Page 22 of A Soldier's Destiny
Chapter 8
As she opened the bathroom door his scent washed over her, and she groaned. It was like walking into a steamy hug. On unsteady legs, she slid out of her clothes and turned on the water. Tired or turned on, she wasn’t sure which was taking more of a toll on her composure. Either way, she needed to get a grip.
A glance in the mirror explained why he thought she was exhausted. The dark circles under her eyes and her pale cheeks made her look like one of the walking dead. The stress was catching up to her. Why couldn’t the world just leave her alone for a while? She’d paid enough of a price.
When she came back to Florida, Willow Haven, she’d started over, modified her plan and opened the bakery. She enjoyed running the little shop. It was close to what she’d dreamed about when she was a child, and then a teen. She still remembered how ecstatic she was when she got the acceptance to theCordon Bleu. It was as close as she’d get now. The rest of the dream, to open her bakery in Paris and live happily ever after, that part was long gone. Left to bleed out on a corner in the city she’d idolized.
There had been so many plans made for the future, for her and Jim. Her parents were going to help her open the bakery. They had a little apartment close to the magazine where Jim worked, and she hoped to find space for the bakery near there. The competition would have been fierce, but she’d loved Paris. But all it took was a few bullets and lots of hate to change it all. She’d never forget gazing into her parents’ unseeing eyes.
As the hot water sluiced over her tense muscles, tears rolled down her cheeks. It was the only place she’d allow herself to cry. The water washed away the tears as quickly as they fell. She’d shed countless tears, for days—months—afterward. During her hospital stay as she healed from her wounds. She’d sunk into a deep depression. One she hadn’t been sure she wanted to escape. It would have been easier to end it than go on alone. The counselors had helped, and she’d recovered, at least on the outside.
The trip home with the two caskets had been devastating. Jim’s family had insisted he be buried in their family plot in Boston, and they’d taken his body while she was still in the hospital. She’d never met them, and they hadn’t stopped by when they collected his body. It was strange. It didn’t make sense that they wouldn’t have wanted to meet his fiancé even if they weren’t going to be married. But he’d told her that he’d had a falling out with them. His father had wanted him to be a lawyer, join his firm. The family was old money and all the men followed that path. But Jim wanted to follow his own dream and they hadn’t forgiven him before he’d died.
She hadn’t fallen apart like this in a while, but she’d been terrified when she’d seen the door. It was too much. But it was time to move on. Maybe a fling with Jasper was just the thing she needed to push her out of her comfort zone. She’d been so engrossed in her thoughts, she never heard him knock on the door.
“Are you okay? Rori? Answer me.”
“Oh. Yes, I’m fine. Sorry. Don’t come in.” Mortified that he might see her naked body, she didn’t know what to cover first with her hands. If anyone had been watching, they would have laughed. “Did you need something?”
“No, I just wanted to make sure you were alright.” He’d opened the door and was standing in the doorway.
“I’m fine. I promise. I’m just enjoying the heat of the water. I’ll be out shortly so you can leave now.”
“You sure you don’t want some company?” Oh, did she ever. But no way. She was still deciding if this was the path she would travel, and the last thing she wanted was the first view of her body to be in the bright bathroom light. Candlelight would be so much better, or darkness… that would work.
“No, I think I’m fine by myself. Could you shut the door you’re letting the cold air in?” He wasn’t really, but she needed him to leave before she accepted his offer.
Hearing his chuckling as he closed the door didn’t help anything. But hearing the decisive click when it closed made her sink against the tiled wall and breathe a sigh of relief. Hornier than a teenager, she needed to stop this flip-flopping around like a crazy woman. It was time to shit or get off the pot as her mom used to say. Mom would have liked Jasper, and probably her dad too. Or at least he would have won him over eventually. Shaking her head, she finished rinsing the soap off and climbed out of the shower.
She’d totally forgotten to bring fresh clothes into the bathroom. It wasn’t her usual routine since she lived alone. It didn’t matter if she walked around in a towel. But it mattered today. Ready to kick herself, she pulled open the door enough to peek out and see if he was around. When the coast looked clear, she ran to her room and closed and locked the door. Then she leaned against it like she’d been running for her life. What the heck was she doing? Laughing until tears poured down her cheeks, she couldn’t believe she just did that. She was thirty-one years old, and definitely not a virgin, so why was she fighting the attraction so hard? And why was she running to her bedroom to hide like a fifteen-year-old?
“Everything okay in there?” His knock made her laugh even harder.
“Yeah, everything’s fine. I’ll be right out,” she said while trying to catch her breath.
“Are you sure? You sound kind of hysterical in there.”
“Yup, it’s all good. Go check on that salad, it might be wilting.”
“Okay good idea.” As he walked away, she snorted. It was the first thing she could think of to tell him to do. Check on the salad, seriously? And he did it? Wow. He really did need help with this kitchen skills.
Pulling herself together, she grabbed a pair of yoga pants and an oversized t-shirt, then pulled her thick curls into a messy bun. Keeping it up was a lot easier to deal with, and a necessity in the bakery, even if it wasn’t her most attractive look. Chewing her lip, she considered getting out her blow dryer and adding a little makeup. But hearing his footsteps in the hallway killed that idea. What was he doing? Patrolling the hallway to keep her safe? Giggling again, she pulled open the bedroom door and almost walked headfirst into a wall of chest.
“You do know it’s only the two of us here, right? I don’t think you need to be on guard.”
“I wasn’t exactly patrolling.”
“No? You checked on me a couple of times in less than a half hour. Unless I’m mistaken, you were about to do it again.” Looking sheepish, he smiled.
“You’ve been through hell for the last few days. Give a guy a break for wanting to make sure you’re okay.” Well, when he put it that way she felt bad for saying anything.
“You do know I’ve managed to take care of myself for most of the last thirty-one years, right?”
“You’re that old?” He said what? Oh no he didn’t.
“Did you just say I’m old? Because if you did you’d better remember to lock your door tonight or you might find yourself knocked over the head with my cast iron skillet.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
