Read Wyne and Dine (Citizen Soldier Series Book 1) for Free Online Page B

arms. An image of those forearms
flexing while they had up-against-the-wall sex flashed through her mind. Damn .
She shifted in her seat. Where the heck had that come from? Her wishful-thinking
well , that’s where. It was bottomless and full of similar images from years
of crushing on the guy. Besides, her Skype conversation with Brandi and the
girls had planted that baby in her head two days ago.
    “You okay?”
    She stifled a giggle. “Yeah.” And
if he hadn’t been wearing mirrored aviator sunglasses, looking all stoic and
sexy-as-hell, she would’ve been able to tell if he was, too. But his gorgeous
green eyes were now covered, and their secrets hidden from her view for the
moment. “I’m sorry about my dad back there.”
    His firm mouth twitched into a
lop-sided grin. “Don’t be. He just wants you to be happy.”
    She sighed, twisting around to face
the front. “I’ll be happy when he’s back at the restaurant, doing what he
loves.”
    “What about you?”
    She turned to blink at him. “Me?”
    “Yeah, did you really send out
resumes?” Something in her gaze must’ve given her away because he shook his
head and smiled. “You didn’t send squat.”
    “No,” she admitted. “But I will.”
    “Sure.”
    His tone was less than believable,
so she punched him, no doubt hurting her hand more than his rock hard bicep.
    “I will. You’ll see,” she insisted,
rubbing her fingers. “Once he’s back at the restaurant.”
    “Right. Then you’ll need to stick
around to help Ryder, or fill in for Mary or—”
    “They’re legitimate reasons,” she
defended, turning back to face the front, folding her arms across her chest.
    “More like legitimate excuses.”
    “Look, I’m not going to argue with
you about this.”
    “Again.”
    “Yes, again. I know you’ve been
harping on me for years.”
    “Then do something about it, Lea.
Use your degree. You deserve to do what you want. Not what others need. You had
a good job in Philly. It bothers me that you gave it up.”
    It did? Why? Was he that
uncomfortable around her?
    She cleared her throat. “I know.
And I will.”
    “When?”
    “I told you. After my dad is back
to work.”
    “That could take months.”
    She lifted her chin. “So be it.”
    “You’re afraid.”
    Her gaze snapped to his face. She
wished she could see what was going on behind those damn glasses. “I’m not
afraid of anything.”
    Other than something happening to
her family and friends. She’d experienced enough loss, and the community had
seen enough during the past decade. With each deployment, the pictures
increased on the wall above the Fallen Soldier’s Table her father had set up in
the corner of the restaurant to salute those who never made it home.
    “Except what?” he prodded. “Come
on. I can see it your eyes. You thought of something.”
    She nodded and considered lying to
shelter him from the pain she knew her answer would cause. But Ben despised
liars, and she’d already fibbed to her dad today. Besides, he’d know if she
made something up. Damn man was the best lie detector she knew. He should’ve
been a cop like their friend Jeremy.
    “Well? Spill it. You know I’ll get
it out of you.”
    She stared at her reflection in his
glasses. “Except adding another photo to the wall at the diner.”
    He stiffened, and after a second,
gave her a curt nod, and the rest of the trip was made in silence. Not exactly
a good start to the weekend, but this weekend was about truths, and they were
not going to be selective truths.
    A half-hour later, Ben pulled
through the opened wrought iron gates to the colonel’s estate, and Lea admired
the vast, manicured lawn, trees and shrubs that surrounded a circular drive
with a working fountain in the middle.
    “That’s…um…interesting,” she said,
as he parked behind another truck. Lea was unsure whether to laugh or gawk at
the bronze statue of a very well-endowed, naked man with water spewing from a
plate he held in