She stopped just inside the door and stepped into his arms. “Are you okay?”

“She just asked me to come by and talk at the grade school without joking about me not burning it down.”

“Why are you so surprised?” She cupped his face, her palms soft against his cheeks. “I’ll tell you a secret. It was your reputation as a hero—not a firebug—that got me to agree to that first date.”

Before, Wellingford had seemed claustrophobic and cloying. Everywhere he looked, he was surrounded by people who’d never let him grow up. Now? Now, he was starting to see some of what Bri loved so much about it. They knew him, but no one was forcing him into the role he’d long since grown out of. Not anymore. Maybe he’d only seen what he wanted to see—the gibes without the caring backing it.

It was all too easy to imagine settling here. Raising a family here. This was a town where people barely locked their doors. Where neighbors took care of one another. Where he could create a true home.

His thoughts stuttered to a halt as Bri walked past the living room filled with mismatching floral couches, pulling her shirt over her head. She paused in the doorway on the other side of the room and grinned. “What are you waiting for? These panties aren’t going to light themselves.”

Chapter Seventeen

Bri woke to the sound of whispered voices. She blinked into the darkness, noting the tension in Ryan’s body. He pressed a finger to her mouth, cautioning her to silence, but she had no intention of saying something and drawing a serial killer’s attention to them.

It may be time for her to stop reading all those suspense novels.

There was a thump and a muffled curse. “Shut up.”

“You shut up. How am I supposed to see anything when it’s pitch fucking black?”

“You’re the one who couldn’t wait until a decent hour to come barreling in here.”

Bri touched Ryan’s hand. “It’s Drew and Avery.”

“I know,” he muttered. “But I’m still debating between pretending I don’t know, and whooping their asses.”

Though she wasn’t entirely opposed to that idea, those two wouldn’t be out here at… She frowned at the clock. Yeah, they definitely wouldn’t be out here at five in the morning for anything other than an emergency. Which meant yelling at them was going to have to wait. She cleared her throat. “We can hear you guys.”

Avery cursed again. “That’s definitely negative stealth points.” They threw open the door and flipped on the lights. She gave a crow of victory. “Oh my God, Drew! I told you this would work. Didn’t I tell you this would work?”

“I’m pretty sure this was my damn idea to start with.”

Bri rubbed her eyes, trying to adjust to the light blinding her. She jumped when Ryan threw a blanket around her shoulders. “Out.”

“Oh please. We’ve seen more skin than that swimming with Bri.”

Ryan’s hands spasmed on her shoulders at Avery’s words. “Get the fuck out, both of you. Now.”

“Jesus. Fine.” Drew grabbed Avery’s elbow and dragged her out of the room. “Hurry up and get dressed. We have bad news.”

Bad news. That didn’t sound promising. Bri barely waited for the door to shut before she threw off the blanket and hurriedly pulled on the first clothes she got her hands on. By the time she’d buttoned her jeans, Ryan was dressed as well. She looked at him, unable to stifle a little sigh of happiness at how well his shirt fit. Would she ever get used to those shoulders? She hoped not.

“You better stop ogling me like that, or I’m going to say to hell with those two and lock us in here for another hour. Or three.”

She winced at the thought of Drew and Avery sitting out in her living room while they made love. “That’s not the best idea.”

He kissed her. “Let’s go see what the troublemakers want.”

She didn’t want to. She wanted to slam the bedroom door and lock themselves in here for the last six days Ryan was here until the Twosome went away and took whatever news they had with them. But that wasn’t reality.

Sure enough, Drew and Avery sat next to each other on her couch, their expressions sober. Ryan took her hand, but it didn’t make her feel any better about it. “I got a call from Major Sanders.”

She felt Ryan’s tension even before he spoke. “What happened?”

“He wasn’t in a confiding mood. He said to get your ass back to base, ASAP. Something about emergency protocol.”

Ryan went eerily still. “Fuck.”

“Yeah, that was kind of my response. He’s not happy that he had to call me because your phone was turned off.”

Ryan let go of her hand to shove his through his hair. “I can’t imagine why my phone would be turned off.”

“I’d like to point out the fact that we were right all along.” Drew held up his hands when his brother growled. “I packed your shit and booked your flight. We have to hurry or you’re going to miss it.”

