Rumor(38)

She slid her arms around his waist, loving the feel of his muscles beneath her hands. Aching to get him into a bed so she could feel all that hard muscle and smooth, warm skin against hers.

She lifted to her toes, kissed him again, and said, “I’d go home with you even if you weren’t over it.”

“Oh, I am,” he assured her, taking her hand and leading her off the porch to her car. “My place or yours?”

“Your hotel is closer.”

“God, I love the way you think.” He pushed her against the door of her car, kissed her hard, sweeping his tongue against hers with a sigh. “I love so much about you, it will take me years to point it all out.”

She raised her brows. “Years?”

His mouth kicked up in a hot smile. “Maybe even forever.”

That cage took a hard hit, rattling until it almost broke open and let that little dreamer free to wreak havoc on Grace’s heart. “Forever, huh?”

He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “You’re a complicated woman.”

She sighed and nodded. A little too complicated for her taste. “I’ll follow you to the hotel.”

He settled her behind the wheel of her Honda, then jogged to his own car and started the engine. God, she was suddenly anxious. Nerves pulsed along her skin, kicked in her heart, steering her mind toward Forever? Could it work?

Just as Josh pulled onto the street, Grace’s phone rang. With a quick glance around for cops, she answered, “This is Grace.”

“Grace! Baby! You answered.”

A chill shivered down her spine. “Isaac?”

“Yeah, honey, it’s me. Hey, I can’t talk long, but I wanted to tell you that we’re touching down in San Diego tomorrow. I’ll be home for Christmas this year. Isn’t that amazing?”

She stopped at a light behind Josh’s car, feeling as if she’d skidded into an alternate reality. “That’s great. Are you going up to LA to see your family?”

“If I have time, but not until I get a few days with you.”

Frustration bubbled to the surface. “Isaac, I’m working. I have plans with my mother. And you’re doing it again. You’re acting like we’re still married. You know that’s why I stopped answering your calls to begin with. And I don’t appreciate you sending Josh down to check on me.”

“Baby, just because we’re not married doesn’t mean I’ve stopped caring about you. I miss seeing you. I miss talking to you.”

“Listen, Isaac, this isn’t a good time—”

“Hold on.” He covered the mouthpiece and yelled to someone in the background, “I’ll be there in a fucking minute.” Then to Grace again, “I’ve got to go, baby. I’ll come find you as soon as my feet hit the ground.”

And he disconnected.

Fury whipped up in Grace’s chest like a hurricane. “You son of a bitch.”

She threw her phone across the car. It hit the dash, the passenger’s window, and landed on the seat. Grace gripped the steering wheel with both hands as she and Josh entered the hotel’s parking lot.

Isaac was going to ruin everything. If Josh hadn’t already told Isaac where she was and what she was doing, Isaac would find her. And as soon as he found her, he’d find Josh. And as soon as Josh was confronted, face-to-face, with his SEAL brother, his “I’m over it” would cave. Grace had seen these men turn into different people as soon as they met up. As if they flipped a switch and turned from ordinary guys to warriors. Blood brothers. Lifelines.

And no good SEAL went against a brother.

It had kept Josh from going after her in the first place.

It had sent him running last year.

And it would put a wall between them now.

Josh pulled into a parking spot, and Grace followed with her heart aching. She turned off the engine and sat there a moment, weighing decisions.

If she gave Josh the news tonight, she’d lose her last chance to love him.

And dammit, she deserved him. She deserved to be completely loved for who she was—even if it only lasted one night.

A night she planned on making sure lived in their memories forever.





Josh’s head swam with plans for their night together, making him hard before he even got to the car to help her out. He both couldn’t wait to make love to her and wanted to take it slow, make it last. The realization that she truly loved him turned him inside out.

But the moment he saw her face, his focus on getting her naked slipped. “Hey.” He cupped her face and took a better look in her eyes. Oh yeah, something was definitely wrong. “Gracie, we don’t have to—”

She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressed her body against his, and kissed him hard. Her hands sank into his hair, and she opened her mouth, searching out his tongue with her own. When they touched, Josh groaned, and his idea of getting naked with her resurfaced instantly.