Her eyes turn down and I hate that he hurts her. Hate how he’s shaped what she expects of a man and how to be treated. It’s her life, though. There are only so many times you can repeat the same thing to a loved one. Ramona needs to want something different for herself. “Gun to my head?” she asks, defeated, shaking her head. “I’d take him back and the kid, I guess. But that’s if he hadn’t cheated on me a million times.” She picks up her canvas and adjusts it under her arm.
“Not as big of a deal breaker as you thought then.”
She sighs and falls in step next to me as I lock up the office. “Stavros will always have a place in my heart, but I don’t know if I’ll take him back again. After this betrayal.”
Improvement. I like it.
“I got some great work done today, and I’m feeling good.” We get into my car, and it’s silent for a beat. “Stavros would never have a child, though. Not even by accident.”
“Let’s not talk about him. Bringing him up was a mistake. It was all I had.” I steer the car onto the road. “There’s no rational explanation why I said yes to Lincoln.” I close my eyes a beat longer than normal when I blink next. Rexy’s face appears vividly. “It’s like there’s something… or someone, cosmically, pushing me right now.”
Ramona huffs. “I can vibe that. Be careful, though. Men aren’t like they used to be.”
I smile. “What you see as a deficit, I’ve carefully crafted into a safety net. He has a child, Ramona. One I know for a fact he loves and cherishes. I’ve seen it firsthand multiple times.” I drive into my long driveway. “You can’t judge a book by the cover, but you can judge a parent by the love their child shows for them. It might be the only thing I know about Lincoln Wilds. He’s a good dad. I can trust him solely because of that fact.”
“I guess I never looked at it like that. Makes sense.”
“Now if he’s a vegan, into cosplay, BDSM, or spends his weekends on a headset yelling at eleven-year-olds on video games, that remains to be seen.”
I put my car in park and my phone rings through Bluetooth. “Hey Aspen, what’s up?”
“I figured out the mystery!” she calls out. “The puzzle is solved. I knew it!”
“Go on, Sherlock. What mystery did you solve today? The Bermuda Triangle?”
Aspen groans. “Of course not. That has nothing to do with you.” She’s silent for a second. “It sucks to be the bearer of bad news, but I looked it up. In the database. Lincoln Wilds is in there. He’s a SEAL, Maeve.”
My stomach drops, and the air feels like it’s been stolen from every centimeter of my lungs. I sigh as a response.
Ramona makes a disgusted noise. “Of course, he is.”
Aspen continues talking, telling us how she called her friend who knew where to go online to find the information.
“We just got home,” Ramona adds. “Maybe you should be in the FBI instead of administration, Aspen. Bye.”
Aspen hangs up, and I’m still left breathless. How does this keep happening? I look at Ramona. “It could be wrong. We don’t know for sure,” I whisper. I know it’s not wrong. Saying it out loud seems like the right thing to do, though.
“Does it matter, Maeve? It’s not even a date. Right?” She gets out of the car before I can answer, pulling her canvas out of the back. Moving seems impossible still, so I wait. I watch my friend go in through the garage door, heading to take the dog out.
Canceling dinner would be the right thing to do. Not getting involved with a man because the risk that comes with his career is too much for me to handle is valid. You knew what he was when you first saw him, I think. Even knowing he’s a SEAL, I know I won’t cancel the date. Knowing that scares the life out of me.
CHAPTER FIVE
Maeve looks like Christmas morning. Correction, Christmas morning, but naked, and on a deserted island with me and only me. Mom is watching Turner tonight. She was ecstatic when I told her I was going out to dinner and asked if she’d babysit. I think her exact words were, “Get lucky in Kentucky, son. I won’t wait up.” She also reminded me that I needed to take advantage of her being around to babysit because she was leaving. That caused a riot of emotion, mostly bad ones, but it is what it is. I’m a big boy and can handle my own life. I have to.
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I inhale deeply. “No big deal. Just dinner, Wilds. Food. Eating with another adult.” I put everything else out of my mind as I watch Maeve survey the restaurant cautiously, bright eyes scanning the room. When her gaze lands on mine, I see astute accusation. Her eyes turn to slits as she stalks toward the table I procured in the back corner of the restaurant. Secluded enough for privacy, but also not too close to the kitchen. She’s changed into a pair of tight jeans, that show every curve, and a sweater that highlights her rack. I clear my throat and stand when she stops at the table.
“I was this close to canceling. I almost called while I was on my way here, even.”
I extend my hand to the booth. There aren’t chairs, just one half-circular bench. We’ll have to sit close. “But you didn’t cancel, Maeve. Have a seat. Let’s eat.”
She bristles, but lowers herself and scoots in. Settling next to her, I watch as she shrugs out of her jacket and places it over the back of the booth. She still has an accusing glare
