Stolen Moments (And Then Came Love Book 2) (2 page)

A delicate, feminine laugh kissed his senses and broke through the final threads of sleep.

His vision came into focus. A woman stood before him. Warm brown hair caressed her shoulders and looked soft enough to stroke. His gaze fell upon her lips, which were still curled into a smile. Even with the slight smudge to her pinkish lipstick, her lips still looked sensual and kissable.

“At ease, soldier.” Her eyes were bright and inviting. “Is the seat next to you open.”

“Of course.” He relaxed, motioned to the vacant chair and, waited until she sat down, returned to his seat. “Old habits die hard.”

She smoothed her light blue scrub pants with her left hand. Her right arm was stabilized in a sling.

“Don’t I know it.” She nodded at Trevor and laughed as she settled into the chair. “I grew up on military bases. My father’s still in the army.”

“A lifer, huh?” Trevor tried to mask the mixed feelings this concept brought up. His lifer status was cut short by his knee injury.

“He tried civilian life for a while, but wasn’t cut out for it and re-enlisted.” Her gaze drifted to her left hand and the pink clutch she held. “What about you?” Her voice was casual and relaxed.

“Me? Oh no. I’m out for good.” Trevor tapped his left knee slightly. “I had my knee replaced.”

Her eyes darted to the injury and a look of concern creased her brow and chased the smile from her lips. “You’re so young. I would have thought they would have tried other procedures first.”

She looked him over.

Trevor grinned. “Shrapnel doesn’t take age into consideration. The doctor said I was lucky I didn’t lose my leg.”

Her hands flew to her mouth. “I’m so, sorry. I didn’t mean it.” She closed her eyes tight, stuttering as she tried to find the right words.

He placed his hand on her arm. “It’s okay.”

She looked up at him, bit her lip, and extended her hand. “I must sound like a complete heel. I’m Arianna Halsey.”

“Trevor Vitalli.” He smiled. “What happened to your shoulder?”

Her face reddened and she stifled a snicker. “Bad sprain early this morning. They wanted me to check in with PT.” Arianna smiled. “What branch of service?”

“Army.”

“How long?”

“Twelve years.”

“You can’t be that old. I just turned thirty.”

“I’ll be thirty-one in May.” He chuckled. Here sat a virtual stranger giving out information like it was candy.

“Dr. Halsey.” A woman stood in the doorway holding a chart.

“That’s me.” She stood up. “I guess I forgot to mention I was a doctor.”

“Doctor of what?” Trevor found himself standing with her.

“Obstetrics. I work at the practice down the hall.”

He nodded. “Well it was nice to meet you.”

The nurse with the chart smiled at him. “Doctor Jonas is ready for you as well, Trevor.”

“I guess we’re going back together.” Arianna smiled.

Trevor grabbed his cane and gestured for the ladies to go first before following behind.

*****

Once her therapy session was over, Arianna stopped to get a drink of water. She smiled as she walked behind Trevor who had just finished his appointment. For being injured he still had a helluva body. Her cheeks warmed. How long had it been since she felt attraction to a man? But when he stood up, damn. Short cropped dark hair, blue eyes.
Great ass.

He stopped at the desk and she took a step backward so she didn’t run into him.

The receptionist, Leigh, looked up and smiled. “You’re all set up for the rest of the month, Mr. Vitalli. Anything else I can do for you?”

“Nope.” Trevor turned around and grinned at Arianna. “Well, hello doctor.”

“Hi.” She glanced past him at Leigh.

“You’re all scheduled, so we’ll see you next time.”

Arianna bumped into Trevor as she moved out of the way of another patient.

He steadied her. The brief touch sent electricity racing through her arms. Her eyes widened, her mouth went dry, and her fingers itched to touch him again. Would it feel the same way the next time they touched?

“Can I walk you out?” He motioned toward the door.

“I’d like that.” She nodded.

“Do you have time for lunch?” He opened the door for her.

“I took my lunch early. I still have patients to see today. If you’re around tomorrow, same time, we may be able to work something out.” She bit her lip. Was she being too forward? This wasn’t like her.

“I can come early if you’d rather eat before the appointment.” Trevor walked with her down the hall.

He fought to walk normally, but the grimace carefully hidden in his eyes, showed his pain level.

She clasped his arm. The jolt hit her again. It felt good.

He stopped.

Did he feel it too?

“Why don’t we sit down? I have a few minutes before I have to go back to work? That was a long session for someone in recovery.”

“I’m fine.” Trevor leaned on his cane. “I promise I’ll spend the next three hours resting it while I play computer games.” He winked at her.

