Stirring Attraction(4)

“YOU ALL LOOK like you’re at a funeral.” Lily pushed off the tailgate and headed for the broad-­shouldered warriors marching across the yard. She’d spotted Dominic by the barn, flanked by his two best friends, Noah and Ryan. And for a moment she’d hated Dominic’s best friends for stealing him away on their last night together. But the feeling faded as they moved closer, their expressions grim, grim, and grimmer.

Tomorrow, Dominic would head to the army, while Noah joined the marines, and Ryan left his family’s mansion for the air force. All three of them were leaving, but only Dominic looked like he’d been born to serve. Or maybe that was her eyes playing tricks on her again. She’d always believed that he was bigger, bolder, and better than every other man.

The police force would never be enough for Dominic. He’d joined for his father, his sister, and probably for her. A job that would keep him in Forever, watching over Josie and close to her . . .

“I know.” Dominic wrapped his arms around her and drew her close.

“It’s my fault, Lily,” Noah muttered, kicking the ground.

She looked at Dominic’s best friend and saw the blood running down Noah’s face, his lip cut. In the firelight, his face looked as if he’d taken a hit. She glanced at Ryan. He’d missed a buttonhole on his shirt. It hung at an odd angle. Had they been fighting? On their last night together?

“What happened?”

“Nothing you need to worry about,” Dominic said, releasing his hold on her as he fished his keys out from his pocket. “Let’s get you home. I don’t want your mom to worry.”

Too late. Her mother had worried from Lily’s first date with Dominic, wondering—­often out loud—­if her little girl would hold tight to her parents’ belief that she should wait until marriage. And yesterday, in Dominic’s bedroom, proved her mother had every reason to be concerned.

“I’m sorry,” Noah said. “I shouldn’t have—­”

“My sister is a big girl, old enough to make her own choices,” Dominic cut in.

Noah and Josie?

Lily blinked. She never would have suspected. The town golden boy and Dominic’s wild little sister . . . Wow. No wonder Dominic had punched his friend.

She glanced back at Ryan. That still didn’t explain the third musketeer’s disheveled appearance. What had he been up to on his last night before they went their separate ways, determined to pursue careers that might never bring them back . . . ?

“Let’s go, Dom,” she murmured, pulling on his hand. Whatever had happened to Ryan, to Noah—­she didn’t care right now. The minutes were slipping away. And she refused to waste them at a party that felt more like a funeral.

Dominic nodded and led her around to the passenger side of his pickup. He pulled open the door and held it for her as she climbed inside. She rolled down her window while he walked around the rear and hugged his friends, slapping them both on the back in turn. Then she called out her goodbyes. It was like pulling off a Band-­Aid. She said the words quickly and turned to stare out into the dark night. She could let Noah and Ryan, the men who’d become her friends through Dominic, go with one swift tearing motion. But the man putting the truck in gear?

She didn’t want to let him leave, but she knew as well as he did that a future together was impossible right now. Maybe one day . . .

They drove in silence down the dark country roads, heading for her parents’ modest two-­bedroom house on the outskirts of town. They sped past the university and Forever’s park. When they reached her quiet dead-­end street, Dominic pulled over and cut the engine three doors down from her house.

“You’ll call me when you get there?” she asked, turning to him as she released her seat belt. “Or as soon as you can?”

He hesitated.

“Please,” she added.

“I’ll call.” He stared into her eyes, his gaze drifting to her mouth and then back up.

She nodded. There was so much more she wanted to say.

I’m happy for you.

Stay safe.

I hate you for leaving.

But she refused to send him off feeling guilty for following his dreams. One day he would come back. Or she’d join him.

She bit her lip. The circumstances surrounding those possibilities—­her mother succumbing to MS, or Dominic facing a career-­ending injury—­she didn’t want to hope for those things.

“Lily,” he murmured and she met his gaze. “I don’t know how to kiss you to make it last—­”

“Until the end of basic training? Because after that, I’ll find a way to visit you. I can find help for my mom, hire a nurse for a few days. Save up some money and fly down.” She spoke fast, the plan taking hold in her mind.