"I made it for my brother."
"Lincoln was in the Marine Corps?" She sounds confused, as she should be.
"No, I was."
She turns quickly and looks at me with awe. "Really? When?"
"I went in when I was eighteen. Got out two years ago at twenty-four."
I watch as she leans back against the workbench and crosses her arms. They lay right below her breasts, which plump up nicely and strain against her blouse. All sorts of lewd thoughts run through my head and I have to keep telling myself to knock it off. Nothing of that nature is going to happen between us.
Besides...Emily is a nice girl and I don't do nice girls.
"Did you serve in Afghanistan?"
"Yes."
She waits for me to say more but she'll wait a long time. I don't talk about my time there...ever. And I can tell by the look on her face she knows not to push it.
"Well, thank you for serving our country. I wish I was brave enough to do something like that."
I'm floored again. She seems to always say something that enthralls me. She always says the opposite of what I think will come out of her completely kissable lips. And she doesn't do it in a calculated way to achieve a certain result. No, it comes out of her perfectly shaped mouth with natural sincerity.
I shrug my shoulders at her but secretly I'm pleased she appreciates the sacrifice it takes to serve. No one's opinion of my service, except for my father and brother, really mattered to me before.
Pointing at the piece I ask, "How did you know that was the Marine Corps Globe & Anchor?"
"Well, you're not the only former Marine I know. It just so happens I know a grumpy Marine veteran who was in the first Gulf War."
She has my interest piqued and for the first time, in a long time, I am actually having a real conversation with someone that interests me. It's a weird feeling but I press on.
"Oh yeah. Who is that?"
"His name is Sarge. He's like Danny's surrogate father. Danny is my sister-in-law. I assume you know my brother, Ryan?"
"Yeah, I know Ryan. I'll have to talk to her about this guy next time I see her."
"Sarge is a hoot. He actually walked Danny down the aisle when they got married. Sometimes Ryan flies him and Danny's friend, Paula down here to visit. You should make an effort to meet him next time he comes."
I smile at her. For fuck's sake. A genuine smile and it feels natural. What the hell is happening to me? "I'll do that. It will be nice to talk to another Marine. It's been awhile."
She cocks her head at me. "Don't you keep in touch with the friends who you served with?"
I nod. "Some of them. We're all kind of spread out and moving on with our lives."
"I bet you forged friendships there that will last a lifetime, huh?"
This question makes me stiffen. She is oh, so right about that. When you are in extreme situations, your bonds forge fast and stay strong. But there is a lot of pain and misery that goes along with it. I'm back on guard now and this conversation needs to wind down.
Now.
I stand up from my chair and start walking to the door. "Well, it's late. Go ahead and pack up and I'll see you on Monday."
Emily pushes away from the workbench with an easygoing smile on her face. "Sure thing, boss."
I watch as she pulls her phone out and turns it on, grabbing her purse while it boots up. She takes a quick glance at the screen and grimaces. I'm assuming there is something stalkerish glaring at her. But I'm not going to ask, even though I sort of want to.
She walks to the door and turns to me. "You got big plans this weekend?"
I needed that question. My priorities come back swiftly in line. My walls go up and slam tight into place. I hope she's not trying to ask me to do something with her. Because that would not be good...in any way.
I answer cautiously. "Not really. I'll probably just hang out at Linc's place."
"That's cool."
Well, damn. I expected her to say something more and that makes me curious now. "What about you?"
Her eyes light up. "Yeah, I'm excited. I'm going with my roommate, Fil, to this new nightclub."
"You live with a guy?" The thought of it raises my hackles a bit but I don't have time to ponder the why of it. It seems all I do lately is analyze every little word that comes out of my mouth around Emily.
She gives a laugh. It sounds like gentle, silver bells, which is a nice change. The laughter of other women always seemed to grate on my nerves.
"No. My roommate is a girl."
"Your roommate is a girl and her parents named her Phil?"
"No. Her parents named her Mignon."
"Wait? They named her after a steak?"
"Yup. Fil is short for Filet. It's this whole nickname thing." She's grinning and I can tell she is enjoying the hell out of this discussion.
I shake my head. This will go down as one of the weirdest conversations I've ever had, and trust me, I've had some weird ones in my head.
"Did she murder her parents for that?"
Emily now lets out a bark of a laugh. It's hoarse and sexy, and I would kill to hear that sound again. "No, although I'm sure she's considered it a time or two."
As her laughter dies down and slides from her eyes, her gaze at me is replaced with something else. Almost as if she's looking at me in awe and delight. It's like she is seeing something inside of me that even I don't understand.
It makes me uncomfortable and pissy.
"What?" I demand.
The joy on her face disappears completely and her eyes go dead.
Yup. I did that. My anger made it go away, just with a singular asshole move on my part. Classic Nix Caldwell and I'm sort of relieved to know he's not completely dead.
"Nothing," she says. "It's just...you have a wonderful smile. Well, you had a wonderful smile just a second ago. Too bad you don't keep it on your face very long."
I was smiling at her? I didn't even realize. Usually the unnatural feeling of a smile on my face is immediately and completely recognizable to me because it's not something I do often. And then I snapped at her because she dared look at me in a way that was...special. I'm such a shit and I'm sure she thinks I'm nuts. Maybe I am nuts. Maybe she is driving me nuttier.
I can't think of anything to say, so I just head toward the door. "Go ahead and lock up when you leave."
"See you," she says softly.
And damn it if I can't help myself when I say, "Be careful this weekend."
CHAPTER 8
Emily
Fil and I are headed with a group of our friends to The Blue Room. One of our friends at Columbia knows a friend, who knows a friend whose father owns this nightclub. So we got VIP passes for tonight.
I'm dressed to the hilt for some major dancing and partying. I chose a teal blue dress that comes to mid-thigh. My right arm is covered with a full sleeve while my left arm is bared completely past my shoulder and to my neck. The fabric is ruched across my breasts in crisscross patterns and silver bangle bracelets on my bare arm are the only jewelry I'm wearing. I curled my hair with a large barrel iron so it hangs in soft waves down my back. Three-inch crystal studded sandals complete my outfit, although, as we walk the four blocks to the club, I'm starting to regret wearing them.
Oh, well. Nothing that a couple of gin and tonics won't cure.
Fil is wearing a borrowed dress of mine and because she's a bit taller than me, the hem comes up significantly more than mid-thigh. Even though she dresses in shredded jeans and t-shirts most of the time, she does like dressing girly when we go out.
"We're both pretty sizzlin' tonight, aren't we?" I ask as I nudge her in the shoulder.
She smiles at me. "Yup. And the best thing is...we don't have to compete with each other."
"That's right," I exclaim. "Because I likes the guys and you likes the girls."
We both start giggling like two grade school kids that just uttered our first dirty joke.
I link my arm through hers and s
he slows her longer legs a bit so I can keep up.
"So, heard anything from Todd today?" she asks.
"No phone calls since yesterday when I told him to cut the crap. But he has sent a few texts apologizing and telling me he just wants to talk."