An Officer And A Millionaire

really don’t want to be found dead and naked.”

He was smiling. Damn it, he usually ended up smiling around Margie. Hadn’t really thought about it before this moment, but Simon was right. She did make him happy. When she wasn’t making him crazy in bed. She was fun to talk to. Easy to be around. She’d made him realize there was more in his life to think about than his own ambitions. She wasn’t afraid to stand up to him, either, and he liked that. He liked her.

Plus, the sight of her naked body turned him into a pillar of fire, burning up from the inside out. All good things.

Hunter watched as she pushed herself higher up against the back of the tub, and his gaze dropped to her breasts, almost completely exposed by the disappearing curtain of bubbles.

His body went even harder than it had been before, and Hunter fought down a groan. Hell, he told himself, get the talking with over-then he’d join her in that soapy water and show her a few things with the tub’s jets.

“Is everything all right?” she asked, smoothing a wet washcloth up the length of her arm.

“What? Huh?” He blinked and shook his head. Talk. That’s right. He’d come here to talk to her. “Fine. Yeah. Everything’s good.” Better than fine, really, now that he’d made the toughest decision of his life. “I just left Simon and-”

“Speaking of Simon, his birthday party is going to be fabulous. I got this local band to play-they specialize in big-band music from the forties. I think Simon and his friends will love it.”

“I’m sure they will,” he said, smiling as she went on about the party. This was the right move to make, he told himself. The two of them were good together. She loved his grandfather. She was already a part of this town.

And while his mind was racing, he thought about Gretchen briefly and wondered why in the hell he’d ever even broached the subject of marriage to her. She would never have fit in here, never have wanted to. Springville was too small, too ordinary, too off-the-beaten-track. Gretchen would have hated this place, while Margie clearly thrived in it.

Yeah. He was doing the right thing.

“And the caterer is going to work with Simon’s cook, so everything will be perfect,” she said.

“Good.”

“Are you okay?” she asked, and the washcloth slowed a bit as she asked the question.

“I am.”

He walked into the bathroom, sat down on the edge of the tub and stared down at her. The scent of jasmine was so thick in the air that he drew it into his lungs with every breath, as if she were surrounding him. Her skin was rosy-pink from the hot water, and her lush, dark red curls were wet at the ends. Her lips were full and parted as though she were inviting a kiss, and he was too damn tempted to lean in and give her just what she wanted. But first he had to tell her about the decision he’d made.

Silently, he congratulated himself on finding the perfect solution for all of them and wondered why it had taken so long for him to consider it. Stubborn, like Simon said, he guessed. Didn’t matter, though. He saw things clearly now, and he was sure Margie would agree. Why wouldn’t she? It was a win-win for both of them.

“Who’s Gretchen?” she asked.

“What?” That question threw everything else out of his head.

“I heard you and your friends talking about her when they were here,” she said with a shrug that dissipated a few more strategically placed bubbles. “One of them mentioned you and Gretchen.”

“Yeah.” Thanks, Hula. “She’s an old girlfriend.”

“Ah,” she said, dipping the washcloth into the water, then sliding it up her other arm slowly. “And she’s a goddess?”

Hunter scowled and watched as the wet cloth slid along her wet skin. Yes, Gretchen was beautiful, but he’d never fantasized about being her washcloth. Besides, he hadn’t come up here to talk about Gretchen. “Hula’s got a big mouth.”

Margie gave him a sad smile. “Which answers my question.”

Frowning, he asked, “Why’d you wait until now to ask about her?”

“Maybe because I didn’t want to know.”

“So why’d you ask at all-” He stopped. “Never mind. This is female logic, right?”

“I was just curious, that’s all,” she said.

“Fine, but I don’t want to talk about my ex or any of your exes, either.”

“I don’t have any,” she told him, sliding her body down into the water until her knees poked through the water’s surface and her nipples made tiny pink islands. “Exes, I mean. You’ll be my first.”

“What?” He stared at her and shook his head, not sure whether to believe that or not. Yes, she’d been a virgin, but she’d had no ex-boyfriends at all? “How is that possible? Do you only meet blind men?”

Margie laughed shortly. “I think that’s a compliment, so thanks.”

“Of course it’s a compliment.” Hadn’t he complimented her before this? Apparently not. He should have. Hell, she’d stepped up and taken care of Simon when he wasn’t around. She’d been there for this town, for his grandfather, for him, he thought, remembering the night she’d held him and eased him through a nightmare. The same night they’d had sex for the first time. He’d been so intent on shutting her out, he hadn’t told her how much he appreciated everything she did.

But he’d make up for it. He could compliment her plenty over the coming years. He’d make a mental note to do just that. He stood up, not really trusting himself to stay so close to a wet, naked Margie without reaching out a hand to touch, to stroke, to…

“Look, Margie,” he said, scraping one hand across his face as if he could wipe away the erotic images filling his mind, “I thought we should talk about the divorce.”

“Oh.” Her eyes looked suddenly cooler, more distant, as if she were deliberately closing herself off to him. Self-preservation? Probably.

Well, Hunter figured he had the answer to their problems.

“The month’s almost up,” he said as he walked back to the edge of the tub to look down at her.

“I know.”

“Yeah, but you don’t know things have changed.”

Her gaze lifted to his. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” he said, “that I’ve decided to leave the Navy when my enlistment’s up. I’m coming back home. To stay.” Wasn’t as hard to say it this time, he thought, and considered that a good sign.

She stilled, then slowly a small smile curved her mouth. “That’s wonderful, Hunter. I’m sure Simon’s happy.”

“Yeah, he is. But I want to talk to you about us.”

“I don’t understand,” she said, using her arms to sweep the remaining bubbles over her, covering her skin in a gleaming, nearly see-through cape.

“I know.” He sat down again on the edge of the tub and wished she didn’t look so uneasy. “But you will in a minute. I did a little thinking, and I realized there was an easy solution to our situation.”

“Yes,” she said, huffing out a breath that made the bubbles shudder. “The divorce.”

“No,” he told her. “The marriage.”

She tipped her head up to meet his gaze. “What are you saying?”

“It’s simple, really,” he said and smiled at her. “I’m staying, so I think you should, too.”

“What? Why?” She straightened a little in the water, and the bubbles slid down her skin.

“I’m suggesting that we stay married instead of getting divorced,” he told her and waited for her smile.

It didn’t come.

“You can’t be serious.”

“Okay,” he admitted, wondering why she wasn’t seeing the brilliance of this plan, “not the answer I was expecting.”

“Well, you’re not making sense,” she said, and her voice sounded breathless. “Why would you want to stay married to me? You’ll be here, so you won’t need me to watch over Simon. You can do it yourself.”

“This isn’t about Simon,” Hunter told her, then corrected himself, “well, it is partly, I suppose. But the main thing is, you love it here, right?”

“Yes…”

“You love Simon.”