Page 49 of Building Courage

“Tucker, these are my neighbors and friends, Jessica and Oliver.”

Tucker nodded to Jess, whose hands were full. “Jessica. You’re Brynn’s assistant.”

“Yes.”

“It’s good to meet you.” He extended his hand to Oliver. “Tucker Giles.”

“Nice to meet you,” Oliver replied as they shook.

“Brynn cooked,” Jess announced. “There’s another casserole on the stove.”

Tucker cocked a brow at Brynn.

“It was supposed to be for tomorrow night’s dinner, but since you’re here now, we can eat if you’re hungry.”

He grinned. “I could eat.”

“Thanks, Brynn,” Jess said.

“Don’t thank me until you’ve tasted it.”

“It’s going to be great. I didn’t even know you could smash garlic with the side of your knife to peel it. You should have seen her,” Jess said as Oliver tugged her down the hall.

Tucker was grinning as Brynn stepped back so he could enter the apartment.

She thought about the business card Ahmad Balil had given her. She’d tucked in her small purse, but right now she needed to know if he was deploying and she needed him to share other things with him.

She went into the kitchen, turned on the oven to preheat, then replaced the plastic wrap that covered it with aluminum foil and slid it into the oven to heat until the cheese melted.

“It looks good, Brynn.”

“Thanks. It was Martin’s recipe. Jess volunteered to be my taster tonight.”

“I don’t believe you’re as bad a cook as you profess to be.”

She drew a deep breath and decided to confess. “It isn’t that I can’t cook; I just don’t like to. When I lived with my parents, my brothers took turns grilling on the weekends during the summer. The rest of the time, I was relegated to the kitchen with my mother to cook every night. She’s a perfectionist, and I could do no right. It took all of the joy out of it for me. So, once I left home, I did as little cooking as possible.”

“But you cooked for me.”

“Yes.” She shot him a smile over her shoulder and teased, “I slaved over a hot stove for hours.”

He slipped in behind her as she was setting the timer on the oven and rested his hands on the edge of the stove on either side of her. The heat from his body warmed her. Every nerve came to life, waiting for his touch.

“I’ll have to come up with something I can do for you.” His breath was warm against her ear.

Her thoughts went straight to sex, and she fought the urge to lean back against him and draw his arms around her. “I’d settle for knowing if you’re leaving.”

“We’re not deploying. The mission was resolved in another way. I came by to tell you.”

The knot of tension she’d carried in the pit of her stomach for days relaxed. She turned to slip her arms around his waist.

Being a SEAL was as much a part of who he was as her photography was to her. But the chances of her work putting her in danger were slim. His job put him in harm’s way every time he deployed. She’d known that since they’d first met. Known it the moment Natalie had told her he was a SEAL. But she’d never dreamed it would affect her personally. But it did—more than she wanted to think about.

Telling Jess some of what she’d been through, seeing how she’d reacted, had only been a test run. It was Tucker she needed to tell.

But how?

Chapter 15

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