The Officer and the Secret (2 page)

“Hey, yeah. My Skype buddy.” His smile grew. “How are you, Miss Veronica?”

She started to speak, then squeaked when he bent down and pulled her into a hug. Her hands, instinctively coming up to put a barrier between them, were squished between his chest and her shoulders. But Dwayne didn’t seem to notice, only squeezed a little tighter before letting go. And when he let go, she dropped to the floor, the impact jarring her teeth a bit. The man was much taller than expected. Well over six feet.

Veronica quickly stepped back, more out of habit than anything. “Welcome home.”

Welcome
home? The man has been starring in your dreams for months and the best you can do is say welcome home?

If Dwayne noticed the weak greeting, he didn’t mention it. “Glad we’re finally meeting, sweetheart. I think Skye’s right. With us crossing paths so often on accident, I talked to you more than these two idiots.” He nudged Tim with his elbow and got a none-too-gentle nudge in return.

She nodded, trying to unstick her tongue from the roof of her mouth. But along with all the saliva in her mouth, it appeared as though all her brain cells had dried up as well, because all she could do was keep nodding like the bobblehead on Skye’s dashboard.

Dwayne hefted up his olive green duffle bag and tilted his chin at the stairs. “All I have is PT gear, but it’s better than nothing. Mind if I change? Can’t exactly rock the welcome home party in cammies all day.”

Tim thumped him on the back again. “Yeah, sure. Mad ran to your place the other day and grabbed a few changes of clothes. They’re in the office.”

“You guys thought of everything.” Though he said the statement lightly, his eyes were dark and darted around the room as if on watch for something. “I’ll be back down in a few.”

He disappeared upstairs, his footsteps from those huge boots still echoing clearly as he made his way to what used to be Veronica’s room and shut the door.

“Damn, it’s good to have him home.” Tim grinned and reached over to pull Skye to him. Nuzzling against her temple, he placed a soft kiss there. “Thanks for throwing the party.”

Veronica fought back against the overwhelming sense of longing at watching her cousin and her husband interact. Their marriage—though unconventional from the start, according to stories she’d pieced together from Skye and Madison—was a rock now, and enviable from her point of view.

This
is
why
you
made
the
Big
Change. So you could find something similar. Now stop feeling sorry for yourself and go help.

Madison glanced at the stairs. “Did we plan this all wrong? He didn’t seem quite as excited to see everyone here as I thought he would be.”

“Nah.” Jeremy mirrored Tim’s gesture with his wife and pulled Madison tightly against his side. “Dwayne loves a party.” But as Jeremy tipped a bottle of beer up to his lips, Veronica couldn’t help but notice his eyes darted toward the stairs too, just for a moment, as if thinking quite the opposite.

Moments later, Dwayne thundered back down the stairs to cheers from the partygoers. He smiled and waved like a goofy king, bowing at the foot of the steps. “Thank you, thank you.”

Some of the worry smoothed away from Jeremy’s eyes as he called Dwayne back over and handed him a bottle of beer. “You have got to be the biggest ham I’ve ever known.”

“Hardly. You’ve known Madison for almost as long.” He smiled when Madison leaned over to punch him in the gut. But her hand merely made a sharp smack against the man’s stomach, like it had come up against a wall.

Veronica wondered what a stomach like that would look like. Then immediately flushed when she realized that was an awful thing to think. And when her eyes met Dwayne’s, he winked at her as if he knew what she was thinking.

Time for a fast escape. Her specialty. “Anyone want anything from the kitchen?” She took a step back, then another, bumping into a Marine as she put some distance between the potent man and his cocky swagger that seemed to drain all her common sense.

Dwayne held up his beer that he’d yet to open. “Actually, I wouldn’t mind a bottle of water, if you’re heading that direction already. Want to make sure I hydrate after all the travel.”

“Of course. No problem. We’ve got someone out back manning the grill as well. Did you want anything?”

He leaned forward again, like he was about to share a secret. “Steak. Rare as he’ll go.” His lip tilted up a little at the edges and he leaned over. The sheer mass of his shoulders made her feel crowded in, though she had an open room at her back. His voice dropped down a little as he added, “If it’s still mooing when you bring it out, now that’s just perfect.”

She couldn’t help the little shiver that raced down her spine. Men in general were a struggle for her to interact with, but she’d made such great headway in the last few months. Now with one hot look, she seemed back to square one. Her tongue seemed to swell, rendering her speechless, so she just nodded and walked away as fast as she could.

