Always Ready

by Joanne Rock

  “I think that was dumb luck on his part, but maybe I’m underestimating the guy. My guess is that he was only interested in using the matchmaking site to meet women, and discovered the convenience of your place as a distribution point later. The police will be in touch with you to gather evidence from your company’s computer records.”

  “I don’t have a company anymore.” She wanted him to be the first to know, the first to see the changes she planned for her life, since knowing him had been the impetus for her new perspectives on so many things.

  “You’re abandoning Connections?” He turned to face her, and she could tell she’d surprised him.

  “I typed a farewell letter to my members on the plane ride to Miami last night and I’ll post it when I get home.” Sliding her fingers free of his, she rose up off the bed, afraid if she sat by him too long she’d never be able to pry herself away. Leaving him once had been tough enough. She didn’t trust herself to have the strength to do it a second time, especially when her emotions were still so raw after the roller coaster of the past twenty-four hours. But she didn’t deceive herself that he’d be leaving the Coast Guard to hang out with her in Florida anytime soon.

  He stood beside her, his eyebrows drawn in concern. For her? Or would he have this same protective urge toward any woman whose life he’d saved?

  “Why?” He pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket, the weathered sheet stained with ink smudges as if it had gone into the water along with the rest of him the night before. “I finished the rest of that dating profile you gave me. I thought it was insightful.”

  He smoothed his hand over the crinkles, as if he could will away the damage done. She smiled, touched that he had tried to fit himself into her world. Outside her hospital room, an emergency team wheeled a gurney past, their feet pounding down the ceramic tile as nurses and doctors shouted orders.

  The quiet in the aftermath seemed all the more silent.

  “I’ve learned that sometimes we don’t know what we are looking for until we find it.” Her heart ached with the truth of that knowledge since she was looking at the kind of man she wanted. The kind of man she loved no matter how they matched up on paper. “If the profiles are helpful at all, I think their best use is to know ourselves before we can really be ready to seek someone else.”

  She swept her discharge papers off the side table near the hospital bed and folded them under her arm. Damon stared at her like he didn’t know her.

  And maybe he didn’t.

  She didn’t feel like the same woman she’d been a week ago.

  “I’m ready to leave if you are,” she prompted, unsure what he would do with her after they left the hospital. “I can get a room at the Fontainebleau until my sister has the house cleaned up. I’ve always wanted to stay there, but never had a reason until now.”

  She tucked her finger in her pocket where she’d transferred the little piece of quartz crystal Tatiana had given her for good luck. No matter that the jewelry maker had been a small-time dealer on the side. She’d known a few things about life that Lacey hadn’t, and one of them was about taking time to experience beauty. Joy.

  Or maybe Tatiana had seen the similarity between Lacey and that rough piece of crystal? They might have started off hidden from the world, but with a polishing, they’d sparkle just fine.

  She’d told Damon that she loved him, and she refused to regret taking that risk even if he didn’t appear to return the sentiment. The only thing for her to do now was to pursue her own happiness and try not to let this first failed attempt dissuade her from a new path in life. A fresh start.

  She might be stronger and wiser, but she had her first broken heart to tend and she suspected the healing of that wound would be far slower than the gash on her leg.

  A COUNTEROFFENSIVE was needed and he was the man for the job.

  Tension tightened Damon’s shoulders as he drove down Ocean Drive toward South Beach’s art deco district. The pilot who’d flown him out to Lacey’s place had proven a stand-up guy and had dropped off an old truck at the hospital the night before for Damon to use while he was in town. The hours in the E.R. waiting room had been a blur, but the guy had left the keys at the nurses’ station while Lacey was getting stitched up. He’d left a note telling Damon to enjoy being behind the controls.

  The gesture reminded him that although military life sucked for couples, people in uniform recognized the high toll it took and they tried to support whatever relationships managed to take root. Tejal had come running when Damon needed a doctor for Lacey in Puerto Rico, and the hotshot pilot based in Miami didn’t know Damon from Adam, but he’d ponied up a personal vehicle to help out another flyer.

