Chapter One

Aidan

The Past . . .

SHE TUMBLES OFF THE stool, and I can’t help but glimpse the black lace panties staring back up at me. I didn’t catch her quick enough, and instead of yanking her arm out of the socket, I lessen the blow by scooping in right before she hits the floor. “I didn’t peg you for a weak in the knees type of woman. Maybe I’m underestimating my smolder?” I grin, sliding my hands up her slim waist as she stands. “I came and knocked you right off your feet.” The panties are naughty lace, not the floral kind of lace you wear once you’re comfortable with someone. My dick hardens and the pit of need in my stomach enlarges.

Magnolia is horrified as she straightens herself, trying to yank on the dress that isn’t nearly as short as she thinks it is. I’ve never seen a woman more uncomfortable than in this moment. I should tell her that it doesn’t affect me, that it takes a lot to make my eyebrows rise, but I go the joke route instead to help counter her mortification. “No one saw,” I add when she doesn’t respond. “Trust me.”

“I just fell,” Magnolia gasps, waving her arm to the bar and the fact that everyone is, in fact, looking at us. “They’ll be talking about this all week. I bet they all assume I came here drunk like ole Verne down on the end.” She hisses as she sits down again, shielding her eyes with one hand. Sighing, she rasps under her breath, “In this dress to boot. I never should have worn it.”

Perfect opening. “Let’s go back to my place and get it off you,” I say, keeping the tone light. It would be easier if she agreed, if I could take her out of here and fuck her brains out. I guarantee she’d remember falling on my dick instead of off the stool. “You can’t argue with that. You hate that dress.” I wink when her gaze lights on mine.

Something in her eyes fire. “No, I’m not that kind of woman,” she deadpans.

My stomach sinks. Two hours of wasted time. An hour combined of total messages sent over the past three days and the hour I’ve spent at the bar. I use the app for one reason and one reason only. To fuck.

“You’ve got me all wrong.” It’s like the fall from the stool ignited her true personality. She opens her mouth to speak, then closes it again before finally speaking. “I thought I could pretend to be that kind of woman, but that’s not me. This isn’t me,” she says, looking down at the dress and then meets my gaze. “I’m sorry I wasted your time. I wanted to be this woman for you. You know? You’re a beautiful man, but I think I proved how inexperienced I am with all of this. I fell off my chair because I don’t know how to wear a fancy dress.” She looks left when she says the dress part, and I call it a lie. She fell off her seat because she’s uncomfortable around me. Her eyes are wild as she realizes the half-truth in her own words.

“Hey, it’s fine. Really. I like that you don’t do this a lot,” I say.

“I do this never,” Magnolia replies, emphasizing the last word.

Cocking my head to one side. “Never?”

She shakes her head. “Not even once. My friend said this was a good idea. To meet a man who I knew very little about to kick-start the relationship…section of my life, but I’m in over my head. You’re obviously very experienced in dating and that makes it even worse. I need to work up to a man like you.” She closes her mouth and her eyes pop open. “That sounded awful. I’m not trying to be offensive.”

I laugh. “I don’t get offended, Magnolia. Tell you what? I’ll help you get your groove back. Did an ex-boyfriend burn you?” If I know what I’m dealing with I can feed her game she’ll play for. Everyone has something that’s integral in another person. I’m an expert at pinpointing it.

She shakes her head, eyes closed. “I’m so embarrassed right now. Don’t, please. I sound like a charity case or something.”

“You’re far too hot to be a charity case. I will enjoy every single second of being with you.” Her eyes widen, and she turns her face toward mine. When her forehead wrinkles in confusion, I smile. “I’m serious. I will.” No maybe about that.

“You’re either that good, or you’re being honest.”

Or option C. I’m good at this because I do it all the time and I’m far from honest. Magnolia downs her drink and slides the glass away. “Do you want another?” I ask, wiping sweat from my almost full beer bottle.

“I could have five and still be mortified. A reset button is what I need right now,” she says.

Thinking for a second, I decide to put a little more effort into Magnolia Sager. She is more attractive than my usual date, and I have to admit her inexperience is charming. I’d be able to play with her in bed for hours. Days. I run my hand over my mouth as I narrow my eyes at her cleavage. Fuck yes. Worth every second. Sold.

I slap the counter with my left hand. “Reset button,” I say, grinning. “I’m going to the Italian restaurant across the street. Meet me there in ten minutes.” I throw cash down for the tab and spin out of my chair. I signal to the bartender as I pass him, and when I get to the door, I throw a look over my shoulder. Magnolia is watching me walk away, mouth agape, eyes wide.

There are always tables available here. Even on a Friday night. I tell the hostess I want the table for two in the back corner, away from the kitchen. I want to be alone with her, but this will have to do for now. The hostess bats her eyes and sticks out her ass as she tells me to follow her. I check out her ass and thank her once I’m seated. She leaves two menus and I order a bottle of wine. White. Magnolia is a white wine drinker, I can tell.

It’s exactly ten minutes later when Magnolia slips through the front door wearing a gauzy, blue skirt and a black tank top, her hair is down, and her lips are free of lipstick. The wind blows her skirt a little when the door opens and closes, and my heartbeat pounds in my neck. I swallow down the unfamiliar sensation and begin to wonder where she’s been hiding. Why haven’t I seen her? How is she not taken? Married? In a small town like this, the beauties are the first to be swallowed in matrimony. I realized that straight away.

Magnolia smiles when she sees me watching her, takes a visible breath and approaches our table, the hostess glaring daggers at her back. I stand as she nears. “Hi,” I say when she’s right in front of me. “I’m Aidan Mixx.”

