Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 128260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 641(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 641(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
“Really?” she asked on a smile. Then she frowned as if she’d realized it was not a positive. I’d wondered the same thing honestly.
I got on the highway and I drove toward the Strip, both of us silent for the first few minutes as I continued to relax in her presence. You smell the same, I wanted to say. Some mix of vanilla and flowers that brought to mind tangled sheets, and gasps of pleasure. And yearning. Lots of that.
“So this is really weird, isn’t it?” she finally asked, breaking me from the memories that made me feel simultaneously turned on and sorta sad.
“Us being together?” I asked.
“Yeah. Running into each other after all this time. It’s just…almost…unbelievable.”
I nodded but paused. “Yes and no.”
“How so?”
“It’s hard to explain. I was shocked but almost not surprised at all. Maybe I always expected to see you again.” I hadn’t even really thought about that, but as the words left my lips, I realized how true they were. Maybe I’d kept it there, in the very back of my mind…the knowledge that Grace Hamilton was not a one-time experience. What that meant exactly, I had no clue.
She raised an eyebrow. “This is some kind of weird stalking thing, isn’t it? You spent years planning this.”
“I was wondering the same thing about you.” I gave her a mock suspicious look.
She laughed. “Okay, you got me. It’s been quite the operation…tracking you all over the world.” She turned her body so she was facing me in the cab of the truck. “Speaking of which, Kate said you just moved here a couple months ago. Where were you deployed?”
“I served in the Middle East.”
She gave her head a small shake. “Wow. I mean, wow, a SEAL, Carson. I’m so impressed. What made you decide to go into the navy?”
I paused for a minute, wondering if complete honesty was a good idea or a bad idea. Finally, I answered, “You.”
Her eyes widened. “Me?”
I nodded. “After that weekend, Grace, I wanted to be more. I wanted to have something to offer someone like you.”
She was staring at me, her lips slightly parted as if she had been about to say something but decided not to.
“Anyway,” I said, rescuing her, “the navy idea kind of came to me in a blinding flash of light and I just did it before I really had time to think about it.”
She let out a breath. “I don’t know what to say. I, well, I’m…honored that you consider me the catalyst for changing your life in such a positive way.” She paused. “I’m just… Thank you for telling me that.”
I grinned over at her. “Don’t take too much credit. I did all the hard work.”
She laughed. “Yes, you certainly did.”
We smiled at each other in the dim cab, something flickering and jumping between us.
“So,” she said, looking away, “how did you end up in security in Vegas?”
“Me and my buddy Leland got injured in the same ambush. His family owns Trilogy. He and I got medically discharged and he asked me if I’d like to come to Vegas with him and take the head of security job. It sounded like a good opportunity.” I shrugged. There was so much more to it than that, but I couldn’t tell her about that part, not now.
“Where did you get injured? What happened?” she asked quietly.
“I was shot in the back,” I said. “Luckily the bullet went straight in and out, causing minimal internal damage. And my hands were burned.” I held one up but in the dim light of the car, even I could barely see the scarring on the palm side of my fingers.
Grace sucked in a breath. “My God…”
“Wait,” I said, changing the subject, “you just got my whole story out of me in the car ride to dinner. What are we gonna talk about now?”
She laughed. “We’ll probably figure something out.”
“We always did,” I said on a smile. I pulled into a parking garage and drove up a couple levels before finding a spot. In just a few minutes, things were easy and comfortable with Grace again.
“Where are we going?” she asked as we headed toward the garage elevator.
“Well, I didn’t exactly make reservations. But I have three or four ideas for you to choose from that shouldn’t need one.”
“Can we do hot dogs?” she asked in an excited rush of words.
I laughed and looked over at her. She was grinning. “Seriously?” I asked, raising a brow.
“What? You don’t like hot dogs anymore?” she asked as we came to a stop in front of the elevator.
“I love hot dogs. I just don’t think I’ve had a hot dog since…well, since I had a hot dog with you.”
“Me neither! Let’s do it.”
I let my eyes linger on her. God, she was so pretty. My hands were itching to touch her. I fisted them at my sides.