I’m a former Army Ranger, an Afghan vet that’s faced my share of battles, but nothing in my training has prepared me for the road trip I’m about to take alone with Riley, the daughter of my best buddy.
Josh and I grew up in a Vermont small town. We joined the Army after high school and we busted our asses to become Rangers. I’ll never forget the night he died on a mission in Afghanistan, leaving behind his young daughter Riley and his wife, Laci.
Years later, when Laci died, it became my duty to fulfill her final wishes: to drive her daughter from New Mexico to Vermont to Josh’s mother, the only family Riley has left. While I take Riley to her grandmother, I’m to tell her about a father she doesn’t know and the harder memories of how Josh and Laci’s lives intertwined with mine.
Riley is a 20-year-old smoking hot beauty with sass, determination, and she won’t back down, especially from me. And yeah, she’s my type. Damn, she’s more than just a temptation, she’s my best buddy’s daughter. I know where my duty lies, so this brown-eyed girl is off limits.
I have to be honest with myself; there’s no point in sugarcoating this situation. What could that princess see in a 40-year-old soldier still battling his own demons? Being in close quarters on a long road trip with her will be challenging enough, but staying true to my loyalty to Josh and protecting his daughter, even from my own feelings, will be the real test. I can do it. I can be a hard ass and complete the mission, but damn, she’s beautiful.
—
Ruthie is staring at the new arrival when I step back into the diner. “I’ve already given him a menu,” she says.
I nod and grab the coffeepot in case he wants a cup, so I don’t have to backtrack. Looking at him from behind, it’s another buzz cut. Well, his hair isn’t exactly that short, but that’s how I refer to all the military guys we get here. There’s an Army base in the next town, but eventually, they cruise over here for something different.
“Would you like coffee?” I ask.
Without looking up from the menu, he places a hand over the cup. “Too late in the evening. I’ll be up half the night.”
I glance over at Sally’s table to see where the demons are hiding. Rufus sticks his tongue out, but I ignore him. I put the pot down and pull out my order pad from my pocket. I could do this by memory, but Russell likes a paper trail.
“Do you know what you want, or should I come back?” My pencil is poised to put down the order.
“Is the meatloaf homemade?” His head still bent over the menu.
“Yeah, Ruthie makes it herself; it’s a favorite around here.”
He continues to study the menu like he’s planning a freaking tactical maneuver. Gee, dude, why is it so hard to decide? It’s just basic American diner food, not the menu at the ritzy Holiday Inn.
He looks up. “I’ll have that and a beer. Could I have water first?”
I just stare at him for a moment, looking into intense blue eyes. He holds my gaze, connecting, boring deep into my soul until he sits back, eyes narrow, a devious grin pulling at the corners of his lips as his hungry gaze takes me in slowly, traveling over the contours of my body like I’m the special on the menu.
I’m used to men looking at me. Waiting on the military guys, it’s what you put up with while waitressing, but his brash inspection is different; it stirs something inside me, forcing me to look down at my order pad to break the contact. I write water on the top of the page to give me time to gather enough control to look at him again. “Sure, I can get you water,” I say, trying to sound like the last few seconds didn’t affect me. I breathe in deep, pull my gaze back to him, and I can’t believe it. I’m dragged back into this crazy surreal space like somehow this moment is important.
“That would be good,” he says, breaking me out of a weird time gap. His gaze turns quizzical as he pushes the menu toward me.
I snap out of it long enough to scoop up the menu and lift the coffeepot off the table, heading for the counter. Did that happen, or was that all in my head? I quash an urge to look over my shoulder to check to see if he’s real.
Ruthie leans into me as I’m pouring the water, still a little shaken by the encounter. “That’s a bona fide hottie you got in that booth. He looks military. Maybe he’s on leave, maybe he’s lonely, maybe you just got lucky?” she whispers.
Pax is a contemporary romance author who writes the kind of hot, twisty, drama-filled romances that she loves to read. Her novels are about biracial women in interracial relationships that will have you turning pages until the end.Her current series, Love@work, takes you into the world of Silicon Valley’s billionaire tech moguls. These are powerful men and women who are driven by the changing landscape of business and their seductions in the bedroom.
Come along for a ride in Pax’s world, where it’s always steamy, captivating, and sometimes erotic.
Pax lives and works in Silicon Valley. She’s a California native.
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