But as she wound her way through the cheerful party attendants, she heard Jeremy’s voice drift behind her.

“Damn, D. Did you have to scare the hell out of her with your Southern badass routine?”

Damn, she was something to see. They’d met accidentally—and then not-so-accidentally—over Skype several times while he was deployed. First when she’d lived with Skye and Tim, and then after she’d moved into Madison’s guest room. But it’d been a couple of months since he’d last spoken to her, on accident or not. Long enough for him to convince himself he’d all but created a mirage to get him through the rough months. A sort of mental cheerleader.

Definitely long enough to convince himself she wasn’t nearly as hot as he’d remembered.

He was wrong. Dwayne took a small sip of the beer in his hand, not wanting the taste but more something to wet his mouth while he watched her butt wiggle through the guests. Try as she might to cover it up in an ugly, baggy, shapeless khaki-colored skirt that fell below her knees, Veronica Gibson had one fine ass. And Dwayne considered himself something of an expert on the subject.

But she wasn’t an easy read. Veronica had the understated look that plenty of men wouldn’t even notice. They’d pass her over for a more obvious female model. One with huge tits or painted-on clothes. Fussy hair. Stilts for heels. A walking advertisement for pleasure. But this little mouse was almost more attractive for the way she didn’t even try. Her clothes weren’t huge, but they were more baggy than fitted. She kept her head down more than up. And as she turned to head back toward the kitchen, he could see her blond hair was pulled into a braid that was nearly as thick as his wrist and went down her back. All the way down her back. Lord, she had some long hair, the tail of which ended just above her aforementioned superb ass.

“Damn, D, did you have to scare the hell out of her with your Southern badass routine?”

He gave Jeremy an offended look. “I didn’t know I had a routine. I’m as genuine as they come.”

Madison snorted, then coughed as her water went down the wrong way. He gave her a slap on the back, a little harder than necessary. She could take it.

“Stop. Please. You’re gonna make me lose a lung,” she said, laughing. “No routine, my ass. Please. You see a female and suddenly your accent gets all extra-syrupy sweet and you break out the southern-fried Mississippi charm to whack them over the head with. You know it works. I’ve watched it.”

“Ease off, squirt. If women fall for it, then that’s their problem.” Tim took a sip of beer.

Skye bit her lip. “Um, maybe you could just… not do the routine with Veronica?”

Four heads turned her way.

“You don’t think she’s in the market for a Marine?” Jeremy asked.

“I don’t think she’s in the market, period,” Skye corrected.

Huh. Now that was a new one. Curious. “Are you warning me off from your cousin, sweetheart?”

Skye’s eyes grew huge and she shook her head. “That’s not what I meant. Just that I don’t think she’s, well, prepared for your level of… awesomeness?”

“Nice save,” Tim stage-whispered.

Dwayne shook his head. “I’m not exactly out for tail myself at the moment. Rest easy. Your cousin’s virtue is safe with me.”

“You mean
from
you.” Jeremy laughed into his beer.

“Same thing.”

“Hey there, Skye. I just saw you and wanted to say thanks for inviting the restaurant crowd too. We’re… oh. I’m sorry.” A woman he didn’t recognize, this one of the “walking advertisement” variety of female, stopped short and acted like she was shocked. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.” She spoke to Skye but batted her eyelashes—those fake things that looked like spider legs—directly his way.

Madison snorted in disbelief, covering it by turning her face into Jeremy’s shoulder. Dwayne shared her sentiment.

“I should go.” But the woman didn’t leave. Just stood there, with one hand over her chest. A large one, stuffed into a shirt a size too small so the buttons gapped in the front. She likely earned every penny of those boobs back in tips, if she worked at Fletchers as a waitress or bartender.

“No, that’s okay.” Skye’s tone was formal, a little detached, and completely unlike her natural warmth. Which signaled to Dwayne she definitely wasn’t this coworker’s biggest fan. “Stephanie, this is my husband Tim, his sister Madison. And these are two of our friends, Jeremy and Dwayne.”

She held out a limp hand to Jeremy, who shook it and let go with lightning-quick reflexes. She then held it out for Dwayne.

“Nice to meet you.” He shook her hand, careful not to squeeze or show encouragement of any type. Unfortunately, just the fact that he was breathing seemed encouragement enough for her. In earlier years, that might have been enough for him too. Now he knew better.