  All of which gave him the confidence to take another shot at the impossible. This time he’d take the chance with a woman as tough and stubborn as he was.

  “I think the Fontainebleau’s in the other direction.” Lacey swiveled in her seat to peer out the rear window of the beat-up old truck. “Yes. I see it back there.”

  Damon geared up for his next campaign. Deep breath.

  “Actually, there was no room at the VOQ on base here, so I have a suite at the Roxy just down the road.” He pointed up the street to one of the funky art deco buildings. “It’s no Fontainebleau, but it’s got all the amenities. Plus I’d be around if you need anything.”

  “You don’t need to feel obligated to me forever.” Her voice was distant. Cool. “You already saved me.”

  He’d forgotten how prickly she could be. Independent. Even her matchmaking profile about her said as much, and yeah, he’d finally gotten around to reading it. When launching a counteroffensive, a warrior needed to leverage all possible weapons.

  And, damn it, he was fighting for both of them.

  “What if what I feel goes beyond obligation?” He steered the truck into the Roxy’s parking lot since she hadn’t told him to turn around. He would honor her wishes—and take his own room next to hers at the Fountainebleau, if necessary. But she’d have to voice them first.

  “Look.” She didn’t move when he put the truck in Park. Instead, she remained in her seat, her arms folded over the white T-shirt her sister had given her. “I understand that you’ve been burned before and that you’re not ready for a major commitment at this point in your life. But I’ve realized that I am. And I’ve passed the point of no return with you, so I can’t afford to lose any more of my heart to a man who is unprepared to give me any of his.”

  He switched off the ignition, measuring words that might be the most important ones he ever spoke. God, he hoped he got it right.

  “But I am prepared.” Unbuckling his seat belt, he slid closer to her on the bench seat. “I wanted to wait to speak to you alone. Hell, I’ve been waiting all night for the right time, but there’ve been docs stitching you up and nurses doling out medicines and an overbearing twin sister telling me to take a hike.”

  Lacey didn’t soften her stance in the corner of the truck, but one side of her mouth kicked up at the mention of Laura.

  “She was my watchdog long before you.”

  “No doubt she’s twice as vigilant since your stepfather, so I’ll cut her some slack.” He leaned closer and unfastened Lacey’s seat belt, too, careful to be gentle around a body that had to be bruised and sore. “But I’m not trying to be a watchdog anymore. I’m trying to tell you I can’t ignore what I feel for you just because I’m not sure how to make it work.”

  Her lips pursed in thought, the plump curve of her mouth making him want to kiss her. To communicate with her in the most elemental of ways.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean I love you.” He dusted off the words he’d thought he wouldn’t say again for a long time. “I didn’t spout all that stuff about attraction just for the hell of it that night we met. I believe that. And I didn’t date a soul for a whole year, because I didn’t feel that with anyone else. But whether it was convenient or not, I felt it with you in about two seconds after I saw yo
u.”

  Her arms unfolded and she straightened against the seat. Was that progress? Hope kicked to life.

  “But what about your ex-girlfriend?” Her blue eyes remained guarded. Wary. “I couldn’t help but overhear that she called you recently. And I know you weren’t sure if you’d take her back…”

  “Whoa.” Had he said that? “I might not have been sure at the time—like in those first few weeks after she left. But that was a long time ago. The only reason she called me this week was to mislead me about the whereabouts of Castine’s drug shipment. He must have paid her to give me the runaround once he knew I was getting close. There’s a good chance she’ll be going to prison for tampering with a federal investigation.”

  All of this seemed to surprise Lacey, reminding him all over again how hard his job would be on them.

  “I thought you still spoke to her. That you might still care for her.” The anguish showed in her eyes and, as much as he hated putting it there, he saw the truth of how she felt about him, too. And that meant as much to him as any words ever could.