Arianna laughed. “In your parent’s basement?”

“Ouch. No, I have my own apartment.” An amused look crossed his face. “Besides, my Dad held secret meetings in the basement with multiple people coming and going at all hours of the night. So who’d want to spend time there?”

“Right.” She rolled her eyes. “I bet. There’s skulls in the closet and a graveyard out back, right?”

“So you’ve been to my parent’s house.” Trevor grinned.

“Ha ha.”

The door opened across the hall and a woman stepped out. “Oh good, there you are. They’re going to need you in the ER in about twenty minutes. One of your patient’s was in a minor car accident, looks like premature delivery.” She smiled at Arianna and then turned to Trevor. Her eyes widened. She launched herself at him and pulled him into a tight hug. “Oh my God. When did you get home?”

What the hell?
Arianna took a step back and glanced between the two of them. “You two know each other?”

Marissa owned the OB office she worked for and was the head OB. How she knew Trevor was beyond her.

Marissa laughed. “This is my little brother. I haven’t seen him in what ten years?”

“Eleven. Blake was a freshman in college the last time I was home.” Trevor counted the years on his fingers.

“Not that we saw him a lot before he left for the military. He disappeared all the time.” Marissa shook her head. “I can’t believe it’s been that long. Dad always told the story about how he and Trevor picked up a box of oranges from the supermarket. They get home the whole family is there. Something was going on, I think one of the twins got in trouble. Anyway, Dad said he turned around to look for Trevor and the only thing left was the box of oranges. Dad joked that if the devil came for his soul, Trevor was clever and quick enough to distract him and leave him with just an orange in his wake.”

Arianna laughed. “That’s different.”

Trevor frowned. “I didn’t distract anyone. They didn’t notice I was gone half the time.”

“Speaking of Dad. He and Mom do know you’re home, right?”

“Mom picked me up at the airport and helped me get settled in. I’m assuming Dad was at work.”

“We’ll see you at Sunday brunch, won’t we?” Marissa gave him another hug.

Trevor shook his head. “I’m not ready.”

“Come on, it’s been eleven years since you’ve been home, don’t tell me you’re still angsty over what happened as a kid?” She rolled her eyes.

Trevor pursed his lips. “I won’t be there. Maybe a couple weeks from now.” He glanced over at Arianna before turning back to Marissa. “Can we catch up later? I’m trying to talk to Arianna.”

“Pushy, pushy.” Marissa shook her head. She leaned over to Arianna. “He’s always been a bit on the bossy side.” She squeezed his arm before heading back into the office.

Trevor sighed. “Don’t mind my family.”

Arianna crossed her arms. “For the record, I’ve met your mother. I doubt there’s any skeletons in the closets at their house.”

He chuckled. “You’d be surprised.”

Arianna’s cell phone rang. “E.R. I have to go.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon.”

“Yes, you will.” Arianna smiled as she walked away.

Today was a good day.

Chapter Two

March 20th

Arianna blew out a breath as she finished her final shoulder exercise.

“You seem a little tense.” Karan, her physical therapist rubbed her injured shoulder.

“I was supposed to have a lunch date, but I get the feeling he’s going to cancel.” Considering Trevor hadn’t shown up for therapy would be an even bigger hint, but she wasn’t going to tell Karan.

“Maybe you’ll find someone better in the lobby.” Karan grinned. “You’re all done for the day, I think we can take this down to once a week. You already know the routine.”

“Cool. I’ll see you next week then.” Arianna walked out of the room and past the receptionist. She’d call and schedule later. She wanted to head back to her office and sulk.

She opened the door to see Trevor leaning against the wall across from the office.

“Ready for lunch?”

“But you didn’t show up for your appointment. I thought you weren’t coming.” Arianna smiled.

Her heart fluttered.

“I didn’t have an appointment today. My only reason for being here is to have lunch with you.”

“Nice.”

*****

Trevor helped Arianna with her coat. His hands slid down her arms and she cocked her head a bit to smile at him. Shoulder length brown hair with a bit of a curl to it. He wanted to run his fingers through it. He waited until she had sat down and pushed her chair in, before moving to his own seat.

“I’ve never been here.” Arianna looked around the elegant bistro. “I love the chic chianti bottle candle holder and red checkered table clothes. They complement the tone. It feels like we just stepped into a garden restaurant in Italy.”

“I had to do a little recon to find the perfect place.” Trevor smiled. “My little brother Blake said it’s a good place.”

She laughed. “I take it then your family has been here for a while then.”

“Gram and Gramps moved here in the mid to late forties and the family has been here ever since.” He shifted in his seat. His family history was boring, he wanted to know more about her.