“It’s wonderful to meet you too.” She leaned in, leading with her breasts. “So you’re the soldier who’s just back from the front? Is that right?”

“Marine,” Skye interjected quickly. “They’re Marines.”

Dwayne smiled at Skye’s quick correction. How things had changed since he left. To Stephanie the Obvious, he said, “Yes, ma’am.” Damn Southern upbringing. There were times when attracting flies with the natural honey had its drawbacks. “Grateful to be home.”

She sighed a little, with all the finesse of a seventh grade drama production, and he wanted to stuff a napkin in her mouth and send her on her way. “I think it’s just so brave what you boys do out there.”

“Not to mention us ladies, right?” Madison asked dryly, then grunted and rubbed her ribs. Jeremy likely elbowed her.

“Madison here is actually in the Navy herself. A nurse.”

“That’s nice.” Her tone said
I
don’t give a shit.
Stephanie’s eyes never left his. “I’m sure you’re very happy to be home. Must have been so lonely out there by yourself.”

Yup. Lonely. Nothing like sleeping in a tent with forty other dudes every night, or stuffed in an airless MRAP with six other guys like it was a clown car to create that lonesome effect. He said nothing.

“If you ever want to—”

“Stephanie.” Skye’s voice was sharp, uncharacteristically forced. “Weren’t you scheduled for the night shift this evening? I’d hate for our party to make you late.”

At that, Stephanie could say nothing. Skye was a manager at the restaurant. Off duty, of course. But still her boss. “Oh. Right. Well, it was nice to meet you. Welcome home.” Her eyes held his a little longer than comfortable, then she turned and shuffled by them to the front door.

“Thanks,” Dwayne said to her back. He breathed a sigh of relief. Despite the undeniable hotness, he could already tell Stephanie would have been way more trouble than a one-nighter would be worth.

Madison laughed. “Come on, Dwayne.” She batted her eyes in a mock flirt and made her voice low and husky. “She was practically in your lap.”

Skye shook her head in disgust. “I know we’re off duty and all that, but… that was definitely not how I want my staff behaving. I’ll have to talk to her about it.”

Veronica appeared, as silent as any stealth recon team, with a bottle of water and a tray, likely borrowed from the restaurant, laden with plates of food.

“You didn’t have to do that. I didn’t realize it was already done; I’d have gone to get it.” Dwayne reached for the tray—which looked way too heavy for someone with such skinny arms—but she stepped out of reach with the grace of a dancer.

“No problem; the food all happened to be ready while I was out there. It’s my job.” When he raised a brow, she blushed. “I mean, I’m not at work or anything, just that I can handle it. It’s fine, really,” she insisted when he tried once more to grab the tray. Instead, she settled it down on the edge of an end table and began the fascinating process of serving them their food.

“Vegetarian plate for Skye,” she muttered, almost to herself as she passed a thick paper plate to her cousin.

“Tofu burger for Tim,” she said again in the low voice, passing off another plate before handing over Madison’s pulled pork.

“Tofu?” Tim’s voice sounded strangled. Veronica looked over at him, eyes wide.

“You wanted the tofu burger, right?” But she couldn’t keep up the deadpan look and cracked a smile. Skye laughed and Madison snickered.

Tim eyed the burger warily and poked it with his potato salad fork. “It used to be alive, right?”

Veronica nodded and went on to hand Jeremy his plate.

Dwayne didn’t want to, but he couldn’t help noticing that her shirt was buttoned to her throat. Not a hint of cleavage. She was locked up tighter than a nun in her outfit.

Stupidly enough, it was more intriguing than anything Stephanie the Obvious wore. Or didn’t wear. Two blondes, but only one made him look twice.

As Veronica bent an arm around his shoulder to grab his beer bottle and trade him for the plate with his steak on it, he tilted his head. At the angle she was twisted, their faces were inches apart. She froze, a lock of blond hair dipping over her eyes. Gorgeous, intelligent gray eyes, fringed with light lashes and carrying no makeup. Eyes that looked about as frightened as a deer caught in his crosshairs.

He tried to think of something witty to say, something charming to put her at ease. But he couldn’t do anything but stare at her, feel their breath mingling between them. If he leaned in just a little, his lips would be able to—

“Moo.”

