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something.
    What the hell was wrong with him?
    As he stared at the front door of the pub, watching people slip in and out for a cigarette, a sliver of unease raced through him.
    He shifted his gaze to one of the windows of the pub, saw the crowds of people. Some clearly sailors from the base.
    Suddenly, she filled his vision. She had a tray of food balanced on her hand as she delivered it to the table near the window. Her hair was always the first thing he noticed. It was as much her identity as the trace of a Scottish accent.
    Even from across the parking lot, he could get a good glimpse of her. So beautiful. His pulse jacked up and he drew in an unsteady breath.
    With the food delivered, she tucked the tray under her arm and placed a hand on her hip. She seemed to be talking to the men, but her gaze rose to the window.
    Through the drizzling rain and fading light, he knew she wouldn’t be able to see him.
    She lingered for a moment more, staring out into the night, before turning and walking away.
    Shit .
    Realization hit with him quick, cold precision.
    He liked her. He liked Kenzie in a way that meant he might not be able to sleep with her for a couple of weeks, or even a night, and move on.
    How? They’d had two hours talking at Applebee’s and a kiss that most would consider chaste, for fuck’s sake.
    He scrubbed a hand down his smooth, expensively scented jaw, and was reminded of how hard he was trying tonight.
    The excitement of the evening slowly faded into the depths of somber disappointment. He couldn’t go down this road, not again. Nothing serious.
    It was a promise he’d made to himself after the last time and one he’d done damn well at keeping.
    The women he’d gotten involved with in the past couple of years had known what they were getting into. It had been casual. It had been fun. It had been brief. It had never been permanent.
    Kenzie wasn’t the kind of woman you slept with and walked away from. She’d blatantly said last night she didn’t move that fast getting sexually involved with men, and he’d been fine with that. He knew she would’ve been worth the wait.
    But despite the lighthearted yet tough exterior she presented, he knew she was fragile. Delicate. Though he suspected she’d smack him one if she ever heard him call her that.
    She’d been hurt before. By someone. Maybe she hadn’t told him, but some things you could sense.
    His chest tightened and his stomach roiled. The dejection lingered in a heavy cloud around him as Brett started his truck, the keys still in the ignition.
    He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t be the man who hurt Kenzie again. It was better if he walked away now.
    Reversing out of his spot, he sped out of the pub’s parking lot and forced himself not to give it a backward glance.

Chapter Four
    “School’s out. I don’t know how the heck I’m going to keep my sanity all summer long.”
    Sitting on the front porch of Sarah and Ian’s house, Kenzie smiled slightly at Sarah’s pained words. Her brothers were in the back grilling dinner while Kenzie and Sarah sat on the porch chatting. Unfortunately, Hailey hadn’t been able to make it to the weekly family gathering because she’d been called in to work.
    Kenzie stared at her niece doing backward handsprings in the yard and gave a small shrug.
    “I’m sorry you can’t use wine to help this time.” Kenzie lifted her own glass and gestured to Sarah’s baby belly. “Don’t want to get my future nephew drunk, so I’ll be sure to drink another glass for you.”
    “Aren’t you wonderful,” Sarah drawled, then sipped on her lemonade.
    “I can’t remember. Is this barbeque tonight celebrating that it’s summer vacation? Or trying to distract from the pain that your child will be telling you how bored she is for the next two months?”
    “I think a little of both.” Sarah rubbed her belly. “Though I’m sure Auntie Kenzie will take her for a few dozen sleepovers, right? Please? Oh God, please say