Page 61 of Keeping a Warrior

He gave an indifferent shrug. “Why would I have seen him? He wants me to leave him alone.”

Oh, honey. What he wants is you, so badly it hurts, but he doesn’t know what to do about it or how to fix it.

“He’s a dick,” she agreed. “But—”

“But nothing.” Shane’s voice was hard. “I’m done, all right? When you see him, you can tell him that.” He crossed his arms over his chest, a remoteness in his eyes that made Devon ache for Matt.

The guys still refused to be of help, blithely assuring her that Soup was fine and he’d be along any minute.

“He knows where he needs to be and what time he needs to be there,” Smudge mumbled around a mouthful of cookies. “Relax, Mom.”

Gritting her teeth in annoyance, and wanting to see for herself, Devon hurried from the team room and back toward the training tank. As she rounded the corner of the building, she almost bumped into Matt, his soaking-wet clothes now clinging to him like a second skin.

“Hey,” she exclaimed in relief. “Just coming to look for you.”

Matt glanced over her shoulder as if looking for someone. “How mad is Shane?”

Devon saw no need to sugarcoat it. “Pretty mad.”

“I know. I majorly fucked up. Again.” He paused, biting his lip. “Do you have any idea if he’s planning to come to the goodbye party tonight? Maybe I can try to talk to him there.”

A bunch of the guys, along with their wives and girlfriends, were planning to meet at a local team bar that night to toast the platoon off on deployment in style.

She put her hand on Matt’s biceps and squeezed. “I haven’t heard him say anything, I’m sorry. But we really do need to get going. The CO will be here any minute.”

As Devon started to move away, Matt burst out, his voice hoarse, “Thanks. For coming to find me. For being such a good friend.”

There were tears shimmering in his dark eyes, and with a small exclamation, Devon moved into his arms. He clutched her tightly, his entire body shuddering with cold and emotion. “What am I gonna do?” he choked out. “I’m gonna lose him, Devon. Aren’t I?”

She gripped his shoulders.

“You need to talk to him,” she said firmly. “None of this alpha-male posturing bullshit I keep seeing from you. Get humble. Get real with him. Tell him you love him and that you know you fucked up.”

“And then what?” Matt asked thickly. “Then what?”

“Then it’s up to him. But at least you’ll know you did all you could. Okay?”

Back in the team room, Matt was greeted with middle fingers and hoots, but most everyone came up to scrub their knuckles over his wet hair and clap him on the back. The only exception was Shane, who sat stone-faced in the corner.

The CO arrived with little fanfare, and for the next two hours, they sat through a death-by-PowerPoint presentation that went over the mission parameters and a refreshment of the Rules of Engagement.

Devon perked up at the sight of the outpost they’d be working from, which was set in the heart of a Pashtun village.

“The SEALs have a lot of history with this village,” the CO said quietly. “Not all of it good. I trust this deployment will be different.” He turned to Devon. “Ms. Lowe, so happy to have you on board. Your language and cultural skills will be more helpful than you know.”

Devon flushed with pleasure.

At the end of the meeting, they all dispersed to get ready for the party. Devon showered and slipped into her favorite dress, a simple eggplant-colored sheath. The dark purple brought out the cool undertones of her pale skin and complemented her glossy brown hair. Wearing it always gave her a boost of confidence, and tonight she’d really need one.

She applied her makeup with an understated hand, just a hint of mascara, some lip liner and a blush matte lipstick.

As she was pulling on a pair of strappy black heels, a quiet knock sounded at her door. She opened it, surprised to see Rhys standing there.

“Hi,” he said huskily, his green eyes warm with admiration. “You look beautiful.”

So did he. He wore a pair of black slacks and a sea-green polo shirt, the color of which made his eyes glow like jewels. With his short red hair and the slightest of five o’clock shadows on his sculpted jaw, he was all kinds of sexy.

Devon’s knees went a little weak as she tried not to think about seeing him naked.