“War zones were more predictable than this,” I muttered under my breath.
“Military?” she asked.
“Army,” I told her. “You?”
“I haven’t done anything nearly as honorable as that,” she replied with a breathy laugh.Well, fuck. There was a part of me that liked her already. Just the sound of her voice and the gentle touch of her fingers had my heart racing in my chest with anticipation. She continued, “I’m May.”
May.
The name rolled around my head as I bit my lower lip.
May. May. May.
Simple and sweet.
Her nails tapped playfully along my palm.
“This is the part where you tell me your name, Captain,” May said.
“Sergeant,” I corrected without thinking. The impressed little sound she let out made me blush. This whole interaction was oddly intimate. Heat blossomed in my stomach, mingling with the unfamiliar butterflies gathering there. “Sariah… my name is Sariah.”
“I like that—”
“Okay!”Sadie exclaimed before May could finish her sentence. I started to turn my head in her direction, but she waved quickly. “No, no! Don’t look at me! Close your eyes for me. Both of you.”
The order curled through my chest uncomfortably, but I did what she asked. The onslaught of darkness set me on edge.
“Here’s what we’re going to do: on the count of three, I want both of you to turn and look at each other for the first time. Think… bridal first looks.”
“I’ve watched so many of these reels online. They’re some of my favorites!” May admitted. Her body shimmied against mine, her excitement palpable. I struggled to get to that place with her.
“Okay,” I let out breathlessly, nodding too much.
“All right, here we go!” Sadie said. “One!”
I could do this.
“Two…”
I sucked in a sharp breath.
“It’ll be okay, Sariah,” May whispered so softly that I almost missed it.
Her pinky hooked through mine.
The kind of simple, grounding reassurance that my entire body responded to. The wave of calm from her words was devastating.
Three hadn’t even come yet, and already, she’d ruined me.
CHAPTER 04
Holy fuck, she was gorgeous. Not pretty. Not cute. Not attractive.
No, she wasstop-every-function-in-my-bodygorgeous.
My entire world narrowed down to the space between us. The light breeze faded, and the sound of Sadie photographing us disappeared. Every anxious buzz that had weaseled its way under my skin vanished, falling silent.
All I could do was stare.
