Yeah, she definitely wanted some space. He might not like it, but he understood and respected her need. And he’d do or say whatever the hell it took to get her to let him back in. “Okay. I’ll call you.”
“I’ll call you,” she corrected him and he bit back a smile at the edge in her voice. Damn, she was pretty with her cheeks flushed and her eyes glittering at him like that.
“You’ll call me,” he amended. “Sleep well, sweet pea.”
Her entire face softened at the use of the endearment. He hadn’t meant to say it, it had just slipped out. Her eyes filled with sadness. “You too.”
He let himself out and walked to his truck. Settling behind the wheel, he watched as the downstairs lights turned off one by one, then her bedroom light came on a few seconds later. She’d tuck herself into bed now and read until she got tired enough to sleep.
God, he’d have given anything to be able to slide in next to her. Not for anything sexual, but simply to gather her close and feel her up against him. Listen to the sound of her breathing and inhale her scent.
If she let him do that again someday, he’d be the luckiest sonofabitch to walk the planet.
Liam started the ignition and put the truck into gear, telling himself this was a necessary tactical retreat. He hadn’t won the battle, but he hadn’t lost it either, he could tell by the way she was taking the time to consider his request. That in itself was huge.
This was the most important campaign he’d ever waged in his life and failure wasn’t an option. He would do whatever the hell it took to win her back.
Chapter Seventeen
Honor hadn’t been this nervous about a date since her first one with Liam when he’d surprised her in Kandahar. From the first time they’d met she’d known on a gut-deep level that they’d be amazing together. Today she was going to find out if it was still there.
You know it’s still there, that’s what you’re afraid of.
It was very unlike her but she changed outfits three times, finally deciding on a simple turquoise summer dress with cap sleeves. The hem came to just below her knees, allowing her to wear flats rather than heels, and it made her feel sexy and feminine. She finished doing her hair and put on some lip gloss before going into the kitchen to wait. Liam had insisted on picking her up. He was old fashioned about things like that.
Her stomach was abuzz with nerves when his silver truck pulled into her driveway. She was out the door and halfway to the truck before he even got his door open. Him standing there in his jeans and a black, fitted button-down shirt was a sight to behold. The man was mouthwatering.
He pulled off his shades when he saw her, an appreciative gleam in his eyes and a sexy smile curving his mouth that set her heart pounding. “Hey.”
“Hi.” She strolled up to the passenger side while he strode around to open her door for her. He smelled like sin, clean and spicy. She fought the urge to lean in and press her nose against his neck to breathe him in.
“Thanks for coming today. You look beautiful.”
Her cheeks heated up, arousal flooding her body at his nearness. She mentally scolded her endocrine system. “Thanks. This okay for wherever we’re going?”
“It’s perfect.”
She climbed into the seat. “So, where are we headed?”
“You’ll see,” he said with a mysterious smile and shut her door.
No denying this was a little awkward. Being in the truck with him brought back so many memories, making her feel nostalgic, a little sad and a lot hopeful.
He took the I-5 south and then the turn-off to SeaTac Airport. She looked over at him and arched a brow. “Are we flying somewhere?”
“Maybe.”
Hiding a smile, she settled back against the seat and folded her hands in her lap. “You have to have me home by midnight, you know. I have to report in at oh-seven-hundred tomorrow morning. Some big VIP coming to base for the Fourth celebration. Tightened security means more briefings and more work for me.”
“Yeah, we were briefed about it yesterday. Doesn’t really affect us since we’ll be out on exercise for a couple days anyway. But I’ll do my best to get you back before midnight,” he added, glancing over at her as they waited at a stoplight. “What made you agree to come today? I wasn’t sure you would.”
After he’d left that night she’d crashed and woken up early, then mulled the idea over throughout the rest of the day in between tasks at work. “I thought a lot about what you said,” she admitted with a shrug. “About how we’d both made mistakes and hurt each other in the past, and you were right. We can’t go back and undo all that, so there’s no point in dwelling on it anymore and if we’re ever going to have a chance then we have to let it go and move forward.”
He was quiet a moment before answering. “Wow, that’s… That’s more than I was even hoping for.” He shook his head. “It took me two years and extenuating circumstances to get to that point, and it only took you a couple days.”
“Well, don’t feel bad. It’s a scientific fact that girls mature faster than boys. And then most never catch up to us.” It was true she had lingering doubts that he was at the same point she was emotionally, but she was willing to put them aside long enough to give him the benefit of the doubt and see where things went today.
His deep chuckle set off a tingle low in her belly. “No argument here.” He steered them to a quieter part of the airport and she saw private helicopters parked on the tarmac.
She shot him a glance. “Are we going on a tour?”
“Nope. Well, maybe a little one. Just be patient.”
Hard to be when she was still a little nervous about everything. She’d never done this before, didn’t know how to go about taking another stab at a relationship, let alone the most important one of her life.
All she knew was, she couldn’t simply dive back in and expect things to go back to the way they’d been before. They were different people now in some ways, even though the fundamentals were still the same. She’d fallen hard in love with him for those basic qualities, so why not again?
After parking near a hangar he came around to help her slide out of the truck. Just the feel of the hard muscles in his forearm flexing beneath her palm and the warmth of his hand on her waist as he helped her down made her heart beat erratically. She was careful to drop her hand as soon as possible and take a step back, needing distance. It would be too easy to let the physical part take over her common sense, but she had no illusions that she’d want to stop him if he did try to make a move.
If he noticed her retreat he didn’t comment, just went to the back of the truck and lowered the tailgate. He pulled out his ruck, which was packed to the top with something, and a duffel. She worked with military men day in and day out, but the sight of Liam with his ruck slung over one broad shoulder and the duffel in his other hand made her entire body tingle in awareness of his sheer masculinity. The muscles in his forearms flexed below the rolled-up cuffs of his black shirt with every movement, his thigh muscles flexing beneath his jeans with each step.
It was the rock-solid confidence in the way he held himself though, in the way he moved and spoke, that made her want to tackle him to the ground and rip his clothes off.
“Right this way,” he told her, and led the way to a red and gold chopper parked on a helipad.
“A 407,” she remarked, taking in the sleek lines. “Are you our pilot?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
More flutters. Some were nerves, but the majority were anticipation. She stayed put while he stowed his gear at the back of the bird, then he turned to her and arched a brow. “Help me with the pre-flight inspection?”
She couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face. “Sure.”
They worked as a team inspecting the body of the aircraft and its rotors, then got inside the cockpit to check the instrumentation and go through the checklist. Picking up the headset on the passenger seat, she grinned at him. “How’d you manage this, anyway?”