"Tomorrow night I'd like to take you somewhere."
"Like on a date? I thought we, you know, just did this for appearances." As she said the word she wished she hadn't. It always made her think of when this might all end. And that scared the heck out of her because she liked Brody. Probably a little too much.
He turned off the truck and took her hands in his. "I like spending time with you," he said. "Whether we're fixing up the house, or like tonight, I just like having you near."
"I like hanging out with you, too. But you don't have to do extra stuff to get me to sleep with you. I'm counting that as a bonus." There, that sounded nice and casual.
He chuckled. "Mari, that's the best bonus I've had in a really long time. A really long time. But what I want to show you is something that's a part of me. An important part and I want to share it with you."
She clapped her hands together like a little kid getting some candy. "So what is it? Now I'm all intrigued."
He kissed her lightly on the lips. She wanted so much more. "You'll have to wait until tomorrow."
She just remembered. "I have plans tomorrow, but I'll be free in the afternoon."
He sat back and frowned.
Maybe he thought she had a date, but they'd already said they were exclusive. "With Abbott. She's my assistant at work. We have to do a walk-through on a new client's house, and then we're going shopping. I've been getting so much exercise with you at night the last couple of weeks that I need to pick up some new jeans. Before I met you I could barely fit in them, and now they're too big."
He laughed. "Side benefit of the bonus."
"Right?" She laughed with him. "I could postpone the shopping, but I really need them. And this client has rescheduled on me twice already."
"Go buy your jeans, and I'll pick you up at the house say around four tomorrow afternoon. That should give us plenty of time."
He started the truck and drove toward home. "One thing..." His tone was serious this time.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Tonight, I'm going to stay at my place. I know what we talked about, but after this thing tomorrow. I think...we can make it better. That doesn't make a lick of sense to you right now, but once you see the surprise, it might. Ben actually made the suggestion."
She leaned over the console of the truck and squeezed his shoulder. "It's okay. Really, Brody. I don't want you to feel any kind of pressure. Now that I understand why you were doing it, I'm grateful. I don't have that much experience with guys. So I wasn't sure what to think."
He took her hand and kissed her fingers.
"It's weird," he said.
"What?"
"Talking." He chuckled. "I've shared more with you in the last few weeks. Talked more than I have probably in a couple of years."
"I should confess, I feel the same way. I'm comfortable with you. I can be myself and you don't seem to mind that I'm a tad unique. In the past, I was always worried that I'd turn a guy off if I didn't like the same movies or music that he did. It's dumb. I tried to make myself into whatever he wanted me to be."
"You're kind of awesome the way you are." The breath caught in her throat. The man made her total mush inside. Absolute total mush.
"You're pretty awesome yourself."
Yep. She had it bad for Brody. A wickedly bad case of lust, or... When this was over, the pain would be a hundred times worse than it had been with Gary. But she would never regret this experience. Brody had given her so much and she didn't think he had a clue.
Yep. Heartbreak was ahead, but she was sticking with her plan to enjoy every moment she could with her Marine.
11
"SO, YOU'RE DOING it like bunnies and that's why you need skinny jeans?" Abbott said a little too loudly in the coffee shop where they stopped to get their iced chais with espresso. After her long night with Brody-he hadn't left until the wee hours of the morning-she needed a little pick-me-up.
"Abbott, not so loud. But yes," Mari whispered as they sat down at a table near the window. "He's so... I can't even explain it. Strong, kind and generous. Today, while I'm here, he's at my house sanding down the banisters and the stairs so we can stain them. But at the same time I'm scared."
"Your life just sucks," Abbott said sarcastically. "A hot guy who gives you multiple orgasms and fixes your house. Oh, the horrors."
"I told you, it's all temporary. Every part of it. And I'm okay with that. At least I have been, but now he's spoiled me for other men. How do you go from Brody to anyone else? I mean, I was with Gary and I thought he was okay." Though, now she understood that she'd never loved him, and he certainly hadn't cared about her. They'd been going through the motions of what couples were supposed to do. It was no wonder he went off and found someone else. Not that he still wasn't a jerk, but she understood a little better.
"You're falling for him hard," Abbott said. She picked up Mari's phone and glanced at the pic they'd taken on the yacht the night before. "I don't think I've ever seen you this happy, and you were on a boat. You hate boats."
Mari laughed. "I know, right? Once we talked and he took me inside, I actually had a good time. I don't want to get on another one anytime soon, but I always have fun when I'm with him."
Abbott nodded. Then she turned the phone toward Mari. "The way he's looking at you, I'd say he's fallen hard as well."
Mari shook her head. "Nah. He's just a-" She glanced down at the picture. While she was smiling from ear to ear, he was watching her with this passionate look in his eyes. Was it possible? Was he into her as much as she was into him?
In the last two weeks, they'd progressed pretty fast. It might be one of those things that burned out quickly. She didn't have enough experience with affairs or flings to know what to expect.
"Oh, girl. You are too far gone," Abbott said. "You guys should talk. Maybe this temporary thing might not be so...temporary."
Mari bit her lip and then shrugged. "No. It's hot and heavy right now, but he's made it clear on several occasions that he's not a forever kind of guy. I get from what he's said about his dad, who has been married several times, that he feels like he's cut from the same cloth. He doesn't ever want to get married. And while that's okay for me right now, eventually I do want to settle down with someone."
There was no way she'd be able to do that with Brody. He'd admitted he cared for her, but this thing between them would wind down. At the moment, it was too much, too fast.
"I don't know. Maybe he just hasn't met the right woman. Maybe you're the one who takes Lieutenant Brody Williams off the market."
No. She wouldn't let herself think like that. And she wouldn't forget a minute of it. When it was over, and it was probably coming soon, she'd walk away with her head held high knowing she was better off for having met Brody.
You keep telling yourself that.
* * *
INSTEAD OF USING his key like he always did, Brody knocked on the door this time. He wanted Mari to feel like this was a real date. It was. Last night, when he realized how upset she was about his not staying over, he decided to show her how much he cared.
He didn't know where this thing between them was going, but he wasn't ready for it to end. The house was almost done, and they'd given themselves that time limit, but he was far from finished with her. In fact, Mari was the first woman he'd thought maybe he could forever be with. They were burning pretty hot, but the more time he had with her, the more he wanted.
He sometimes wished they could spend even more time together. He'd never been like that with a woman. He'd only been on more than one date with a handful of women, and never more than two dates. But with Mari, it was never enough. Sometimes he worried he might overwhelm her.
So tonight, he was showing her they could do what regular people did. Go out, have a good time. Well, maybe not regular. The surprise he had planned wasn't something most people ever had the opportunity to do. He knocked again when she didn't answer.
"Just a minute." He heard her call and then rushed down the steps. In true Mari style, she was running late. That sort of thing used to bug him, but she was worth the wait.
She proved it when she opened the door. She had a sky-blue blouse that dipped down to show the top curve of her beautiful breasts. And her dark jeans looked as though they'd been tailored for her.