Chapter One
EMMETT
This isn’t happening.
No way is Blakely Bennett in Rose Canyon. Not at Brielle and Spencer’s wedding reception. She is supposed to be in Washington DC, not in Oregon.
This is a dream—or a nightmare, depending on what she’s here for.
“Great,” I grumble as I watch as the woman who haunts me stalks across the room as if she owns it.
“Who is that?” Brielle asks Spencer.
That is a world of trouble and a whole lot of things I tried to forget. I run my fingers through my hair. “Fuck.”
“Umm, Emmett?” Spencer grips my shoulder. “Is that—”
“Yup.”
Brie snorts. “Can you clue me in?”
“That’s Blakely Bennett. She was in the military with Emmett.”
“Oh? Are they friends?” Brie asks, but I can’t stop watching Blakely. I can’t stop the wheels from turning as to what the hell this woman is doing here.
I did what she asked.
I am not being difficult.
Her dark brown hair that feels like silk sways with each step she takes. I can see the warm brown eyes with flecks of yellow watching me.
“I guess. She was his captain and the medic for the unit.”
I turn to him, needing a second to get myself under control. Staring at her is like looking into the sun. It hurts and leaves an impression long after you’ve glanced away. “No, we were the same rank,” I clarify. We were both captains, and she did not outrank me, contrary to whatever she thought.
“She totally was his boss,” Spencer says softly to her.
I’ll kick his ass later for that.
Then she’s here. Right in front of me, and I swear to God, I can’t fucking breathe. She’s so beautiful, so everything, and I still don’t feel as if I’m good enough to be in her presence. I never have.
I still want to fall at her feet, which pisses me off.
“Hello, Maxwell.” That soft, sweet voice of an angel falls around me.
Only I know better because there’s nothing angelic about Blake. She will kill you in your sleep, which is why I never should’ve trusted her.
“Bennett,” I get out in one breath.
Blake turns to Spencer, her smile never faltering. “I thought it was you, Cross. You look wonderful and so happy.”
They embrace, and I clench my jaw to stop from saying something stupid. Spencer is happily married and has zero interest in Blake. I don’t either. Not at all. She’s just . . . Blakely.
Spencer pulls back, holding on to her arms. “It’s because I am. It’s good to see you, Blake.”
She keeps talking to him as though I’m not here. “You too, and I hear this is your wedding celebration?”
“You heard correctly.” Spencer nods. “This is my wife, Brielle.”
Blakely pushes her hair behind her ear and then takes Brielle’s hand. “It’s lovely to meet you. I know your husband from one of the training exercises we did. I wish you both much happiness.”
“Thank you.”
Enough with the chitchat. Blakely didn’t come across the country without a phone call for nothing. She wants something from me, and I would like to know exactly what that is.
“What are you doing here, Blakely?” I ask.
Blake tilts her head to the side, batting those long, dark lashes. “I came to see you, darling.”
Unreal and a lie. I’m going to assume she has the divorce papers and this is some kind of ploy to piss me off. “I sent you paperwork months ago.”
She waves her hand. “I’m not here for that. I came for something else.”
Spencer clears his throat. “What paperwork?”
Blakely shrugs. “Divorce papers.”
Instead of screaming like I want to, I groan, running a hand down my face. “Jesus Christ.”
“You’re married?” Brielle practically shouts.
A horde of nosey people turn to look at me. Great, this is really going to be all anyone talks about.
I look to Spencer and Brielle. “Yes, Blakely Bennett is my wife. And if you’ll excuse me, I need to speak with her outside.”
I grab her hand, pulling her toward the large glass door. My wife doesn’t seem fazed at all as she waves a quick goodbye to everyone currently staring at us. “I’m sure we’ll see each other soon.”
The hell she will. I’m packing her ass back onto a plane and shipping her home as soon as I can. Whenever she’s around, things go badly for me. I forget who I am and become the man she needs but will never want.
Or she wants but won’t have.
I had to put distance between us, and apparently, I miscalculated just how much distance would keep her away.
When we get onto the deck, the cool air helps to clear my muddled mind. “Out with it,” I say a little more forcefully than I intended.
“Be nice, Emmett, you aren’t usually a dick.”
“And you aren’t here because you missed me.”
“You’re right, that’s not why I came, but I do miss you.” She smiles. “How are you? I heard you’re the sheriff of this tiny town.”
I close my eyes for a beat and sigh. “Yes, I am. Well, technically, I’m a sheriff of the county, but this is where I’m contracted to work.”
“Okay, and how are you?”
“I’m great,” I lie.
“Good to know.”
“Why are you here, Blakely?” I ask through gritted teeth. “I sent you divorce papers, I am ready to be done with it all, and you haven’t sent your copies back. So, what else would bring you out here if it wasn’t to give us both what we want?”
“As I already said, I’m not here about the divorce, which I also never said I wanted.”
No, she never said she wants a divorce, but she did make it abundantly clear she didn’t want me when she left me that night. I release a heavy sigh through my nose. “You’re killing me.”
“No, I’m here to make sure that doesn’t happen by someone else.”
This woman confuses me. “Okay . . .”
“You’ll thank me later.”
“Or you can tell me who you think is going to kill me.”
Which no one is. She’s full of shit.
“I plan to, but first, aren’t you going to ask about how I’m doing?” Blakely changes the subject.
“Not until you answer the original question.”
She shrugs and then moves toward the railing. “This place is beautiful. It’s literally like you described it. Super quaint, and the people are all very nice. I was able to find you in just a few minutes.”
Sometimes the people in this town are out of their minds. They have no sense of danger or concept of just how much damage can be done with something as basic as a person’s location, but she and I do. Years of military training caused us to be cautious of everything and everyone.
“So glad my descriptions lived up to your ideas,” I say, not feeling like making small talk. “Bennett?”
“Yes, sweetums?”
“Seriously?”
“We haven’t seen each other in two and a half years. I’ve missed you. Can we please catch up a little, and then I promise to tell you why I’m here and for how long I plan to stay at your place, which you’re going to have to agree to since there are no hotels anywhere around here.”