Veronica jerked up straight at the sound. Dwayne looked to his left to see an amused Madison. She shrugged innocently.

“You said you wanted your steak to talk. Looks pretty rare to me. Compliments to the chef.”

Dwayne gave her the stink eye, but she merely smiled and scooped up a bite of pork. He looked back up, but Veronica was already gathering the serving platter to take back.

“Is everything okay?” she asked the table at large, deliberately not looking at him.

“Everything looks great. Thanks. And make sure you sit down and eat. You’re not on the clock.” Skye gave her an encouraging smile and Veronica left without another word.

Everyone else dug into their lunch, something that told him they’d been waiting for him to get there before eating. His stomach was still a little raw from the travel, but he wasn’t about to let a damn good steak go to waste. Settling down on the couch, using the coffee table as leverage, he went to town. And though the food was good, his mind kept drifting to another tasty morsel. One with a long blond braid and skittish nerves.

That was odd. Okay, no, he wasn’t on the lookout for a woman. Right now, his best chance for keeping his sanity would be to focus on reintegrating to a non–war zone. To normal life. To not jerking the wheel every time there was a piece of an old tire on the road or a sharp sound that might resemble the crack of a rifle.

But damn if he couldn’t stop himself from getting one more good look at Veronica’s backside as she disappeared around the wall that separated the dining room from the kitchen. His mind floated back to their Skype conversations, when she’d made him laugh when he needed it most. When she’d unintentionally given him a piece of home he craved desperately. When she’d lulled him to sleep by just being a voice at the other end of the Internet connection. Taking time out of her day to talk to a complete stranger halfway around the world.

“Ow!” A sharp kick to his shin got his attention quickly.

Tim was staring at him, his best
don’t fuck around
face plastered on. “What are you doing?”

He shrugged. “Nothing.” Truth there. Looking was, in all technicality, not doing. And besides, he wasn’t obligated to explain his every thought to his buddy.

Tim shook his head but didn’t say anything.

He was right, though. As sweet as Miss Veronica Gibson seemed, she wasn’t for him. Nobody was right now. He wasn’t in the right mindset for anything other than getting life back on track and doing his job.

***

Veronica tossed her keys in the little bowl on the entry table and kicked the door shut behind her. A door. A real door in a real apartment that she paid rent on without her parents breathing down her neck. Not a hut, or a tent, or some makeshift hovel. The comforts of Middle America were truly a blessing.

“Hey, you’re home.” Madison walked into the living room holding a bowl and a bag of chips. “Salsa time?”

“Yes, please. But let me change first.” She scurried off to her room and peeled her wet clothes off before slipping into flannel pajamas and hustling back to the living room.

They plopped on the couch and propped their feet up. She reached in and grabbed a few chips. Junk food. Another luxury she would never take for granted.

“Work sucked, huh?”

Sucked… The word sounded absolutely dirty, but she knew it wasn’t. “Right. Yes. Work sucked.” Especially after Stephanie took out her frustration on a ditched table by spilling a tray of drinks on Veronica. The only bright side had been it happened at the end of her shift. Somehow, everyone thought she was the perfect scapegoat.

Likely because she never said a word about it.

“You know, eventually you’ll have to tell me what your first language is.” Madison picked up a magazine from the side table and started flipping through it mindlessly, still eating.

“What?” Nobody had mentioned her speech before. Was it really all that different?

Madison glanced up. “The way you talk is so formal. Either you were raised by nuns—”

Veronica nearly choked on a chip. Too close for comfort.

“—or your first language isn’t English.”

Veronica bit her lip, not sure of how much to explain. Only Skye knew the full background. Everyone else had, until now, accepted the simple explanation of being Skye’s cousin from Texas and not having a story worth mentioning.

Slowly, with care, she answered as best she could. “My first language is English. I think it’s just that I don’t talk as much.” She made sure to use a contraction that time.

Madison shook her head. “I wouldn’t say that. You’re just shy; nothing wrong with that. We can’t all be social butterflies like Skye. Or amazing conversationalists like me.”

Veronica smiled at that. Her cousin was so easy to talk with, such a good listener. It was hard not to confide in her. And Madison was, well…

Madison. God bless her.

“I just had a very isolating childhood. Some social slang is still new to me.” There. That was the truth. Just not the whole of it. But even sharing that tiny scrap of information had her nerves buzzing, waiting for the judgment.