“Must have been nice. I moved around so much as a kid it was hard for me to call a place home.” Arianna glanced across the table at him. Her eyes held a sadness. “I thought I found a place once, but once the people were gone it wasn’t the same.”

“I hated being in one place as a child. My favorite childhood memories were of family vacations and camping trips. It was part of the reason I joined the army, I wanted to be away.”

“Sounds like we both suffered from the other side of the fence syndrome.” Arianna chuckled. “Did the army give you what you wanted? Was it everything you thought it would be?”

“In the beginning yeah. I was free. They paid for college, they paid for training, I got to spend time all over the world. We were in Afghanistan when I first went in. I missed a lot, because of training, but then we started in Iraq and I got thrown into the action.” He sighed.
Did the army give him what he wanted? Sure. It got him away from his family. Would he admit that to her? Probably not. At least not now.

Arianna leaned forward. “I was in college when Iraq hit. I hadn’t even finished my undergrad.”

“They let me finish my degree and then threw me to the fire.” He flipped open the menu. “When the army finds out you're good at something, they fast track you and exploit skills. I became a doctor with on the job training. I ended up with the actual credentials afterward, but med school was a breeze compared to my training before.”

She gasped and gave him an incredulous stare. “Wow, they threw you into medicine? How is it even possible?”

“They knew I had a proficiency in medicine when I first went in, so by the end of those first four years I had been trained as a nurse. We had two combat doctors at the camp we were at. One was killed, I ended up stepping in with the other doctor shouting across the room at me, telling me what to do.”

“I don’t think I could have dealt.” She leaned back in her chair and shook her head.

“I didn’t have a choice.” Trevor shrugged. “It was a do or die situation.”

“So we’re both doctors then.” Arianna smiled. “Are you going to open your practice or try and get in at the hospital.”

Trevor chuckled.
Wouldn’t this surprise the hell out of her?
“I start my conservation officer training as soon as the doctor’s release me.”

The waitress interrupted them. “What can I get for you today?”

Arianna glanced down at her menu. She looked over sheepishly at Trevor. “I haven’t even looked.”

“Me neither.”

“Do you want me to come back?” The waitress tapped her pen on her pad.

Trevor glanced at Arianna.

“You first, I’ll figure it out.” She grinned.

They ordered and the waitress headed away.

“Now, back to your last comment. You’d give up medicine that easily? Why?”

Trevor grinned. “I’ve spent my time doing what the army wanted me to do. Do I enjoy medicine? Somewhat, but it’s not what I wanted to do.”

“What made you want to go into the conservation field?”

“My grandfather owns a pub with his best friend. He was like another grandfather to us kids. His name is Brennan, but we call him Pops. He fostered my love for the outdoors.”

“Was he a conservation officer as well?”

“He was a geographer. He did a lot of mapping during World War II.”

“That sounds incredible. So what did he map?”

“He was injured in the early part of the war, that’s how he met my grandfather. Gramps saved him. They spent some time in recovery together and became friends. Brennan went back toward the end and then after the war to help out with the trails.” Trevor explained.

“I bet the stories he tells are incredible.”

“My favorite story.” Trevor smiled and leaned forward. Okay, so maybe all of his family history wasn’t boring. “He’d arrived in Germany a couple days before and had testified the day before about the path one of Hitler’s guards used as an escape route. Pops said he was walking down the street later that day and this red-headed goddess approaches him with this giant of man and a waif of a woman.”

“Red-headed goddess?” She rolled her eyes skyward.

Trevor laughed. “Pops’ wife was a red-head.” He leaned forward resting his arms against the table. “So she comes up to him and throws herself on his mercy. Asking if there’s any way he’d help her husband at his trial. Her husband was an S.S. Officer.”

“Really?” Arianna raised her eyebrows. “He didn’t help him, did he?”

Trevor grinned. He loved to tell this part of the story, because everyone he told it to, judged the officer immediately. It was fun to make people question their beliefs. “The husband was stationed in Norway and from what Pops said, this S.S. Officer, helped to get most of the Jews out of Norway. He worked with the resistance to keep the Nazi’s away from the Jewish people. They hid some in their own home and worked from there to do what he could to save them.”

Her hand went to her mouth. “That’s incredible.” She shook her head, he could see the gears turning. “Why don’t we hear more about people like that in our history classes?”

“Because he did it to protect his family. The red-headed Goddess, whose name escapes me, had family in the resistance. The officer went into the S.S. in order to save one of his family members.” Trevor nodded.

Arianna rested her arms on the table. “Did Pops keep in touch with them after the war? I’d be curious as to where they ended up.”

