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moved to Colorado.”
    “I didn’t mean to pry.” She tried not to sound defensive. And failed. “
You
asked what I was thinking.”
    His lean fingers drummed faster. “My ex-wife, Leslie, moved back to Colorado after our divorce.”
    The laid-back aviator who stored ties in his glove compartment and drove an old-school Scout faded in a snap. The steely glint in his eyes, the brace of his shoulders shouted subject closed.
    Sophie gestured to her driveway. “This is my house.”
    Although he already knew that. How close was his place?
    David pulled off the road. The vehicle’s idling rumble filled the silence.
    As he’d questioned her thoughts moments prior, she wondered what rattled around in his hard head while he stared at her home with such a bland expression. The two-story beige stucco home with a three-car garage looked much like the other houses lining the finger of the shore.
    Big.
    Pricey.
    Exclusive.
    He scratched along his jaw. “Nice little place you have, Counselor.”
    Why the edge of scorn? He’d said his sister lived in the same piece of exclusive lakefront property. She’d heard he’d played in the semipro golf circuit before joining the air force, so he likely had a nice cushion padding his bank account. He could probably afford to disdain such luxuries, having been given a choice. Her family hadn’t had much, especially after her father died. Sophie planned to make sure her son enjoyed the security she’d never known as a child, financial and emotional.
    Brice had already lost more than any ten-year-old should. With a mama-bear ferocity that scared her at times, she renewed her vow to keep him safe.
    Absorbed in her reflection, she didn’t notice Davidcrossing to her side of the Scout until he stood beside her with an outstretched hand. Sophie accepted his help since it was faster than arguing. The minute her feet hit the ground, her vision swam.
    David steadied her. “Take it easy. I’ll help you up the steps.”
    His support felt too good. She shook her hand free. “Don’t worry. I really can walk. And once I get inside, Nanny will smother me with attention.”
    “Oh, right. I keep forgetting about your nanny.” He passed her briefcase, holding it like a shield between them. “Okay, then. Don’t think a bump on the head lets you off the hook for our appointment tomorrow.”
    “In my office.” She wrapped her fingers around the supple leather while he held firm.
    “After court.” He let go. “Good-bye, Blondie.” Shooting her a wave, he circled to the driver’s side.
    “David!”
    He paused, half in, one foot still touching the ground. “Yeah?”
    “Thank you.”
    They stared at each other across the humming engine. The air between them crackled with memories of that time they’d spent tangled up on the ground together. Of what it felt like to be intimately close to someone again. Even beyond that, what it would be like to have someone with whom to share life’s burdens. Because of her husband’s secrets and betrayal, she’d never really known.
    “No worries.” David thumped his chest. “It’s what we do for our brothers and sisters in arms.”
    He eased behind the wheel but didn’t back away until she’d made it safely to the top step of her home.
    Home.
Where she could relax with a late dinner…and try yet again to pretend if she worked hard enough, she could fill the void in her son’s life left by his father’s death.
    Pretend she still couldn’t feel the sensual touch of David’s fingers in her hair.

T HREE

    David nailed the accelerator.
    Sophie Campbell was an open invitation to an encore performance of having his life shredded. And he had only himself to blame for the way his marriage to Leslie had played out. He should have known better. Leslie’s
first
ex-husband had warned him. But he’d been so sure things would be different.
    Wrong.
    Leslie hadn’t just walked out. She’d torn apart their family. He’d brought up her son as his own, and then