Page 32 of Stirring Attraction (Second Shot 2)
“I’m not ready.” The words carried the first tinge of fear in Caroline’s voice. “If that’s why you’re still coming around, after all this time . . . you need to move on. I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready. I haven’t had sex because I wanted to in years.”
Ah hell, no wonder everyone in Forever believed Noah hired strays. First he’d taken in Josie. And Dominic now knew about the loss she’d suffered even if she’d tried to hide it from everyone. Then, Caroline—
“There’s no timeline,” Josh said. “After what your commanding officer did to you, I don’t expect you to start trusting strange men you meet in the forest overnight. I’d be in trouble if you did. This is timber country. You’re bound to come across loggers in these woods.”
“There’s a big difference between overnight and a year, Josh.”
She’s military. The pieces fell into place. And he’d be willing to guess, this was the woman his best friend hadn’t been able to save. Noah had mentioned that he’d been serving alongside a woman that he hadn’t been able to help. Dominic had assumed she’d been hit. Flying shrapnel. IED. Not rape. His best friend had never mentioned rape by a fellow soldier.
“Plus, I’m still hiding,” Caroline said.
“No one knows you’re here,” Josh said firmly. “And we’re going to keep it that way.”
Fuck. And he thought he had issues. This woman had run from her duty to serve.
“I’m not worried about Duncan finding me and blaming me for ruining his career,” Caroline said. “I’m AWOL. I shouldn’t be here. I should be serving . . .”
The pie-throwing dishwasher was running from the military. And Dominic knew that unauthorized absences came with serious consequences. If she was caught, she could end up behind bars. Probably a worst-case scenario, but still.
“Caroline.”
Dominic had a feeling Josh now stood pretty damn close to her. He stole a glance through the cracked door. And yeah, Josh was within arm’s reach of the woman with the long black hair. The dishwasher was petite. Her oversized Big Buck’s T-shirt, cargo shorts, and black combat boots didn’t help.
“I bring the pies because I like you,” Josh said.
And Dominic had bad feeling this moment was about to get a little too intimate for comfort—his and possibly Caroline’s as well. In which case, he’d be forced to storm out of the bathroom and tackle a man he hadn’t seen in half a dozen years.
“I like the way you fight to keep going,” Josh said, his voice just loud enough to reach the bathroom. “That’s not easy. I like the way you lick your lips after a bite of pie. And the way you listen to me talk about my brothers and their families.”
“There are plenty of women who would listen to you talk while eating homemade baked goods,” she challenged. “Are you sure Noah didn’t ask you to drop by? Look out for me?”
“Noah wants me to stay the hell away from you because he’s afraid one day, I’ll do this.”
Dominic had a pretty good idea what “this” was, but he watched through the crack in the door just in case the man he’d played ball with once or twice growing up tried to take advantage of his close proximity to Caroline.
And yeah, Josh did. But as soon as his lips touched Caroline’s, the heels of her combat boots lifted off the ground. From where Dominic stood it looked like she was deepening the kiss. But then she drew back, her fingers lifted to her lips.
“I’ve waited over a year for that kiss,” Josh said, slipping his hands into his pocket as he moved out of Dominic’s line of sight. “I don’t care how long I have to wait for the next one. Take all the time you need, Caroline. Your kisses are worth waiting for.”
He heard the door slam and knew that Josh had left. But Caroline stood rooted to the floor, staring straight ahead with her fingers still raised to her mouth.
“Caroline?” Dominic could hear Noah’s voice, but couldn’t see him. “Are you all right?”
Caroline turned and faced the door leading to the bar. “How much did you overhear?”
“Not a damn thing. We have Isabelle out here demanding to practice her crawling skills on the floor.”
“Liar,” Caroline said.
And Dominic had to bite back a laugh. As far as he knew, Ryan, himself, and now he’d guess Josie, were the only ones who ever called Noah out. His friend had always been the town golden boy, above reproach except to his closest friends.
“It’s none of my business either way,” Noah said. “You asked me to stay out of it and I have.”
“Thank you,” she said.
“I also know that if you didn’t want him to kiss you, he’d be on the floor howling in pain,” Noah added. “Now come on out when you’re ready.”
Caroline marched forward as if following an order, not a request from her friend and boss. He heard the door swing shut, and finally, they were alone again.