Bri swayed, trying to process the information. She didn’t have a week. She didn’t even have a day. He was leaving right now. She tried to quell the storm of emotions inside her, threatening to break out. How could Ryan make her promises when his first priority would always be the Air Force? It didn’t matter what he wanted to pursue with her—they would call and he would go. Maybe he’d feel bad about it, but he would leave.

Just like everyone else did.

She wrapped her arms around herself and took another step away from him. He caught the move, because his eyebrows dropped and his mouth fell into an unforgiving line. She’d seen that expression before, back when they’d still been at each other’s throats. “Go wait in the car,” he said to Drew and Avery. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

“Ryan, you’re going to be late for your flight if you dick around too long—no offense, Bri.”

“Get out.”

Avery grabbed Drew’s arm and jerked him toward the door. “Fine. We’ll go. But he’ll wait in the car.”

Ryan barely waited for the door to shut behind them when he rounded on Bri. “Whatever you’re thinking, stop it.”

Instead of addressing that, she asked, “What’s emergency protocol?”

A muscle in his jaw ticked. “It could be any number of things.”

She’d spent enough time with him to know when he was holding something back. “But you know what this is, don’t you?”

He sighed. “I don’t know anything for sure.” When she just stared, he continued, “But they wouldn’t be keeping things so locked down without a reason. I’m probably being sent to replace a PJ overseas.”

It didn’t take much to connect the dots. “Someone got hurt, didn’t they?” Someone doing the job he did. Someone he was being sent over there to replace.

“Maybe. Probably.” He shook his head. “I won’t know for sure until I’m back on base.”

“Oh.” She took a step back, mentally flailing for something to hang on to before she flew apart. End things with him. End things now. “Well, I guess this thing between us has reached its expiration date.” She spoke quickly, because she had to get this out while she still could, before she lost her nerve. Or started crying. “I mean, it was a fun little fantasy until reality intruded. It would have never worked anyway.”

“Don’t do this. I know the timing is shitty, but it’s not the end of the world. I’ll call you as soon as I know what’s going on, and we’ll figure this out.”

Despite the way he’d said all the right things up to this point, he really didn’t understand. “Ryan, you’re leaving.”

“It’s not forever. I’ll be back before you know it.”

“For how long? A week? Two? Maybe even a whole month? Then you’ll turn around and leave again. You will always leave.” She hugged herself tighter. “And right now, you’re going off into certain danger.”

“I’m a PJ.”

“Which is exactly my point. The guy you’re replacing might be dead.” Her eyes burned, threatening to betray her. She cleared her throat, determined to remain in control—at least until she could make it to the safety of being alone to break down. “I lost the two most important people to me when my parents died. I can’t go through that kind of pain again. You can’t expect me to sit back and wait while you risk your life.”

He ran his hands through his hair, looking like he wanted to rip it out. “What am I supposed to say to that?”

There was nothing to say. Against all reason, she’d half hoped he’d reassure her that he wouldn’t always leave, that he would come through this tour okay—and the next, and the next. But he couldn’t do that without lying, and she’d rather have a hard truth today than a pretty lie that hurt even worse in the long run. “Let’s face it—we’re barely more than strangers, Ryan. The sex was great, but that’s all we have between us.”

The hurt on his face almost made her question if she was right, but then the all-too-familiar glare took its place. “So that’s all this was to you? Sex.”

Despite her best efforts, a single tear slipped free. “It was nice while it lasted.”

He shook his head. “You’re pulling away because you’re scared and protecting yourself.”

It was so incredibly tempting to agree, if only to give herself the illusion it wasn’t over. He’d reassure her and hold her and maybe she’d feel better for a little while. But it would only hurt to prolong this torture by pretending there was a way to make it work. “No. This is how I feel. I never—” Her throat threatened to close, but she forced the words past it. “I never cared about you like that.”

He stared at her and for one hopeful, terrifying moment, she thought he might tell her she was being crazy and he wasn’t leaving forever and they could make it work. But then he shook his head and the moment passed. “You know what? You’re a goddamn liar. You know good and well this was a hell of a lot more than sex to you, no matter how much you try to convince yourself otherwise. But that’s okay. Go ahead and keep lying to yourself. I hope it keeps you warm at night.”