Once a Hero...

“Really?”

“Yeah, there’re several cruises that take tourists out to see them.”

“Humpbacks.”

“Of course, you’d have to put on your thick glasses and slump your shoulders for that.” She grinned.

His brows drew together and he blinked.

Her smile slowly faded. “You know, the superhero? When he wore his glasses he was the unassuming …”

He squinted at her. “Are you comparing me to a superhero?”

She rolled her eyes. “Like, duh! You’re Captain Mysterious. Able to perform the Heimlich and CPR all in a single bound!”

“Oh, no.” Shaking his head, he rubbed his forehead. “You have a moniker for me?”

Wishing she’d kept her mouth shut now, Kristen nodded. “Well, it wasn’t me. Everyone in the bar—”

“The whole bar was talking about me?” His eyes were wide. This wasn’t going the way she’d planned.

Maybe she should rethink her idea. Even if he were interested in her, she only had a few weeks before she had to return to San Diego and resume her real life.

But in the two months she’d been here she hadn’t met any other guy she’d felt so drawn to. There was something about him. Something dark she recognized from her worst days in the hospital.

And she’d promised herself at her last doctor’s appointment that, from that moment on, she’d live life to the fullest. And that meant sometimes taking risks.

So, maybe he’d tell her to get lost. After what she’d lived through? She could handle a little rejection.

Decided, she drew a deep breath. “You know … just a bit farther from Tradewinds is a great seafood place I’ve been wanting to try. But I hate going to a restaurant alone, don’t you? If you like seafood, maybe we could go together sometime.”

The crashing of the waves seemed louder in the long silence. Then he switched his gaze out to sea. “Uh, I’m not really good company right now.”

Ouch. The fact that his answer stung a bit told her she really hadn’t been prepared for rejection. Seems her glass-half-full attitude needed a reality check. “Okay.” She nodded and waved a hand, took a step back, and then another, her sneakers sinking into the sand. “No worries.”

She spun on her heels and jogged up to the street, yanked her bike from the rack and wheeled it across Kihei Road and into the foyer of the condominium building. Her cheeks were on fire, half embarrassed, half mad that she’d made a fool of herself. Boy, had she misread the signals.

Digging in her backpack, she pulled out her mailbox key, mumbling to herself, wanting to smack her forehead. “What an idiot. You just had to go up to a complete stranger, didn’t you?” She inserted her key, yanked open the door and pulled out her mail. “Why do I do this to myself? I never learn—”

“Kristen?”

She jumped and gave a tiny shriek as she swiveled to face the voice. “Luke!” She pressed a hand to her chest and gulped. “Geez, you scared me.”

“Sorry about that.” He winced and reached up a hand to rub the back of his neck. Her gaze was drawn to his bicep, which was clearly familiar with a set of weights.

Then he lowered his arm and she took in the rest of him in the bright light of the lobby.

Except for his broad shoulders, he was fairly slim. Did he scuba dive? He had the perfect swimmer’s body. His taut abs showed beneath his tight T-shirt and so did what looked like a set of dog tags on a long chain. Military?

“Listen, can we start over?” His voice was smooth and yet rough. Not terribly deep, but not too high either. And she picked up a trace of a Southern drawl in his accent. Possibly Texan.

It was her turn to blink at him. “Uh, sure.”

A tiny smile curved the edges of his mouth. “Seafood sounds good. Tomorrow? Around seven? Meet you here?”

She smiled and nodded, feeling euphoric, as if she’d already won the Geographic Universe photography contest. “As it happens, I’m off tomorrow, uh, you mean later today, right? Seven’s good. How about we meet at the picnic table?”

He shook his head, then stopped and nodded with a small smile. “Uh, yes, today, this evening.” He stared into her eyes and his jaw shifted to the left just a fraction.

Mesmerized, Kristen could’ve stood there forever noting every nuance of his face, absorbing him. But he bent down and picked up her keys, offering them to her. “You dropped these.”

“Oh.” She hadn’t even noticed. “Thank you.” She took them from his outstretched palm and the same energy tingled her fingers as before. Maybe he felt it, too, because he glanced down at his hand and then back up at her, his dark eyes questioning.

“Looking forward to tomorrow, Luke.” She dropped the keys into her pocket. “Good night.”

He gave her a smile that was more of a grimace and waved a hand. “Good night.”

She turned for the elevator, but peeked back in time to catch him checking her out. She smiled all the way to her condo.

2

LUKE CHECKED HIS WATCH again as he sat at the picnic table, elbows on knees, tapping his foot. Seven-twenty. Something told him Kristen had never been in the military. She’d have been court-martialed.

Damn it. He’d shaved for this. He’d even bought a new shirt. But it was probably a bad idea to begin with. He was only going to be here a couple more weeks.

Five minutes. Then he was out of here.

The beach was fairly crowded this time of day. He watched swimmers and snorkelers in the ocean. A dozen or so young adults clad in bikinis and cutoffs engaged in a loud game of beach volleyball. And a few families with small kids played in the surf.

All these people with normal lives. Happy lives. He remembered days like that when he was a kid. Before his dad died. He wanted normal. Happy.

Ten minutes later he stood, a hollow feeling in his stomach, and headed down the sidewalk, not really thinking about where he was going. Just … away from here.

“Luke!”

He heard his name and glanced behind him to find Kristen racing across the street. She looked … worth waiting for. A pretty little dress that hugged her trim figure and then flared out all flirty at the bottom. High heels that made her legs look a mile long. And she’d curled her straight hair.

His cock stirred behind his zipper. Until that moment he hadn’t realized how dead that part of him had been, for a long time now. He swallowed, his throat suddenly dry as she caught up to him.

“I’m so sorry I kept you waiting.” Her delicate brows furrowed and she bit her bottom lip. “If I’d had your cell number, I would’ve called.”

“It’s fine.” A ripe-berry scent came to him on the breeze from her shampoo and he hardened even more.

“I have a totally great reason I’m late. I’ll tell you all about it at dinner.”

He stared at her shoes. “You want to walk? Or, I’ve got a rental …”

“We can walk.” But she didn’t move except to turn her face to the ocean. “What a spectacular sunset.”