Page 59 of Mountain Target

She bundled herself up in her winter coat, going so far as to put on her scarf, hat, and gloves, even though she knew they’d almost be indoors again by the time she was done.

He looked at her strangely. “We’re going across the street?”

She took in his clothing. He was still wearing his navy blue PGHM uniform, which made sense. He obviously hadn’t taken the time to go home and get changed. Those technical pants and blue shirt did great things for his hard, athletic body, and she was finding it particularly hard not to stare now that she knew what lay underneath.

“You’re not cold?”

“I’m not cold.”

She pointed towards a bright green door, hoping she hadn’t oversold the quality of the coffee. It wasn’t the best coffee in the world, but it was better than anything that could be found at the hospital.

Beau reached over with his long arm and opened the door for her.

She ordered a latte, and he matched her order, and together they went to sit by the window while their coffees were being prepared.

“You like lattes?”

Beau arched an eyebrow. “Why does that surprise you?”

“I would have pegged you more for a black coffee kind of guy.”

“Really?” he drawled. “Isn’t that a bit of a stereotype?”

Val shrugged. “Perhaps.”

“I could drink black coffee,” he said carefully, “if that would impress you.”

Val couldn’t help herself. “You know what would impress me? A man who picked up the phone and called me, after we slept together.”

Beau’s expression turned pained. “Hell. I’m sorry, Valentina. Listen, I can explain—“

She sighed.

“No. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I know I was the one who left your place, and I know we didn’t make any promises to each other. It’s not like we—“

She stopped when the barista brought over their coffees.

“Merci, Leia.”

As soon as they were alone again, Beau cleared his throat.

“Let me explain, Valentina, please. The day after we slept together was a long day at work. After the earthquake and … everything …”

“You don’t have to explain, Beau. I already told you I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No. You were right. What I’m trying to say is, it was a long day at work, and when I got back, I wanted nothing more than to knock on your door and …”

“Have another go?”

“No. Yes. Maybe.” He shook his head. “I wanted to take you to bed again, to hear you scream my name as you came, but I also wanted to know how Ren was doing, and I wanted to have dinner together, and I wanted all kinds of things that …” He paused, gritting his teeth. “I wanted so much, it made me realize I shouldn’t call you.”

What?

“Now you’ve lost me.” A sudden horrifying thought struck her. “Are you married?”

“No! God, no.” Beau took a sip of his coffee, grimacing as if he hadn’t put a whole packet of sugar inside. “My life is … it’s designed for one. And I’ve come to care about you and Ren too much to …”

She blew softly into her coffee. “Ah. I never took you for a coward.”