I sweep my thumb across the back of his, our hands clasped tightly together as we walk into Mo’s. “It’ll be okay, Luke. Come on,” I whisper when he hesitates.

Shit, this is bad. Maybe I shouldn’t have pushed him to come here. My attempt to remind him of all the good things he’s missing out on by hiding away in his cabin may have been too selfish.

His eyes scan the crowded room. Only a few steps inside the bar and his grip on my hand tightens.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.”

“We can go.” I second guess my idiotic idea until he smiles, and the knot that formed in my stomach starts to unfurl.

He leans forward, brushing his lips tenderly against mine. “I’m fine, Madison.”

My hand squeezes his tightly and I nod slowly, unsure if he means it. “Okay,” I whisper against his lips. Gazing into his deep blue eyes, I finally let myself relax.

Luke leads me through the crowd like he’s done it a million times, and motions for me to slide in the booth first. When he sits next to me, he places his warm, strong hand on top of my knee.

I relax into his hard, muscular side and rest my head on his shoulder. “You hungry?”

“I could eat, but I’d rather eat you.” He smirks.

The playful flirting turns me on, but then again, everything about Luke does.

“That can be arranged,” I tease and slowly lick my lips, drawing his gaze to my mouth.

“Madison.” His eyes darken. “I’m hanging on by a thread here. I want nothing more than to take you somewhere and bury my face between your soft thighs. So be a good girl.”

The guilt I had been feeling is quickly wiped away when his hand slides up my thigh and his pinky finger brushes against my panty line underneath my skintight pants.

“We can leave if you want.” My voice is husky, overcome by lust. I never stand a chance with Luke. Just a simple touch sends me into overdrive.

“Hi, I’m Maureen. What can I get you to drink?” The waitress interrupts our moment.

She’s tapping her pen against a small pad of paper and staring at Luke.

“I’ll take a Pepsi, please,” I say, trying to get her attention away from Luke. When he doesn’t answer her, I give him a little nudge with my shoulder.

“Water.” He keeps his gazed fixed on me.

“Do you two want menus?”

“Yes,” I answer.

She studies him for a few seconds before finally walking away. I can tell her curiosity has nothing to do with the fact that he’s new, because she didn’t bother to size me up in the way she did him. Her fixation on him is something more.

“This is a bad idea,” I whisper when she’s out of ear range, that guilt creeping back in.

“It’s fine. I’m used to the stares.”

“You shouldn’t have to be used to them, Luke.” I scan the room and notice more than a few sets of eyes on us. “What’s up everyone’s ass in this place?” My heart aches for Luke and I want to smack myself for forcing him to come here.

Just when I’m about to tell him again that we can leave, he moves his hand from my knee around the back of the booth, resting it on my shoulder. “It’s fine, Madison.”

“It’s not.”

He presses his soft, warm lips to my forehead. “They’ve all seen me before, but I think they’re more curious about the woman by my side.”

“They’re not looking at me.”

“They’re looking at us,” he says, pulling me closer to his body. “They’re wondering if I kidnapped you.” A deep laugh trickles out of him.

I’m horrified that they would even think such a thing. “That’s just ridiculous,” I snarl.

The tiny crinkles near the corners of his eyes deepen when he smiles. “Well, I’m sure it’s what they’re thinking. How did that man find a woman?”

“Pepsi and a water,” Maureen says, sliding them in front of us. When neither of us look up, she clears her throat. “Anything to eat?”

“I’ll take a cheeseburger and fries,” I say. It’s a safe bet. Shitholes like this always have them on the menu.

Keeping his gaze locked on mine and almost oblivious to Maureen’s gawking, he tells her, “I’ll have the same.”

We sit in silence, curled together without any space between us as we wait. I’m dying to ask him about everything I found during my Internet search. But I can’t figure out a way to do it without sounding like a stalker. Technically, I did stalk him, but it was only online and everything I found was public knowledge. My need to figure out Luke Dawson overtook my sanity. I knew it was wrong to invade his privacy in that way, but it didn’t stop me.

Someone drops a plate behind us and it shatters into what sounds like a million little pieces. Luke jolts and tenses.

“It was just a plate.” I place my hand on his leg, anchoring him to the now. “You’re okay, Luke. I’m here.” I keep my voice soft and soothing.

He blinks a few times before finally relaxing his death grip against my shoulder. “This is why I stay away from people.”

Turning to him, I cup his face in my hands. “Is it too much for you? We can go if you—”

“No.” He cuts me off, places his hands over mine, and returns my smile. “I’m okay. I want to spend time with you, even if it means I’m a little uncomfortable. Stop asking me if I want to leave. When I want to go, I’ll go. End of story.”