  “I’m so sorry, Lacey.” He reached for her, carefully, and wrapped his arms around her. “You see why my job is hell on relationships? I wasn’t at liberty to say much about what I was doing.”

  She nodded against his shoulder, her cheek warm and sweet along his chest.

  “Yes, but how often will an ex-girlfriend be involved in your work?” She leaned back to peer up at him. “I think I could handle anything else as long as I knew that you and I were solid.”

  Relief blew through him like the warm breeze wafting through the truck windows.

  “I could transfer to the Miami station if it would help.” He couldn’t give up the job that was so much a part of him, but he could adjust it. Mold it to fit into their lives so they could be together. “I’d still have to be on alert most nights. And I might disappear at three in the morning to go pull people out of the water.”

  “I think what you do is amazing.” She smiled, and he felt like a freaking superhero.

  “I think what you do is pretty damn cool, too. I hate to see you walk away from something you’re so good at. I can save lives while you save relationships.”

  “I’m still going to do that.” She lifted her hands to his shoulders, her touch so sweet he closed his eyes for a moment to soak in the pleasure it brought. “I’ve been talking to my sister a little more and I think we’re going to team up to develop a joint matchmaking site, perhaps with a self-awareness component to help members understand themselves better before they start searching for true love.”

  “The old enemies turned joint forces?” He could easily see the two of them taking on the world. “Even with such different points of view?”

  “Not so different, maybe.” Her fingers trailed up his collar to skim along his neck. “I think I’ve seen some of the wisdom in how she tries to help people. And I think I can do more with all the data her mathematical brain has to offer. I’m the organized one, you know.”

  She grinned and he joined her, liking the idea of her finding peace with at least one member of her family.

  “Sounds like you’ll be busy for a while.”

  “As if you won’t be? Who knows where you’ll be jetting off to next. We can’t pretend our jobs aren’t a big part of who we are, but we could try to tame them into more manageable pieces of ourselves so they don’t rob us of downtime. Leisure time.”

  She stroked the underside of his jaw with the smooth caress of one fingernail. The touch resonated clear down to his toes, reminding him how much he wanted to get her upstairs where they could be alone.

  “Pleasure time,” he clarified, seeing a whole lot of that in his future.

  “Exactly.”

  He caught her roaming finger in his hand and kissed it, his whole body humming with the promise of good things to come.

  “So as a professional matchmaker, what do you think the odds are for us, knowing that military life is hell on couples?”

  “Do you remember how hard I fought last night to get free of Castine?” Her voice turned serious, her blue eyes shifting a shade darker.

  The memory twisted his gut.

  “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.” He would have traded anything to be there faster. To have prevented her from that fear and pain.

  “Don’t be.” Her voice was strong and unrepentant. “I’m not. Because I learned that I can take whatever life dishes out. I can fight for my happy endings and win.”

  Damon heard the confidence in her voice and grinned.

  “I believe you can.”

  “And while we’re on the subject of our future, I hope you’ll consider staying put in Puerto Rico for a little longer.” She tipped her forehead to his, her body brushing tantalizingly close.

  “Really?” He’d already been thinking about what he needed to do to relocate.

  “I hardly got to see it on my vacation. And a friend told me I should take my time to enjoy paradise.” She kissed his cheek and nipped his ear, revving his pulse and prompting him to pry open the truck door.

  Time to claim that happy ending in the privacy of his suite.

  “Can do.” He practically sprinted around to the passenger’s door to retrieve her, unwilling to let her walk on her wounded leg. “I’ve seen some of the worst things in life with the Coast Guard. With you, I’ll get to see some of the best.”

  She truly hoped so. No…she vowed to make sure that happened, so that neither one of them got too sucked into their careers.

  “And as for my professional take on our chances as a couple?” She wrapped her arms around his neck as he cradled her tight against him.

  “Yeah?” He kicked the door closed, ready to stride into his future with this incredible woman at his side.

