone into the ocean, she took off her top and shorts and adjusted her bikini, eager to cool her too-heated body. The water was actually warm. Still, it was wet and it felt good to ease the tension from her body. She followed Matt out to a sandbar.
“This is my favorite place to watch the sunset,” he said. She could see why. The water was shimmering, as if topped with sparkling diamonds.
“Are those starfish?” she asked.
“Yes. Last winter there was a cold spell and a lot of them washed up on the beach. Volunteers helped get them back out to sea. Marine biologists say their efforts helped save more than half the local population.”
“I’ve always been fascinated by starfish and seahorses,” she said, and she bent down to get a better look.
He cleared his throat. “We have those, as well, though you probably have to snorkel in one of the coves to see them. We also have a great aquarium in town.”
“Cool. I’ll have to check it out.” It felt a bit strange, hanging out with this man she didn’t know, yet she was more relaxed than she’d been in months. Maybe it was the water, or the pure exhaustion of the day.
Then, from the corner of her eye, she spotted something. She reached out to touch Matt’s arm. “Fin,” she said quietly as she backed away and tried to step off the sandbar for the shore.
He took her hand tightly. “Not what you think,” he whispered into her ear. “Watch.” Suddenly, a dolphin leaped through the air, splashing them on the way down.
Chelly let out a strangled laugh. “That totally scared me.” The dolphin leaped again and then there was another one. It was almost as if they were playing a game.
He laughed, too. “They come around this time to play and eat. You do have to watch for sharks, though, but that’s usually later in the summer. We have bull and tiger sharks that can sometimes be aggressive. But the dolphins are here pretty much year round, unless the water cools too much and then they swim south to Mexico.”
Sharks were on her list of things she never wanted to meet, but she trusted Matt to keep her safe. As the sun set, shivers traveled up her arms. He must have noticed because he glanced down to where he held her hand and let go. “You ready to eat?”
“Sure.”
Back on the beach he got a couple of towels from where the blanket had been stored on his bike and he handed her one. They ate their burgers and fries as the sun went down.
But it was far from dark. The moon was a bright globe in the night sky.
“This has been one of the best days I’ve had in a while,” she murmured. “Sitting here, watching the waves, I can almost forget all the crazy.”
“It’s the best place to just be. Sometimes I have trouble with that,” he said. “Sitting and being still. I prefer to stay busy. But this is the one spot where it’s easy for me to catch my breath.”
She had a feeling there was more to that story. What military men and women went through tore at her heart. But, like her, they didn’t appreciate pity, either.
“I have that same problem. Always on the go. I always have too many irons in the fire, but I kind of like it that way. However, I could do without the recent drama.”
Shoot. That just slipped out.
He leaned back on his arms and glanced over at her. “If it helps, you can talk about it. I’d assumed you’re on the run from something or someone.”
She grinned. “So you think I might be a criminal, but you’re hanging out with me, anyway?”
He cocked an eyebrow. “You’re a really good salesperson, so I’m not complaining. Hey, the fact is you made me thousands of dollars today and gave me every cent. You refused the cash even though you deserved it for all the hard work you did.”
She took a deep breath. “I’m not on the run from any criminal activities. And I’m not a con man or—con person—or...whatever—” She gave an unladylike snort. “Sorry. That’s just funny to me. The sales thing, well, that’s a passion for old stuff, really. I mentioned it’s my thing.”
“You drove all night from Nashville, why the rush?”
I had to get the heck out of Dodge.
When she didn’t answer right away, he said, “You don’t have to tell me.”
“My ex,” she said. Why not say it? This guy had been nothing but kind to her, and she’d probably never see him again. “We broke up a while ago, but he didn’t seem to get the memo. When he threw a tantrum at the diner where I was working, I realized it probably wasn’t safe for me to be there.”
Matt quickly sat up. �
�Did he hurt you?” He very nearly growled the words.
“No. He scared me...bad. Frightened me, actually. I wanted nothing to do with him after that. And when I wouldn’t accept his apology... It’s complicated.”
“What happened?”
“He came to the diner again, caused a big scene in front of everyone. I’d been full-time there so a lot of the customers knew me. It was creepy, embarrassing. I took off and never looked back.”
She shifted to her side. Her story sounded like an episode from one of those crime shows on TV. How had her life slipped so far out of control? “That was the second time it had happened, and my boss said if it happened a third time, he was calling the cops. I couldn’t blame him. I was thinking the same thing.”
“I hate jerks who harass women. They should be locked up.”
Yup. She really liked this guy.
“It’s okay, Marine. I told you, I got out of that situation.”
“True. Please, finish your story.”
“We’d only been dating a few months and he seemed really great and attentive. But when he drank, I wasn’t so sure about his emotional stability. And that guy, I wanted nothing to do with him. That’s why I booked it. It was just easier. And Nashville was so not the right place for me. I mean, it’s a great town and all, just not my style.”
He’d probably think she was a runner and he wouldn’t be wrong. She hated confrontation, and when things got too tough she did have a habit of walking away. Her parents would be the first to sing hallelujah to that. She’d never stuck with anything for very long and as such was a constant disappointment to them.
But then, they weren’t exactly aces in her book, either. She hadn’t run so much as been pushed out of their house.
“You shouldn’t have had to leave town. Your home. That guy should be taught a lesson.” Matt sounded like he might want to teach that lesson. Did Matt have a violent streak? So far, all indications were he was about as kind as they came.
He was taking her side in all this, that’s it, which was what friends did. And she could definitely use one of those right now.
Make Mine a Marine Page 2