I search his face, but see nothing but truth in his eyes. “Yes, sir,” I say, trying to lighten the mood. “So…” I purse my lips and try to figure out what to talk about. Luke and I haven’t talked much even though we’ve spent a good amount of time with each other.

“So…” he repeats.

I roll my eyes. The man is impossible. “Tell me something about yourself. Something you haven’t told anyone in years.”

His thumb strokes the exposed skin on my shoulder before he answers. “I like cheeseburgers,” he says with a slight smirk.

He thinks he’s done, but I shake my head and forge on. “That doesn’t count. Everybody likes cheeseburgers.”

“Well.” He pauses and continues to softly graze my skin.

“Give me something. Please.”

“I was married before.”

My head snaps backward with the news. “You were?”

“Yep.”

“When?” There was nothing on his online profile that indicated that he was married or divorced. No mention of a woman at all. “Your choice or hers?” I blurt the question out before he has a chance to answer the first one.

“Hers. We divorced while I was deployed during my last tour.” He shrugs like it’s no big deal, but it’s huge.

What type of cold-hearted bitch divorces her hero soldier husband while he’s on the front lines and his life hangs in the balance?

I narrow my eyes at him. “What an asshole.”

“Being the wife of a soldier isn’t an easy life. Especially when I couldn’t even tell her where I was or what I was doing every day. There were too many secrets for us to survive.”

“It’s still a bitch move, Luke.”

He leans forward and kisses my forehead with so much tenderness I want to smack his ex-wife for breaking his heart. “We’ve both had shitty things happen to us, Madison.”

My chest aches with the truthfulness of his words. I can’t imagine what he lived through, having his heart broken, and so far away that there was nothing he could do.

When Jeremy broke me, I’d wanted to curl into a ball. The helplessness I felt eventually led me to the Avalon and to this moment sitting by Luke’s side. But I didn’t have to dodge bullets from an enemy, just the paparazzi trying to make a quick buck.

He’s right though. We’d both had shitty deals. But I know one thing for sure. When I’m with Luke, nothing that happened before matters. Not Jeremy. Not his affair. Not even my personal life becoming front page news. The only thing that matters is Luke and the way he makes me feel.

I can’t tell if I see pity in her eyes or a realization that she isn’t alone. When she told me about her ex, I didn’t confess this part of my past. But I know what it’s like to love someone and have them turn their back on you. When the divorce papers were delivered to me, I was shocked. No, that’s an understatement. I was knocked off kilter. My wife had been my only reason for making it through each day. What reason would I have to live, to come back, without her waiting for me?

“I’m sorry.” Madison stares up at me as she laces our fingers together. “I had no idea.”

“It was a long time ago. I’m over it.”

It had taken me a while, but I got over her. I moved on and found a new path, one that led me to my mountain. I didn’t cloister myself away because of her, but I certainly couldn’t handle civilization without her by my side. Looking back now, I wouldn’t change a thing. Because all of that brought me to this place, this time, with Madison by my side.

“Two cheeseburgers,” Maureen says, placing the plates in front of us with her eyes trained on me.

Madison glares at the waitress. “Is there something you need, Maureen? That’s your name, right?”

Here we go. The whole time I worried about how I’d react to the people here, but I should’ve been worried about Madison. I’ve grown used to their stares, but this was new to her.

Maureen scrunches her nose and snarls. “No.”

“Are you sure? Because every time you come over here you rudely stare at my boyfriend, and I’m trying to figure out why.”

I glance up toward the ceiling and curse under my breath. This is going to be bad. My stomach’s growling, the cheesy beefy goodness of the burger’s calling to me, but I have a feeling I’m not going to get even a small taste.

Maureen rests her hands flat on the table top and her extra-large body casts a shadow over the booth. “I don’t know who you think you are, missy. But your kind isn’t welcome here.”

“My kind?” Madison’s eyebrows rise before she laughs loudly.

Maureen straightens and places her hands on her hips, making her already wide frame appear even bigger. “We don’t take to strangers.”

Madison crosses her arms over her chest and cocks her head. “Is that why you can’t keep your eyes off Luke?”

Their voices get louder, drawing the attention of everyone around us. A hush falls over the room as they turn to face us. Not me, but the two women on either side of me ready to go at it at any moment. The problem is, I’m going to have to step in before it gets out of hand.

“Ladies.” I glance from Maureen to Madison. “Let’s just forget this ever happened.” I reach in my back pocket and grab a twenty, throwing it on the table. “We’re just going to go.”