She nods. “I’m Magnolia Sager. It’s nice to meet you.” Her gaze flicks from my face down my body. “You are more attractive in person than in your photos.”

I grin, and she swallows hard. “Funny you mention it, because you are the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen. Are you actually human?” Her blush stains high on her cheeks. “Sit. I ordered a bottle of wine. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Red I hope,” she replies, sliding into the seat opposite mine.

I laugh. “White. I’ll order a red, too.” She’s already throwing me off my game.

Magnolia smiles a mega-watt, white smile. “My friend Jenny is wearing a hot pink bandage dress at the beach right now,” she says, giggling. “This is the real me. I’m not the kind of woman I’m sure you’re used to.”

She’s not. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. I’ve had a few girlfriends sprinkled into my life. One I thought might turn into something, but my career deterred anything from becoming something more. I’ve hardened my heart against feelings. They complicate a life that is already full of complications. “What else do you know about me?” I ask, leaning toward her, my elbows on the small round table, my mind racing with images of her trading clothes with her friend on the beach.

She blows her hair out of her face and looks away. “I’m not a born and bred Bronze Bay local, so I’m not really in the gossip loop, but I have been here long enough to know about you. I do know you came here to open the Navy Base down on the beach. I know you’re in the special forces,” she says, meeting my eyes. Her voice rises at the end.

“That a question?” I tilt my head to the side.

She shrugs. “Maybe?”

“I am.”

“A Navy SEAL?” she asks, quieter this time, like she’s whispering a secret. It’s adorable.

I nod. “What else have you heard? It’s sort of nice living in a small town. I barely have to talk. The town does it for me.”

“I’m sorry. That’s so rude of me.”

Leaning my head to the side again, I grin. “I’m not offended. Remember? You can’t offend me. I was being honest. You haven’t gotten anything wrong yet. I’ll correct you if you do. Go on,” I reply, waving my hand.

“I’d rather you just told me,” she says, casting her eyes down toward a glass of water.

The hostess, who is also the waitress, brings two long-stemmed glasses and opens the white wine. She pours for both of us and leaves, tossing a seductive look over her shoulder as she goes. If Magnolia turns south, I know who will be in my bed tonight.

There are only four other couples in the entire restaurant, and we’re out of earshot of all of them. I rub my hands together. “I moved to Bronze Bay because the Navy told me to. I spent most of my life on the SEAL teams on the West Coast. San Diego,” I say, watching her face as she processes my words. “I’m a military man. I don’t settle down and using an app to find dates is the easiest way for me to have company.” I look to the right. The hostess is looking at me again. When I turn back to Magnolia, I know she hasn’t noticed the other woman. She’s oblivious. “When was the last time you went on a first date?” Hopefully by my intonation, she knows the word date implies more than just noodles and wine.

She drinks a sip of her wine, twirling the stem of the glass in her hand. Her long lashes fan across her cheeks as she watches the glass. She really is fucking beautiful. “Oh, give or take fifteen years,” she says, laughing, a sarcastic noise. “Seriously, though.” Her gaze meets mine. Truth.

Schooling my reaction is difficult. “Fuck,” I say. “You’re going to have to give me a bit more than that, Magnolia. Have you been hiding in a convent?”

She laughs. “This is the part where you run.”

I down my wine, pour another one, and top off hers without replying, hoping she’ll go on without further prompting.

“I’m divorced.”

I nod. I’m thirty. About the age where it’s normal to have a divorce under your belt. “And?” I ask, clearing my throat.

“How old is the average woman you date?” she asks.

Volleying my head back and forth I calculate. “Twenty-five?”

“Is that a question?” Magnolia asks. “The hostess is nineteen. You like them young? Another thing I’ve been told about you SEALs that might not be a problem with other women, but it’s a problem for me.”

Her smirk is victorious, and I feel a wave begin to drown me. I’m in over my head. She hides things as well as I do. I swallow hard. Shit. “I guess the average varies,” I say. “What does that have to do with us? You are clearly of age.” He nods at my wine glass.

“I have a seventeen-year-old daughter. Almost an adult. Almost the same age as the waitress,” she says, licking her lips. Her eyes narrow, waiting for my reaction. I’ve had years of practice hiding my emotions and feelings. Neutral. I need to find my best neutral persona. Magnolia continues, “I married my ex-husband directly out of high school. He left me for a nineteen-year-old. Expelling all of this information up front is probably a good way to never have a second date again, but I feel it’s really important to be upfront if this is going to go further.” She glances at the waitress once more and returns her gaze to mine.

I drink the second glass of wine and taste nothing, so I pour more. This is the part where I run. Far and hard and fast. “I’m into you. Just you. Where do you want this to go? Tell me how you envisioned this night going?” Asking questions is a good way to gather your wits. I don’t want to say something stupid, but I can’t deny I’m intrigued.

She shrugs. “Jenny told me it was an app used primarily for one-night stands.” Her blue eyes soften as her voice lowers. “I’m not sure I can do that though.” Relief washes over me and muscles I didn’t even realize were tense ease back into my chair. This is a problem I can solve easily. Fuck, I might even be able to get her in my bed tonight, after all. I can deal with her baggage for one night. Better yet, I can forget her baggage for one night.

“You can do it,” I say. “We are almost the same age, Magnolia. The fact you have a daughter is of little consequence to me. Honestly, my only reservation is how long it’s been since you’ve gone to bed with a man. The concern being if I can be gentle enough.”

Her lips are wet and her breathing speeds. The waitress intrudes. “Are you ready to order?”

I’m about to tell her what I want when Magnolia interrupts. “You know what? Just bring us the check please, darling.” She meets my eyes. “That okay?”

I nod once. “Perfect,” I growl.