“Hell, she was screwed up before the bomb blast.”
“She was?”
“Yeah. I met her when she first joined the army, and she was as fucked up back then. She settled down great, but there’s something in her past. You know any other twenty-seven-year-old virgins?”
For a moment, Zach’s mind went blank. “Twenty-seven-year-old what?” Had Jake just said Dani was a virgin? He cast his mind back. She hadn’t seemed like a virgin. But then what did he know? He was pretty sure he’d never had a virgin before. He shook his head. And how the hell did Jake know, anyway?
“Look, forget it, but back off Dani,” Jake said, cutting into his thoughts. “I don’t want you screwing around with her then dumping her when you see something you like better. She’s a friend, and she doesn’t deserve that.”
Zach winced. It was nice to know his best friend had such a high opinion of him.
“You’re just bored,” Jake continued. “Invite someone over there. Party a little.”
“Maybe I will. Anyway, haven’t you got anything better to do than hassle me about my non-existent love life? Aren’t you getting married in just over a week?”
“I’m keeping out of the preparations. So is Kim for that matter. I don’t think she’s the big wedding type.”
“I thought it was a small wedding.”
“So did I. Until my mother got involved.”
Zach laughed. Jake sounded morose and it was good to know he wasn’t the only one with mother problems. “I can’t wait to see it.”
“You’re still coming?”
“Yeah, but don’t worry, I’ll bring one of my babysitters, and I’ll arrive that morning. No time for the bad guys to find me.”
“Good. I’ll see you then.”
Zach wandered back out onto the terrace when the call ended. A goddamn virgin? Well, not anymore. Shit. Why hadn’t she said something?
He couldn’t believe Jake had felt the need to warn him off. He might have a few commitment issues, but he was always honest up front and he’d never hurt anyone. Most of his exes stayed friends. But maybe that was Jake’s point. Dani wasn’t like his other lovers.
In the past, he’d always picked women who could look after themselves, and he supposed at first sight, Dani came across that way as well. She was a soldier for Christ’s sake. But he remembered the brief flashes of vulnerability he’d occasionally catch in her expression.
That was partly what drew him, the mass of contradictions.
No, Jake was right. He needed to step back. Maybe they could be friends. Yeah, they could be pals—just as soon as the memory of her naked beneath him faded from his mind.
Chapter Seven
“Bad news?”
Engrossed in her letter, Dani hadn’t even heard Zach approach. If she had, she’d have probably made a run for it, as she’d done every time she caught a glimpse of him over the past week. But this time it was too late; escape was impossible. She took advantage of the fact to feast her eyes—safely hidden behind her sunglasses—on the long, lean length of him. She sighed. He was beautiful. And she was finding it hard to believe that they’d gotten naked together. It seemed like a lifetime ago.
“Sorry? What did you say?”
Zach sank to the grass next to her. “You look like you’ve had some bad news.” He waved a hand at the letter she was reading.
“No, nothing like that.” She sighed again and thrust the letter over to him. “It’s my physical. They’ve given me a date.”
He scanned the letter. “That’s good, isn’t it? It’s what you wanted?”
“Yes, and it’s still three weeks away. Maybe I’ll be ready.” She flexed her leg almost without thinking and felt the ache. Rubbing it absently, she nibbled at her lower lip until she became aware he was giving her that intensely scrutinizing look, as though he were deciding what made her tick.
“What?” she asked almost belligerently.
“Why does it mean so much to you?”
“Why does what mean so much?”
“Getting back into the army. Why is it so important? I would have thought, after what you’ve been through, that you’d be glad to be done with it.”
“I love the army,” she replied simply.
“What? All that being told what to do, what to wear. Didn’t you hate it?”
She smiled. “I loved it—the order, knowing what to do and when to do it. My childhood was a little”—she paused while she thought of a suitable word—“unstructured.”
“Is that why you joined?”
“Sort of.” She fiddled with her hair while considering telling him the rest. “I’d also gotten into a bit of trouble.”
“Trouble?”
“I stole a car.”
His eyes widened, then his lips curled into a small smile. “I don’t believe you.”
Dani shrugged. “It was sort of a dare. Anyway, it wasn’t exactly the first time I’d been in trouble, and the social worker in charge of my case suggested that the army might be a good career option. I told you they all thought I was stupid. But right from the start, it felt right—like I fit in. I loved the organization, the control, knowing what I was supposed to do and actually having someone care if I did it or not.”
“What did your parents think?”
“They didn’t.” Zach raised an eyebrow in query and to Dani’s surprise, she found herself explaining. “My mother left us when I was twelve. I’m not even sure my father realized she hadn’t taken me with her.” She made it sound like a joke. But it hadn’t been funny. At the time, it had felt like the end of the world. Or would have, if the world she’d known hadn’t already ended. But she was definitely not going to talk about that.
“So you’re not close, then.”
She shook her head, not bothering to mention that she hadn’t seen either of her parents in ten years. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Are you close to your family?”
“Oh yeah. I have a mother, a father, and four older sisters, all of whom still think I need looking after. Oh, and at least twelve nieces and nephews. What? Why the skeptical look?”
“No reason. It’s just that I can’t actually imagine you with a mother and father—you know, like normal people.”
“You think I magically appeared one day in a puff of brimstone and sulfur? Well, I do, and I even see them occasionally, but I can’t take more than a couple of days at a time. They make me feel like I’m ten again.” He shuddered. “I hated being ten.”