Page 36 of The SEAL's Duchess
The smart thing would be to keep his distance, protect what he’d built. After all, she’d told him that kiss was a mistake.
The light turned green, and he eased the truck forward, headlights sweeping the empty road.
What he had was enough. Ellie, his family, work.
He pulled into his driveway and killed the engine. Through the windshield, his home sat dark and quiet. Waiting.
He reached back and unbuckled Ellie, her small body slack with sleep. Her breath warmed his neck as he lifted her close.
For a moment he just stood there, the night pressing in, her small heartbeat against his ribs.
Enough.
He unlocked the door and stepped inside.
The hallway stretched ahead—her room to the right, his at the far end.
He carried Ellie to bed first, because that’s what came easiest. The part he knew how to do.
16
Ivy broke from the forest,circling Aurora Cove, pine needles muffling each stride. Her breath plumed white in the sharp air as she cut through town, lungs burning, dodging piles of slush.
She aimed for the athletic park’s grass track, a few final laps to chase clarity.
Normally, running stripped her clean of everything but the rhythm of breath and heart. Today, each inhale dragged Ryder with it, and every exhale refused to let him go.
Ryder’s mouth on hers.
His hands framing her face.
The raw hurt in his eyes when she’d called it a mistake.
A mistake?
Her stride faltered and her pulse kicked like she’d sprinted uphill. The question had looped endlessly in her head since the waterfall, with no answer ever sticking.
A mistake shouldn’t feel like this—like something she couldn’t stop replaying, no matter how hard she ran.
She veered off the sidewalk onto the park’s damp grass, snowmelt glittering under the pale sun.
She needed clarity. Sinclair had couriered files to her hotel that morning with a note promising data to answer all her questions, and she’d planned to clear her head before diving into them. But she wasn’t sure that was even possible now.
A sharp bark snapped her out of the spiral. A massive, shaggy mutt barreled across the track, tongue lolling, fur flying.
Behind him trudged a familiar figure, silver braid over one shoulder. Jack raised a hand. “Hey. Hoped I might find you here. Receptionist at the hotel said she saw you heading out for a run.” Her jacket was bulky, her boots muddy—the look of a woman who had no time for anything that didn’t earn its keep.
Ivy slowed to a jog, tugging out an earbud as the dog circled her legs with noisy sniffs. “You were looking for me?”
Jack shrugged. “Kinda. Got two days’ leave. Diesel’s been pining for me.” Jack scrubbed the mutt’s head, her roughened hands gentle. “Haven’t you, boy?”
Diesel rolled onto his back, paws in the air, tail thumping.
Despite herself, Ivy smiled. “Must be hard, keeping a dog with your schedule.”
“He stays with my sister when I’m gone. Gets spoiled rotten, which makes him appreciate me all the more when I’m back.” Jack threw a stick, and Diesel bounded after it, ears flapping.
Jack turned back, eyes narrowing. “How’s that head of yours?”