Madison grabs my wrist as I start to stand. “Sit.” Her tone is firm and completely sexy.

I drop back into the booth and grit my teeth. “You’re not going to be the one that has to clean this mess up, sweetheart,” I say with my jaw clenched and a fake smile on my face. “I don’t feel like getting in a fight.”

“Don’t be so dramatic, dear,” she tells me with a glare. “So, Maureen.” She turns her attention back to the waitress, whose mouth is now hanging open as she watches our exchange. “What’s with the face?”

Maureen narrows her eyes and starts to say something, but when a hand clamps down on her shoulder, she snaps her mouth shut.

“Problem over here, Reenie?” The guy beside her virtually comes out of nowhere.

“This girl.” Maureen points her stubby little finger toward Madison and glowers. “She has no manners, Melvin.”

Melvin looks at Madison before setting his sights on me. He’s twice my width, but I’m sure there’re muscles underneath his pot belly and man breasts. The old white tank top that barely covers his middle is covered in stains and he adds to them when he wipes his hands on his sides. “I think you need to take your piece of ass and burger to go,” he says, pitching a thumb over his shoulder.

“Excuse me?” Madison pipes in.

I brace myself for the inevitable fistfight that’s going to take place.

“We were minding our own business, getting ready to eat dinner, but Maureen here…” Madison’s glare intensifies. “She’s being rude, and I think she’s the one that needs to leave.”

Maureen laughs, revealing her teeth, or lack thereof, when her head tips back.

My hand tightens on Madison’s knee. We’re overstepping. This isn’t LA. People around these parts tend to stick together, and we’re the outsiders. “Stop,” I tell her, my voice low and hushed so only she can hear.

Melvin joins in, laughing loudly and running his hand through his greasy hair before his expression becomes cold and angry. “Take your mouthy bitch and get the fuck out of here.”

I’m on my feet, standing toe-to-toe with Melvin before he finishes the sentence. Every muscle in my body is tense, and my anger is about to bubble over. “You need to watch your mouth.”

“I’m not sayin’ nothing that isn’t true. You should put a muzzle on her.” Melvin glances around my shoulder and barks in Madison’s direction.

The last few years I’ve been a patient man. I’ve let things slide off my back just to keep the peace, preferring to stay in the background and secluded in my own little world. But Melvin’s statement gets under my skin.

My instincts kick in and I punch Melvin on the chin, snapping his jaw backward. He staggers backward and tries to grab on to a chair for support. But he misses and wobbles. Eventually he finds his footing and starts heading back in my direction with his fist clenched tightly.

But before he can throw a punch, another guy steps in front of me and swings. I weave backward and to the side before I launch an even more devastating blow than the one that connected with Melvin’s face. The new guy, who I suppose is Melvin’s friend, falters for a moment before coming back for more.

Madison’s pleading for me to stop, but her voice is faint as she tugs on my arm. I shake her off, pushing her lightly back toward the relative safety of the booth.

My training has kicked in, my focus narrows on my targets, and I ready myself to use any means necessary to get out safely with Madison at my side. The two men coming after me—and the country boy onlookers—are no match for my skills. I make quick work of the two, laying them out on the floor with a few more blows.

When I turn toward Madison, her lips are parted and she’s clutching her chest.

“Come on.” I hold my bruised hand out for her to take.

I’m done with this place. Done with the town that’s supposed to be part of my home. My welcome has worn out, and before the other shitkickers want to try and take me down too.

Madison slides her hand into mine and tucks herself under my arm, resting her hand on my stomach. Neither of us say anything until we make it outside.

“Give me the keys.” She pauses just outside the truck and holds out her hand.

I shake my head and reach into my pocket. “I’m driving. Get your ass in the car, Madison.” I open the door and motion for her to get in without any more lip.

I help her inside the cab, and she grabs my face.

“Luke. I want you.”

“Madison,” I say, righting her in the seat. “Not now.” As I walk around, making my way to the driver’s side, I wonder how I let this woman into my world. Nothing has made sense since I caught her at the springs. Everything really went out of whack the moment she showed up at my door. I slide into the seat and turn on the engine. “It’s going to be a long ride home.”

She licks her lips and her gaze travels up the length of my body. “The Avalon is closer.” She gives me a quick and playful wink.

“The Avalon it is,” I tell her before closing the door.

I drive us straight to the Avalon with her body practically entangled around mine the entire way. We barely make it into the room before we’re undressing, throwing our clothes on the ground. I follow her to the bed and fall on top of her.

Even though the evening was a shit show, I end up exactly where I want to be—with Madison underneath me.