Her face fell slightly, and she argued, “Nolan, just because you’re a SEAL doesn’t mean that you can’t have a relationship. There’s no reason you can’t have a wife.”
“I’m not looking for a wife now! Hell, I’m not even looking for a girlfriend now. To be honest, I’d consider a fling, but Lynn is not fling material.”
“Oh, my goodness, she’s absolutely not fling material.”
Shaking his head, he dropped his chin. “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation.”
“Son, I’m just looking out for you. You’ve already said that you’re not going to stay in the Navy forever. I think you ought to be in the market for a good woman that would be a perfect match for you. Personally, I think Lynn fits the bill. As you say, she’s beautiful, smart, owns her own business. She’s also loyal, dedicated, and I happen to know she used to carry a torch for you.”
Jerking his head back up, his eyes widened. “Carry a torch? Seriously, Mom? Who says, ‘carry a torch’ anymore?”
“Don’t argue semantics with me!” She plopped her hands on her hips and glared. “I know that when she was in high school, she absolutely adored you.”
“First of all, I know that, too. Second of all, high school was years ago, Mom. I hardly think that what was happening ten years ago means anything now.”
His mom sniffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “I just think that as you’re getting to know Lynn better for this scheme that Nancy’s concocted, you should spend time actually getting to know her. You might find that she’s someone you can be really, truly interested in.” With that, she turned and went back into the kitchen, leaving him sitting alone.
He wanted to be irritated with her, but the fact was he’d already had the same thoughts. He tried to convince himself that he didn’t want to cause her or his sister any grief, but the reality hit him that after having a taste of Lynn, it would hurt to leave her. Shaking his head, he dismissed the idea. With me rejoining my team, the timing is wrong. Damn, with Lynn, the timing is always wrong.
5
Lynn wiped her palms on her capris for the hundredth time as she waited for Nolan to arrive. Glancing down, she realized the front of her pants were beginning to get crinkled. Maybe I should change clothes. Refusing that idea, she was not sure she had any more clothes she could go through considering she had spent an hour trying to decide what to wear. A dress—even a sundress—was too fussy and looked as though she were trying to gain his attention. Yoga pants felt too casual. He had seen her in her professional clothes and she didn’t want to wear those for a casual dinner at her house. Finally, deciding on capris, flat sandals with a flower on top, and a cute blouse with little cap sleeves, that was the winning outfit.
Nolan Bell is coming to dinner. Looking into the bathroom mirror, she stared at her reflection. I’m an adult, professional woman. I’m smart, educated, and run a business. So why the hell am I freaking out about this? Her hands grabbed onto the edge of the sink, and she dropped her chin to her chest. Sighing heavily, she knew the answer to her question.
Because this is Nolan. I fell in love with him when I was about ten years old. I wrote his name in my notebooks. His sister and I planned that one day we’d be true sisters when I married him. And then I threw myself at him like the silly teenager I was, and when he moved away, I figured I’d never see him again.
Lifting her chin, she stared at her reflection once again. I can do this. It’s been many years and a lot of water under the bridge. This is just Nancy’s older brother. We’re going to do this job for Nancy and then that will be it. Her lips curved slightly as a new thought hit her. Maybe after this, it won’t be so awkward.
Her heart had pounded when he stepped into the doorway of Nancy’s office yesterday and it hit her that he was supposed to be her pretend husband. Emotions had crashed into her, each fighting for dominance. Embarrassment over her actions when she was a teenager. Longing for someone she could never have. Anger at Nancy because her friend knew how much she had loved her brother when they were younger. Even Rita’s strange delight at the situation had not seemed to penetrate.
The oven timer went off just as the front doorbell rang, jarring her into action. Shit! Not wanting to leave him waiting, she rushed to the front door and threw it open. Before he had a chance to greet her, she turned and ran back to the kitchen and yelled over her shoulder, “Come on in! I don’t want the dinner to burn!”
As she bent to pull out the barbecue chicken, she winced at her un-welcoming welcome. Placing the dish on top of the stove, she slammed the oven door shut and turned, jumping as she realized Nolan was right behind her. His eyes jumped up to her face, but for a second she could have sworn he’d been staring at her ass. Maybe I should’ve worn the dress. “Oh, you scared me. I was just thinking that I offered a very rude greeting. Actually, hello! Um… did you have any problem finding my apartment?”
A slow smile spread over his face as he reached behind his neck and squeezed. “No, it was easy to find. And don’t worry about the greeting, it was fine.”
“Okay. Um… good.”
Time seemed to stretch out between them in awkward silence. Her gaze took him in, wishing she could find something about his appearance that was not attractive. Something that would make it easy to be glad that she had not ended up with him. Perhaps a large wart on the end of his nose. But, alas, no. He was every bit as gorgeous as he had been when he was younger, only more so with added maturity. Always tall, his body had bulked out, she was sure with all the exercise he got as a SEAL. She remembered he was one of the earlier boys to begin shaving, and even now his five o’clock shadow gave his face a devil-may-care appearance. And his whiskey-colored eyes—staring straight at me!
“What would you like to drink? I have iced tea, beer, or wine.”
“Beer would be good. Whatever kind you have is fine.”
Glad to have something to do, she turned to the refrigerator and pulled out two longneck bottles. Popping off the caps, she handed both to him. “You can put these on the table, and I’ll get our dinner.” She had already set the plates and cutlery on the table and soon placed the barbecue chicken, coleslaw, and mac & cheese in front of them. Earlier, she had wondered if fixing dinner was a good plan but now was glad they had something to focus on to ease into their conversation.
Sitting at her small table, she watched as he dug into the meal, his groans of appreciation causing her to relax.
“This is delicious. You really can cook.”
“It’s not fancy, but I like homemade when I have the time.”
“It’s as good as any I’ve had at a barbeque restaurant. Hell, better than most!”
“Thank you, but I have a feeling that after some of your meals in the Navy, anything would taste good.”
He chuckled while nodding. “I’ve had some pretty bad meals, that’s for sure. And times where I was just glad we had something to eat.”
By the time they finished her homemade apple pie and he had scraped the plate on his second helping, their small talk had become easier, and they worked side-by-side washing off the plates and putting away the leftovers. Grabbing two more beers, she led him over to the sofa where she’d placed a couple of small spiral notebooks and pens on the coffee table.