Worth the Fall(29)

“Well, sorry to disappoint, but it’s pretty boring. I went to dozens of foster homes I barely remember, then to a group home, then college.”

He didn’t believe for a second she didn’t remember. Teddy’d had a similar childhood, beginning with his mother abandoning him in a bathroom. He’d joked about it during a SEAL exercise called “drown proofing.”

I got this, guys. My bitch of a mother couldn’t drown me when I was five minutes old.

T had acted like he didn’t care, but Matt knew he did. How could he not? To his dismay T had never once accepted his invitations to join him on leave. Said he didn’t do family. Laughed it off like a teen avoiding parental jail, but Matt saw through it. Just like he saw through Abby.

“Did you always want to be a soldier?”

And there she went again, diverting the conversation. Which only made him more determined to know everything about her.

“Part of me did. My grandfather served, and my older brother Tony was in the air force before he started his own charter business. Part of me wanted to be an architect like my dad, so I went with a mechanical engineering major.”

“Ah, that explains your sand castle skills.”

“Hmm.”

She let the questions drop there and so did he, unwilling to risk disturbing their connection. Another hour passed before they decided they were hungry.

Matt followed her to the boardwalk, a step behind. Pregnant or not, she had a body that made him all kinds of hot and bothered. She bent to spray her feet, unknowingly giving him an excellent view. Those were real. And he imagined cupping them, soft and full in his hands, in his mouth. Kissing his way down her neck, licking the salt from her hot, damp skin and moving lower…Shit.

He tried to stop the rush of blood from his head to his groin. Don’t picture her naked.

Right. That was like telling a starving man not to fantasize about food. He walked a step behind her, keeping his eyes up, mentally stripping and reassembling every weapon he could think of.

They got their lunch and found a table. She didn’t ask about his job as a SEAL, but she had a lot of questions about flipping houses. He described his current and upcoming projects, listened to her creative ideas for a retro interior.

“It sounds like you really love it, redoing the houses,” she said, stuffing a piece of lettuce back into her sandwich.

“I do.”

“But you don’t want to do it full time?”

“No. I don’t know. Maybe someday. It’s…complicated.”

And it was. He was in no position to make plans for a someday. Abby didn’t press him for answers, just gathered their trash. As she did she sang about a cartoon builder named Bob, making him laugh, bringing him out of the shadows.

“You’re a nut,” he said, andndan a stood to dump their tray.

“Ha. You’re one to talk, Chewie,” she shot back. “And I’m paying today.” She snatched the ticket from his hand.

“No. You’re not.”

“Yes. I am,” she said, mimicking his deep, large-and-in-charge tone.

Playful. Teasing. He imagined sex with Abby would be hot and fun and mind-blowing. And, damn it, he wanted her. And not for any of the reasons he’d wanted a woman before. “Abby, give me the ticket.”

She hid her hands behind her back and raised her chin. “No.”

Matt put down the tray and circled his arms around her. He was so much taller, she had to tilt her head back, exposing her delicate neck, pushing out her breasts. And just like that his thoughts were back to the bedroom. Back to kissing her, tasting her. “Give me the ticket.”

“What if I don’t?” she teased, no idea where his thoughts were.

He released one wrist, allowing himself to touch her. Just a brush of his fingertips across her flushed cheek. Her green eyes flared with heat. So beautiful it almost hurt to look at her.

I slept with a man who didn’t love me.

God, help him. Abby was the easiest person to love he’d ever met.

All he could think of was tangling his fingers in her hair, pressing his lips to hers. He wanted his mouth on hers more than he wanted his next breath. But one kiss would never be enough. Neither would one night, or one week.

It took every ounce of self-control he possessed, but he relieved her of the ticket and forced himself to walk away.

—

Matt gazed down at Abby, standing under the dim light outside her condo door. The six of them had spent the evening playing mini golf and eating ice cream. Well, Abby had played. He had watched her ass move in clinging shorts and her breasts sway in a soft tank top.

“What time are we leaving?” he asked her.

“What?” She looked confused. “We’re going to the water park tomorrow.”