Page 77 of A Dish Best Served Hot

“I let it go to my head.” His tone held so much embarrassment and shame. “I strutted around the base like a fucking peacock. Men were dead and I was celebrating myself at a bar and having a one-night stand in a fucking bathroom.”

“That’s when you met Robyn?” she asked.

He nodded. He fell silent.

“You want to know the worst part?” he asked.

“Tell me.”

“Before the mission, I was counting down the days until I could be done. I’d decided not to volunteer for another tour. It’d finally been clear to me that I’d been wrong about everything and you’d been right all those years ago. I’d been fed a load of bullshit. I’d swallowed it down and said thank you.

“But the worst thing was that after I got that medal, I opened my mouth for another spoonful of shit. Like one of your preschool students, I was swayed by a fucking sparkly star.”

“Saint, of course you did. It validated everything you’d gone through, every choice you’d made. It gave everything a meaning. That’s a completely natural reaction.”

“Maybe.”

“Let me tell you one thing. I know what I said when we were young made you feel like I’d never accept your decision, that I thought you were a puppet.”

“You were right.”

“No, I wasn’t. I have my own thoughts about the war, about the military in general, but I will never devalue your bravery. It takes bravery to fight for what you believe in and it takes even more to be willing to lose your life for it.” She paused. “It takes even more bravery to question those beliefs honestly and be willing to make changes when you realize they aren’t what you thought.”

“What changes have I made though?” he asked. “I’m still playing by all of the rules. I’m not like you. You’re willing to burn it all to the ground if that means things will get rebuilt better.”

“It’s not my place to tell you if you’re doing enough, Saint. All I can say is that I’m here to support you and I think you are brave, noble, and good in bed.”

He flipped her onto her back in the space of a second. “Good in bed, hmm?” He nuzzled her neck, placing kisses under her jaw.

She moaned. “Yes. Good as fuck.”

“Let’s see if I can be even better. Evaluate me, please, Ms. León.”

Lola thought of reminding him that it was her turn to be in charge, but decided against it. Saint was just too good at making her body sing. “I like your growth mindset, Mr. Vega,” she said instead. “Let’s see if you can score distinguished in every domain.”

He did.

18

Lola watched the sunlight streaming through her window play lovingly among the planes and dips of Saint’s torso. She untucked her hand from under her cheek and let her fingers do the same. She felt more than heard the rumble of pleasure he released.

“I like taking afternoon naps with you,” he said, his voice rough.

Lola smiled, her cheek bunching up where it was smushed against his peck. “I don’t know that we did enough sleeping to call this a nap.”

He ran his hand down the skin of her back and palmed her naked ass. “It was your idea to take advantage of Rosie’s afternoon with Kamilah.”

That was true. The moment she heard that Kamilah would be picking up Rosie for a spa day before her engagement party later, Lola had told Saint to get his ass to her place ASAP. He’d arrived twenty minutes later. Two minutes after that they’d been in bed ripping each other’s clothes off.

In the two weeks since their trip to Navy Pier, they hadn’t gotten to do much but sneak kisses when Rosie wasn’t looking. They both thought it was best to keep things strictly friendly around the little girl as they didn’t want to send the wrong message. Plus, Rosie had been talking to Lola more and more each time they saw each other outside of the classroom (Rosie still hadn’t spoken at school), and Lola was not about to risk the newfound trust Rosie had given her. Even if it was difficult as hell to keep her hands off Saint when they were all together.

Speaking of hands and Saint, his had slipped between her thighs. She sighed. “It was for sure one of my better ideas,” she said in response to his previous comment.

“I have a few good ideas I think you’ll like,” he said, pulling her mouth to his.

Lola’s hands had just begun their own exploration when her phone started ringing from the charging plate on her nightstand. “Ignore it,” she said between kisses.

“Another great plan.”

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