Explosive Alliance (Wingmen Warriors 9)

The telephone jangled inside, and Paige sprinted to her feet like a bat out of hell. "I have to take that."

Bo recognized well enough her convenient excuse to run.

Only two weeks, she'd said.

For her maybe, but he hadn't slept with anyone since he first saw her a year ago. He hadn't even thought of anyone since setting eyes on her, and now he understood why.

Damn straight, feelings happened that fast. He couldn't ignore the truth any longer. He'd fallen for Paige Haugen that fast twelve months ago.

He'd dated at least a hundred women. He should have plenty of practice in playing it cool at a breakup or rejection. But he couldn't think of one word to say when she returned.

Just like when he was a kid, he was out in the cold.

The door swung out from the office again, Paige worrying her lip and keeping her distance. "We'll have to talk about this later. Chuck Anderson's horse that broke his ribs is having trouble breathing. We need to fly out there right away."

Dreams weren't any more substantial than the clouds barely visible in the darkening night sky outside her airplane window.

Paige sat behind her daughter who was up front in the Cessna beside Bo. The hazy green illumination of the instrument panel cast a Halloween glow through the small cockpit.

Kirstie babbled on with a million flying questions, filling the awkward silence, thank heavens.

Paige gripped the armrests. God, she was such a coward.

The guy may have hinted at marriage, but he hadn't come right out and said it. And still she'd panicked, not just at the thought of leaving North Dakota, but at the prospect of stepping from behind the safe walls she'd built around her heart.

Could she dare try his date-and-see attitude while her daughter grew more attached to this charming man in their lives? And if their relationship actually took root? She would have to follow him around the world, chance loving again. Plenty of people did it, but her daughter's world had already been rocked more than most adults. Yet Bo had handled Kirstie's fears with more finesse and understanding than her own family had managed.

Unselfish love put the other person's needs first.

All of an hour in love and already she'd flunked the initial test. She'd vowed she loved him and then balked right out of the starting gate. He'd given so much of himself for her, for Kirstie, too.

Who had given back to him? Sister Nic, friends, all of whom he shielded from hearing the difficult parts of his life. He'd admitted to telling Paige more than anyone else, even if he hadn't discussed love.

Her heart bared, her own defensive needs shuffled aside, finally she heard the parts Bo had left unsaid, things perhaps even he didn't know. His mother's suicide and father's abandonment must have left him feeling unworthy of love. Yet instead of wallowing in self-pity—or hiding out as she'd done—he worked his butt off to help others.

Suddenly Bo's charming exterior took on a different shading. He became everyone's friend—without letting anyone get close enough to hurt him, ensuring he wouldn't be left behind again.

This man with such a big-world charm actually had very simple needs. He needed the security of the "real" kind of love. Now it was time for her to find the courage to face wherever that love took them.>How strange that it stabbed, hearing Kurt hadn't the first clue about being a real father.

She'd known and understood, but the reality of wasted years and emotions trickled over her like ammonia on an open wound.

"And then there's the other kind of love, the real kind of love, the best kind of love. When you'll do anything to keep from hurting that person, even if means you have to hurt. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Paige most certainly did, because, oh, God, she couldn't ignore much longer what was squeezing her heart.

Kirstie nodded. "I think so."

"Here's an example to help you see it better," he explained with a teacher tone Paige could envision him picking up in his college course work. "I noticed how you realized your mama gets upset when you talk about your father. You kept all that hurt inside you so she wouldn't have to hurt anymore."

Kirstie started nodding faster. "And like how Mama took me to that air show even though airplanes make her sad."

He winced. "Pretty much."

Oh, how easily she could dream of him in a classroom full of kids, entertaining and teaching. He'd talked about getting out of the Air Force, after all, something she hadn't let herself consider for more than a few fleeting seconds. Not that she expected him to move here based on one night of incredible sex, but at least if he left the military, there would be more options. More hope.

Her heart squeezed tighter.

"Sooo—" Kirstie's shoulders straightened with a renewal of her old spunk "—you're saying that on the inside, I love like my mama does. Not like my dad did."