Introduction To Romance (10 Books). Кэрол Мортимер

Alexia could coax Blake to be.

      “No secrets,” Blake insisted. “Don’t invade Brody’s privacy.”

      Alexia rolled her eyes, her mouth too full to talk. Blake looked uncomfortable, as if dishing dirt on his teammate and friend was something he’d only tolerate because he adored his wife.

      Genna liked him all the more for that.

      “Well...” she said, drawing out the word to its fullest impact while she chose a pecan tart with caramel swirls. Inspecting the golden-brown perfection of it for a second, she raised her eyes and gave Alexia her best gossip face.

      “Growing up, everyone in town called Brody a badass.”

      Alexia looked blank for one second, then she burst into laughter. Blake, on the other hand, just looked satisfied as he finally took a cookie. As if Genna had passed some secret test.

      “Fair enough,” Alexia said, exchanging glances with her husband. Genna envied how they seemed to have an entire conversation between blinks. “So maybe we’ll chat about the SEALs instead. Do you have any family in the military?”

      Genna set her half-eaten tart back on her plate and shook her head. “No. My father’s in law enforcement, though. I know it’s not the same, but there is a similar sense of service and focus, I think.”

      “There is,” Alexia agreed. “It’s not just a job, it’s who they are. Their identity, their purpose. In a way, it’s their life.”

      Genna frowned at the ease of the other woman’s words.

      “Doesn’t that bother you just a little? I mean, not that I don’t appreciate what you do,” she told Blake, who didn’t seem at all offended. Then she looked back at Alexia. “But if your husband’s entire world is the military, where do you fit in?”

      Alexia’s eyes sparkled as if Genna had just asked the perfect question. If she’d been a teacher, she’d have pulled out a gold star.

      “No, no. I said the military was his purpose. I’m his world,” she said with absolute confidence. “But I’m not his priority. Not while he’s on duty, at least.”

      The smile the couple shared told Genna that Alexia had no problem demanding all of Blake’s attention when he wasn’t on duty, though.

      “And you’re okay with that?” Genna asked, wondering if she could be.

      “I wasn’t at first,” Alexia said quietly, her fingers curling over her husband’s. “I grew up a military brat and was carrying a lot of baggage about it. But even without that, it takes a special woman to be able to handle the secrets, the risks and the long separations. To be able to build a life that fulfills her, but is still dedicated to a long-distance marriage. Military men are strong, but their women are stronger.”

      “Really?” Genna’s laugh was a little skeptical, but she couldn’t help it.

      “Really,” Blake said, answering for his wife.

      She glanced back and forth between the couple, realizing that there was more than one kind of strength. And wondering if she had the kind it took to wait for her man, knowing he was in danger, knowing his duty came first.

      “And it’s just that easy?” she wondered.

      “Hell, no.”

      “Of course not,” Alexia said at the same time. She and Blake exchanged smiles. “But no marriage is easy. Nothing worthwhile in life is, really. But it’s special enough, and we’re strong enough, to make it work.”

      Genna tried to absorb that. She and Brody weren’t even close to talking marriage. And he was leaving the navy, so it didn’t matter if she wasn’t strong enough to be a military wife or not. Did it? Or was that why he was leaving? Was it significant that he told her he loved her and that he was leaving the navy at the same time?

      “You’re wondering why I’m telling you this,” Alexia guessed.

      “Well, yeah.” And when they were done, maybe they could tell her what to do, too. An ironic hope, since she’d spent years trying to get people to stop telling her what to do.

      Alexia leaned forward, her face intent as she searched Genna’s. Then, apparently liking whatever she found there, she said, “We want you to help us figure out how to convince Brody not to quit the SEALs.”

      13

      FUELED BY GUILT over talking about Brody behind his back, and a stomachache from too many tarts, Genna pulled into the dingy parking of Slims. She’d been searching for Brody for the last two hours, and while she couldn’t imagine why he’d want to come here, it was the last place inside city limits she could think of to look.

      Parking next to a patch of weeds as tall as the bumper of her car, she puffed out a breath. She hated going in there. Not just because it was three shades of sleazy with a whole lot of gross on the side. But because it seemed to be the epitome of Brody’s late father. Ugly, mean and under many circumstances, plain dangerous.

      But two o’clock on a Friday afternoon shouldn’t be bad. She hoped.

      Steeling herself, and making sure her Mace was in her pocket, she slid from the car and crossed the gravel lot. She was careful to avoid the multitude of oil leaks—apparently the clientele at Slims wasn’t big on auto maintenance. Pushing the scarred wooden door open, she stopped short inside to let her eyes adjust to the dim light.

      Chairs stacked on tables gave testament that someone had at least pretended to clean the floor. The neon signs behind the bar glowed blurrily through a sea of dust motes. Floodlights similar to those she had in her back garden were lit and aimed toward the stage, if that’s what they called the three pallets pushed together in the corner in front of the mike.

      But there weren’t any bodies.

      Genna considered, then bent low to squint under the tables.

      Nope. No bodies.

      Dammit. She bit her lip, not sure where to look next. His Harley was still at his gramma’s. So he had to be in town somewhere. Didn’t he? Maybe she should just go home and wait for him.

      Except the conversation with Blake and Alexia kept playing through her head, urging her to find him as quickly as possible.

      They thought Brody leaving the SEALs was a big mistake. That he was doing it for the wrong reasons, even though neither of them had been willing to tell her what they felt his reasons were.

      She knew, though.

      When he’d lost his friend on that last mission, he’d lost his faith in his ability to do the job he expected from himself.

      What she didn’t know was what to do about that. Trying to help him through the emotional issue was pointless. She knew from experience dealing with her father and brother over the years that since she wasn’t a SEAL, wasn’t military and wasn’t a guy, she wasn’t qualified to try to talk him out of whatever he was feeling.

      Until her visitors today, she’d figured that all she could do was be here, support him and then when he was ready to finally talk, listen.

      But now she knew she had to do more. She couldn’t let him walk away from something so important to him unless he was really sure.

      Unless he had already thought it through and was sure.

      And as much as she’d always dreamed of Brody being in her life, she didn’t want it to be at the expense of his own dreams. But if it was something he wanted to do just because, well. that was different.

      She shoved both hands through her hair and tried not to scream at the conflicting thoughts battling it out for top spot in her mind.

      Then she heard a noise. Her heart skipped. The scraping sounded again off the room behind the bar. Balanced on the tips of her toes, she shifted to run out the door.

      Then