“From what I understand they ended up in Minnesota. We’ve all heard the stories, but none of us have ever met them.”

Arianna leaned back in her chair. “Why? I would think that they’d want to be a part of your family?”

Their eyes met and Trevor smiled. He shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

She cocked her head to the side. “How was Pops able to help the officer at the trial?”

Trevor nodded. “He tracked the goings of all the S.S. Officers in Norway, got a hold of some classified information from some Americans soldiers who ended up in Norway and worked with the resistance.”

“I’m amazed. To put your own life at risk in order to save not only your own family, but so many people. A true hero.”

The waitress brought their food.

Arianna opened her straw and spun it in her fingers before sticking it in her glass. “What an honor it would be to meet him or someone in his family.”

“It would be,” Trevor agreed. “I’ve always wanted to take some time off and go to Minnesota to find them. Pops said he’d point me in the right direction if I wanted too, but the opportunity has never come up.”

“Let’s go.” Arianna beamed and sat up straighter.

“What?” He quirked his brow.

“Let’s go. Grab a plane ticket, pick up and go track down this man’s family.”

“One date and you’re already running off to Minnesota with me?” He cocked his head to the side and leaned back in his chair. Everything in the military was planned. Yeah, in war there were surprises and situations that required quick action, but this kind of spontaneity was strange.

Arianna shrugged. “Things move quick sometimes.”

Trevor laughed.
Time to turn the tables on her
. “How’d you end up as an OB?”

She wiped her mouth on her napkin, staring off toward the window. “I saw too many kids getting pregnant as children and not having anywhere to go. I wanted to help them. Young mothers, people with financial issues – people that need help.”

“Sounds like a noble cause.” Trevor shifted his sore leg and brushed hers. Their gazes met and she gave him a smile, but didn’t move her leg.

“There’s more to it, but I’m not sure it’s first date worthy.”

“I’ll go the other way then. How did you end up in Bryton?”

“I was looking for a job and found the one your sister was offering. I interviewed and got the job. So here I am.” Arianna smiled.

“Just like that? Pick up and move from wherever you were before?” He couldn’t do that anymore. He was used to it in the military, but to pick up and move again, he was not prepared for that. Maybe after a couple years here.

She shrugged. “It was an easy decision. I had nothing keeping me in Omaha and I was ready for a change.”

“So a three state move on a whim?”
How often did these whims occur?

“Not a whim, a job opportunity.” She rolled her eyes. “A very well paying job. And I found a house to buy in my price range close enough to walk to work. It was a pretty easy decision.”

Trevor pursed his lips and looked down at his plate. “I guess it was a little presumptuous of me to say you moved on a whim.”

She reached across the table and touched his hand. “I tend to be spontaneous, when I can be. Weekends when I’m not on call I tend not to plan, but just go with the flow. But I know when to be responsible and am very thorough when it comes to major decisions.”

Trevor nodded. He mentally kicked himself.
What a heel. Sure she’s going to want to go on another date with you.
“Sorry.”

Arianna squeezed his hand. “You’re forgiven.” She sat up straight and grinned. “So when are we leaving for Minnesota?”

Trevor laughed. “I think your job may have a problem with you taking off without and advanced warning.”

“Of all the times to be logical.” Arianna chuckled and glanced at her watch. “Speaking of my job, if we don’t eat, I’m going to be late.”

They finished their food and headed back to the hospital.

“This has been nice.” Trevor leaned against the door of her truck. "It’s the first time since I was injured I haven’t felt the stress and strain of what life now means. I think it’s got to be thanks to you.”

Arianna mirrored his position in front of him. “I have to agree with that. Think we should do it again?”

Trevor smiled. “When?”

“Why don’t we play it by ear?” She winked. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to catch up with you, but I do want to meet up again.”

“Sounds fine with me. Text me, we’ll figure something out.” Trevor handed her a paper with his number on it. He wanted to kiss her.

“Feel free to do the same.” Arianna caressed his arm. “I’m fighting the urge to kiss you.”

Trevor stroked her shoulders and leaned forward.
Who was he to argue with that?
“Not me.” He pressed a quick kiss to her lips. They were soft underneath his. His eyes drifted closed.

She rested her hands against his chest and kissed him back.

He ran his hands down her arms when he broke the kiss. “That was nice.”

She touched her lips.

He winked at her as he took a step back. He already missed the heat of her body. “Until the next time.”

“Until then.”

He walked her to the door and held it open for her.

She turned and waved to him.

He did the same and then shoved his hands in his pockets.
What was wrong with him?
He barely knew the woman and yet he’d kissed her?