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“Thanks, Dad.”
Her heart picked up its beat. Her dad wasn’t the type to compliment and definitely not the type to talk about feelings. Ever. This conversation had to be taxing for him.
“Can you be with this man you love and still protect and serve?” her dad asked.
“Maybe. I don’t know if he even wants that. Or wants me.”
“He’d be a fool if he doesn’t want you.”
Myra smiled. Two compliments in one conversation.
“I’ve got to go,” her dad said brusquely. “Pray about it. Chat soon.”
The line went dead.
Myra slid the phone into her pocket and stared past the glowing pool to the dark ocean. Pray about it. She really should. But what did it matter if Ike wasn’t willing to try a relationship between them?
Maybe she’d had this time with Ike to open her eyes to dating and giving a future relationship a chance? That thought made her stomach sour. She didn’t want to try a relationship with anyone but Ike. And he seemed to have more barriers to letting down his guard and making a relationship happen than she did.
Of course he did. His mom and his fiancée had both been murdered. He’d decided not to pursue a relationship again. She was the one being a fool. It was a moot point if her dad wanted her to be happy because she wanted Ike. And he didn’t want her.
She said a prayer to be strong, to focus on the job, to not make things uncomfortable with Ike, and to be inspired how to proceed when she was so twisted up and gone over him.
Turning, she also prayed that tonight she could put on a smile, play some more card games, and then get some rest. Beau was a great buffer between them, but it was torture to be around Ike and realize she couldn’t have him.
The patio door flung open, and Ike strode through it. Was something wrong? His gaze zeroed in on her and the yearning in his blue eyes shot sparks through her body.
She couldn’t move, could hardly catch a breath as he slammed the door and stormed up to her. A powerful man on a mission.
Visions of him lifting her off her feet and claiming her mouth with his seemed destined to come true. What had flipped this switch, or was she only projecting her own hopes once again? The conversation with her dad had actually encouraged her.
Ike stopped a hand’s width away from her, his chest rising and falling quickly. “Myra.” He said her name almost reverently.
“Ike.” She licked her lips and eased a few inches closer. Tilting her head back to look up at him, she swooned from the depth of longing in his gaze.
“I don’t know how to make us work,” he admitted.
Myra blinked in surprise. “I don’t either.” She studied his handsome face, the strong jawline that she loved, those blue, blue eyes. Then she did the bravest thing she’d ever done, braver than fighting mafia leaders or drug lords.
“But I find myself wanting to try,” she rushed out before she wimped out. “More than wanting. It’s all I can think about.”
Ike cupped her cheeks with his palms. Her heart took off at a gallop as his touch seared through her.
“I want to try too, but I’m scared.”
“Ike Porter, scared?” she tried to tease, but the words were breathless and all she could focus on was his hands on her face, the deep look in his eyes. This was happening. Her and Ike. She wanted to be close to him more than she wanted to be the Warrior Woman. Truthfully, that scared her too. She understood what he meant, but there was nothing scary about his touch or the longing in his eyes.
“What if I lose you? What if I die? What if I mess up an op because I’m too focused on you? What if I make you cry because I’m a closed-off guy who knows nothing about healthy relationships, love, or how to make either work?”
Myra wrapped her hands around his neck, threading one hand up into his scalp and gently massaging it.
Ike let out a soft moan and then said softly, “I don’t think that’s an answer to my question.”
Myra smiled. “Ike. We’re both a mess and have no clue how to navigate emotions or romance, but I like you. I want to be with you. I want to give something between us a chance. Can we just accept that it’s going to be sticky and take a lot of work and patience? I think being with you is worth it. Are you willing to try to work through this together?”
He swallowed and then arched an eyebrow at her. She loved it when he did that. “You realize you can’t answer a question with another question.”
She laughed at that.
