“You really want to know?”
“Yeah.”
She seemed to mull it over. “Okay, but first you need to tell me about any recent relationships you’ve had.”
He didn’t like the turn of the conversation but dove in anyway. “Fine. Her name was Lila. She broke up with me three months ago because she didn’t want a military lifestyle.”
Cheyenne frowned. “That … stinks.”
“It’s probably for the better. She wants to be an off-Broadway dancer. She’s good. But I don’t know if her life is the kind of life for me.”
“That’s interesting. I broke things off with Eli because he didn’t want children and I can’t see my life without them. I want to be a mother, and he just wants to have careers, travel, and run for office.”
Micah already didn’t like Eli, and this revelation only deepened that dislike. “I can understand why you broke up with him.”
Cheyenne’s expression turned thoughtful. “Do you want kids?”
“That’s a big question.”
She lifted her shoulder in a half shrug. “Well, I don’t want them right now, but I want them eventually. And I don’t want to waste time in a relationship if the other person doesn’t want them.”
Micah’s mind raced. “I don’t know if this is a good time to mention that I want to be a SEAL, and it’s a hard lifestyle.”
She gazed into his eyes. “I think that’s twenty-two times you’ve mentioned it.”
“It seems like I can’t say it enough, because I need to keep reminding myself.”
She looked embarrassed. “So what are you saying?”
“I’m saying that I do want kids. I want marriage. I want all of that, but probably later on in my life.”
The tension between them was palpable, and what he really wanted to do was pull this woman in and kiss her.
“That makes sense,” she said. “I mean, I don’t want a relationship or anything with anyone right now either. I want to focus on getting through law school first.”
“That makes sense.” He couldn’t help but grin. “Okay, so we’ve agreed we have stuff to do with our lives, but then both of us want marriage, children, family.”
“I guess we do agree on that.”
He pointed at her. “First things first: find the rest of the conquistador gold this week.”
She flashed a grin of her own. “Just that little thing. And return the amulet.”
“I told you we will.”
“Good, because remember that nightmare I told you about? What I didn’t tell you was that I was getting arrested, and I was holding the amulet.”
“Sheesh. That’s intense.”
“It was. I don’t want to be haunted by it any longer. It gives me a weird feeling.”
“Okay, we’ll return it soon.” Micah gestured to the dock as they were approaching. “We’re almost back to shore. If you don’t mind riding with me, we can stop by your place, grab the amulet, and then head back. I’ll buy you pizza, and we can check the things we need to check.”
“That sounds good to me.”
When they got backto shore, they gathered their belongings and headed toward her condo. As they pulled up, Micah noticed Eli sitting on her doorstep.
Cheyenne noticed too. “I made it pretty clear I didn’t want to see him again.”