Mommy Loves The Military Man

“No apology necessary. This was nice. Don’t be too hard on Lizzie. Their hearts are in the right place. And I’ve gained a new friend out of it. The glass is more than half full here.”

Sure, dinner had been fun. That was the problem. She didn’t want it to be fun. Tonight might have shown her she was ready to start dating again, but she couldn’t date Alex. Not as long as he was in the Army and had a chance of deploying. Despite the fact that he was inching up her dateable list with every word he said.

But since Lizzy and Mariana were friends, it wouldn’t hurt to get to know him. As her daughter’s friend’s father. It was practically a requirement, right?

This was going to involve wine. Lots of wine.

Alex leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Tell me more about yourself.”

Cameron sputtered into her glass and then brought her napkin to her mouth. Oh, geez. She was like a teenager on her first date. “Sorry. That just sounded like a cheesy pickup line.”

Alex’s expression did nothing to refute her claim. Oh, no, no, no. This was not a pickup. It couldn’t be.

“You said you work from home. What do you do?” He took a sip of wine but didn’t look away.

The intensity of his gaze had her squirming. She’d never met a man so comfortable in his own skin.

When she and Josh met, both young and inexperienced, they’d fumbled their way into marriage. Josh was rarely serious. He was all about fun and games and being the happy, go-lucky guy. Even if it meant traipsing around Asia, or wherever he was right now, instead of helping to raise his daughter.

She didn’t doubt that Alex could have fun. Heck, he’d rolled with the punches with the best of them when he arrived tonight. But he also had an intensity to him. And he clearly played an active role in Mariana’s life. Isn’t that what she wanted? A serious man… someone who wouldn’t chase a new adventure all the time. Someone who would stick around.

Alex looked at her like he knew exactly what she was thinking. Focus, Cameron. Focus. Answer his question.

“I design web sites. I run my business out of my house…” She drew in a deep breath. What was that smell? It was so strong it burned her eyes. But Alex didn’t seem affected. “I take client appointments from time to time.” Her eyes began to water. Alex wiped his mouth, but he held the napkin under his nose for far too long. “That’s why I’ve been hesitant to move away from Mom. I wouldn’t be able to handle it all without help. Oh my gosh, what is that smell? Boomer?”

A grumble sounded behind her and she turned. Boomer was sprawled on the cushion inside his crate, his huge, round white head resting on his equally enormous paws, like he hadn’t just contaminated the entire kitchen.

She leapt up and grabbed him by the collar. “Boomer, out.” She threw him into the back yard and pulled the door, waving it open and closed several times. At least it gave her a distraction so she didn’t have to face Alex. First Boomer almost threw up on Alex’s shoes, and now he poisoned them with his toxic farts. What in the heck had that dog eaten?

“Might want to keep it open.” Alex appeared at her elbow. “Better yet, how about we take this conversation outside? I could use some fresh air.”

“Sounds like a plan.” He was being so nonchalant about the entire situation. She didn’t want to be this person, a disorganized woman who slammed into his chest, dumped the contents of her purse at his feet, stumbled around the house, hid the clean laundry that she hadn’t bothered to put away yet, and suffered through a flatulent bulldog-retriever mix because she hadn’t found the right food for his sensitive stomach.

She grabbed her wine glass, and Alex snatched his and the bottle, and they headed onto the back porch. It was better this way. Standing beside each other. In the dark. Okay, maybe this wasn’t better. But at least she didn’t have to hide from his intense gaze.

“If you don’t mind my as

king, is Lizzie’s dad in the picture?”

“Alive, I presume. In the picture, no.”

“Sounds like there’s a story there.”

“Oh, yeah. There’s a story, all right. Tackling his next adventure was more important than his wife. Certainly more important than his daughter.” Until she’d met Alex two days ago, it had been so long since she’d even thought about Josh, much less talked about him. Did the fact that she kept comparing Alex to her ex mean she was ready to date again? “I have to give him credit. He tried for a couple of years. But then he packed up his things and left us. Said he wasn’t cut out to be a dad.” And left her with more questions than answers about her role as a wife.

“I didn’t think it was a choice. You’re either a parent or you aren’t.”

“Right?” She gulped the rest of her wine and Alex extended the bottle. She shook her head. “Last I heard, he was climbing one of the peaks of Annapurna or something. He does a fly-by about once a year. Lizzie is always happy to see him, but she doesn’t really know him.”

“Jerk.”

Cameron laughed… and then she snorted. See, this was why she didn’t drink more than one glass of wine. She hid her face in her hands. Maybe if she covered her eyes long enough, Alex would disappear and she could be mortified in silence. But she wasn’t an infant playing peek-a-boo, so that wouldn’t work.

Just in case, she peeked through her fingers. Still there. Drat.

Alex raised his eyebrows. “Hi.”

“Please tell me you’ll forget that just happened.”