  “I’d say we’re the odds-on favorites to make it work.”

  Actress Ivy James has just hit the big time.

  She’s earned the lead role in a Hollywood movie based on the true-to-life sexual experience of war hero Garrett Stokes and her co-star is one of Hollywood’s biggest and brightest actors. The problem? The only one she wants to share a bed with – on-screen and off – is Garrett himself!

  Turn the page for a sneak preview of

  Overnight Sensation by Karen Foley

  Overnight Sensation by Karen Foley

  GARRETT STOKES KNEW he made her nervous, but, damn, he couldn’t stop staring at her. He knew he should introduce himself, assure her that Finn MacDougall had sent him to transport her to the Hacienda la Esperanza. But the ability to form words had suddenly abandoned him. Seeing Ivy James in the flesh exceeded every erotic fantasy he’d ever had about her, and he’d had his share.

  She stood watching him with a mixture of apprehension and curiosity in her wide eyes. The rain plastered her dark hair to her head in a sleek cap, while her clothing had taken on the appearance of wet tissue paper. Too bad she’d shifted her overnight bag around to her front. He’d really appreciated the view before she’d hidden her body from his sight.

  She was taller than he remembered, and more slender, but her eyes were what really did it to him. Looking into them was like having somebody sucker punch him in the gut.

  He felt winded and a little weak.

  He couldn’t recall having had this reaction to her the first time he’d seen her two years earlier. Then again, he’d been too busted up and hazy from the pain meds they’d given him to feel much of anything. But his own injuries had been insignificant compared with those of the soldier in the bed next to his at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Devon James had been a tank gunner deployed with the 10th Marine Regiment in Iraq when an IED—an improvised explosive device—had hit his convoy. The explosion had taken his right arm and shredded his body. He’d lain in bed with wires and tubes protruding from what remained of him.

  On Devon’s second day at Walter Reed, his sister had arrived at the hospital, pale but determined, reassuring her brother that he’d be okay. Devon had been cons
cious, but heavily sedated. Through the gap in the curtain that had separated their beds, Garrett had observed her. Even in his own foggy state, he’d thought her beautiful. Her calm demeanor had been so impressive; he’d almost believed she could be right and that her brother would survive. But when she’d left the room to confer with one of the doctors, her brother had turned his face toward Garrett.

  “I’m not going to make it, man,” he’d said, his voice little more than a whisper. “She won’t accept it, though. Always was a stubborn brat.”

  “Hang in there,” Garrett had croaked.

  “No, man,” Devon had said, closing his eyes. “It’s no good. I worry what’s going to happen to her when I’m gone. She’ll be alone.”

  “There must be someone,” he’d responded. “Some family or friend.”

  “No. It was just the two of us.”

  Garrett had been silent. He couldn’t make a promise to watch over some chick he didn’t even know, no matter how gorgeous she was. Besides, she appeared more than capable of taking care of herself.

  “I’ll keep an eye on her.”

  Devon had looked over at him, and Garrett had flinched at the hope he’d seen flare in his gaze. “You swear? She doesn’t even have to know. Just do it for me.”

  “I swear.”

  Less than three hours later, while his sister had looked on in dismay, Sergeant Devon James had flatlined. Nurses had hustled Ivy out of the room while medical personnel had tried to resuscitate her brother, but their efforts had been futile.

  The weight of Garrett’s promise had settled heavily onto his shoulders, but it had also given him something to live for. He’d latched on to the promise with all the desperation of a drowning man clinging to a lifeline, determined to be there for the girl in the future.

  Now here he was, two years later, standing in front of the woman he’d promised to keep an eye on, completely kicking himself that he’d never made contact with her before now. Back then, just the knowledge that she might someday need him had been enough of an incentive to push him to recover. Throughout the long months of rehabilitation, he’d followed her career. He’d kept tabs on her activities and had been prepared to step in and help her if necessary, but an opportunity had never arisen.