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When dressed in his usual jeans and T-shirt or uniform, John exuded a rugged sexiness. Tonight, he wore dress slacks and a crisp, white button down that accentuated his muscular build in a way that nearly made her sigh aloud.
He carried in two plastic grocery bags. “You said seven o’clock. And it’s six fifty-seven. That’s late, according to Army time.”
“I guess you’re right.” She was used to Wren and others showing up fashionably late. “You look very nice.”
“Wren said it was business attire. I figured that didn’t mean my business attire of camouflage and weapons, though. I was afraid she was punking me, but based on the way you look, I’m underdressed. I can go put on a tie.”
She laughed at his pained expression when he said tie and hoped she didn’t blush noticeably at the way his gaze roved over her. “You’re fine.” It’d be a shame to button up and cover the swath of tanned chest currently showing. “The dinner is an opportunity to get made up and feel like it’s a special occasion. I should have mentioned that, though it doesn’t really apply to you.”
“I don’t mind following orders. I need to put the ice cream in the freezer. Can I do anything to help?”
“I usually have the first timer set the table. Everything is already out.”
He followed her to the kitchen. She put away the ice cream while he unloaded the other bag. “Those brownies smell delicious.” She inhaled the chocolatey aroma.
“They’re still warm if you want to sneak one.” He pulled jars of chocolate and caramel syrup and a can of whipped cream from the bag, then went to the dining room. “Whoa, fancy.” He picked up the placemats and set one in front of each chair.
“These dinners are a way of showing the women they’re worthy of breaking out the good stuff.”
“I see.” He opened the silver chest and took out four place settings. “Was this your wedding china and silver?”
“Uh, no. I got married by a Justice of the Peace. No wedding or registry or gifts.” No fancy white dress. No guests to witness the biggest mistake of her life.
“Sorry. Thought the monogrammed C on the silver was for your last name.”
“Carroll was not my married name, which I changed after the divorce.”
“Back to your maiden name?”
“Actually, I didn’t want to be associated with that part of my past either. So, I picked a name.” New name. New Elizabeth.
“You can do that?”
“You can.” Her parents had been shocked, and her dad had acted all offended, but it was his doing.
“Why’d you pick Carroll?”
What were the chances Wren or Ariana would show up right now to save her from having to answer? No rescuing knock or entry.
“It’s complicated, but there was a woman who helped me come up with a plan to help me leave my husband. Her name was Loula Carroll.”
“You couldn’t just leave?”
“It wasn’t that easy. Like a lot of the women here, I was in a bad situation with no resources and nowhere to go.”
“I understand why you didn’t want to go to your parents, but what about alimony or a settlement?”
“Adam took a big financial hit when he divorced his first wife, so he had me sign a prenup. I had no job, no income, and no access to savings or credit cards. When I first left home, I had run up credit card debt and got behind on payments. He used that as an excuse not to add me to his credit cards—or his bank accounts.”
“That’s nuts. You were his wife. How did he expect you to pay for things like clothes and groceries?” John clearly recognized that wasn’t how things should be in a marriage.
“If I needed things, he’d take me shopping.” And buy her the clothes he wanted her to wear. “He gave me cash to buy groceries or go to lunch, but I had to give him the receipts. He said it was to enter the amounts for our budget, but he’d question expenses.”
“Was he a control freak?”
“It was about keepingmeunder his control. He didn’t want me taking college classes or working. Said he was going to take care of me.” She had wanted to get an education, though she’d hoped to stay home once they had children.
“Was he older than you?”
