“Some of the missions can be over pretty quickly, while other times, they can go on for months. Our work sends us into countries we’re not allowed to mention, and we perform missions that, as far as the rest of the world is concerned, never happened.”
“Is that why you don’t have a military haircut? Because you were undercover?”
Nodding, he ran a hand through his hair. “Yup. But I can’t tell you anything about it. The key to the SEALs’ ongoing success is the silence of its members, and it’s what makes our teammates so close. We can’t discuss our operations with any civilians or members of the military outside of ourown teams. We use each other as our personal psychologists for any subjects related to our missions, rather than our families, wives, or girlfriends. Unfortunately, some women have problems with that, so a lot of our guys are single.”
“Do you have one?”
His brow furrowed in confusion. “One what?”
“You’re obviously not married, but do you have a girlfriend?”
She gave herself a mental smack. She wasn’t interested in him... was she? Well, it wouldn’t make any difference if she were or not—he would be gone in four weeks, and she would probably be leaving even sooner. Getting attached was not an option.
“No,” he answered easily. “I’m single and have been for quite a while.”
Moriah nodded, then steered the conversation back to safer ground. “You sound like you love what you do.”
A small smile spread across his face. “I do, but as I said, I think it might be my time to move on.”
“What will you do if you leave the Navy?”
After taking another sip of wine, he shook his head. “Well, I wouldn’t exactly be leaving the Navy, just my team. I’ve been offered an instructorposition at the base in Little Creek. I’d be training the younger guys.”
Her eyes widened. “Wow, that’s great. I think you would be a fantastic instructor.”
“You do? Why?”
Pointing to herself, she giggled. “Well, look how well you taught me to shoot today. I couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn, as they say, before I met you.”
He grinned. “That was easy. I told you, you’re a natural.”
“That may be, but I still think you’re a great instructor.” Tilting her chin up, she all but dared him to argue with her further. “You should go for it.”
His gaze fell to his wine glass, and he let out a little chuckle. “Thanks. Maybe I will.”
“Good. Now that I’ve given my unsolicited opinion about your career change, let me clean this up.”
When she stood, KC did the same. “I’ll help.”
“No, I have it.” She waved him back to his seat. “You cooked. Besides, it won’t take long since we only used the two place settings and no pots or pans. I’ll put on some coffee.”
Carrying the plates and utensils into the house, she tried to push aside the feelings of domesticity. This had been the best evening she’d ever spentwith a man, but dinner and conversation were as far as it could go between them. Even if she wasn’t on the run, she doubted KC would be interested in her. She was eight years his junior and had come from nothing. He, on the other hand, had a career and plans for the future. Her only goal was to be still alive to wake up every morning—not exactly something to attract a man with.
Chapter Eight
KC settledback into his chair as Maura cleared the table. After she carried the plates inside, he stared out over the ocean, thinking about how unexpectedly pleasant the meal had been. It had been a long time since he’d simply enjoyed talking to a woman. Aside from the attraction, there was an ease between them he hadn’t expected—something that would make the next four weeks a lot more enjoyable… as long as he kept things in check.
She was coming off an abusive relationship and didn’t strike him as the type to jump into something casual. Which meant she was off-limits.
Or was she?
They had four weeks. Time to get to know each other. Maybe this didn’t have to be a temporaryarrangement. Maybe something more could come out of it.
Or maybe he was getting ahead of himself.
The temperature dropped as the sun dipped lower, a cool breeze rolling in off the water, but he wasn’t ready for the evening to end. He pushed to his feet and headed down to the patio, where a seating area surrounded a black metal fire pit. A fire, a cup of coffee, and a little more conversation sounded like the perfect way to finish the night.
Crouching, he reached for a few logs stacked beneath the house, kept dry and ready. Above, the door opened, and footsteps landed softly on the deck.
