Felicia had been hiding behind her blinds and watching Gage and Steven in the courtyard like some sort of creepy stalker. She told herself it was just to make sure they didn’t come to blows and hurt one another.

So when they drove off and Billy headed toward the direction of the house, she opened the door before he could even knock.

He cocked a brow at her. “Those men are fine. Aren’t you the lucky one?” He entered the house and took in the two large—but very different from one another—bouquets of flowers.

He turned back and placed both hands on his hips. “I think you may have an admirer problem.”

She choked out a laugh and shook her head. “No, I have a single admirer...Steven. Gage just feels responsible for me for old times sake and because it looks like some of the soldiers from the base were involved with the break-in last night. That’s all it is.”

Billy made a sound of disbelief as he pointedly looked at the bouquets of flowers. But then he tugged her toward her living room. “Come on. Come sit down. You still look pale. Let me make you one of those sickeningly sweet caramel lattes in your fancy coffeemaker, and then, we can talk. I think I need to know more about what exactly happened between you and Gage way back when, because you never told me the details.”

Five minutes later, Billy had tucked her onto one end of the couch with a lightweight blanket and steaming mug, and he sat on the other end with her bare feet in his lap. And she didn’t even know where to start.

Billy fixed that for her. “I know you broke up with Gage a few months before Whit’s accident. She was doing everything she could back then to try to pull you out of your funk. Then she died, and we both kind of fell apart. But looking back on it now, I’m not sure...how much of your heartbreak was over him, and how much of it was her?”

“Oh, god, Billy.” Her throat closed up. “It was both of them. They were the two most important people in my life, and I lost them both so close together. You were having your own issues dealing, so I tried not to let you know...” A stone sat heavy on top of her chest making it hard to breathe. “There were days I wasn’t sure I could go on.”

His eyes darkened and his voice lowered. “Wait, you were suicidal?”

Nausea churned low in her belly. She’d never planned to tell him this, but he needed to know how much he’d saved her. “Yeah. One night...it had been just an awful week. It was about a month after Whit’s funeral. I snuck out a large dose of horse sedative from the clinic...it was easily enough to kill me. I was ready to do it.” She had been so close, and that would have been the worst thing she could have done. Her eyes filled with tears. “But you saved my life.”

He frowned at her in confusion. “I did? How?”

“Yeah, you probably don’t even remember the night, because you were dealing with your own demons then. I got a call from that shithole bar, The Liquoring Hole, that you’d gotten in a fight, and if I didn’t get you out of there within fifteen minutes, they were calling the cops.”

Billy fingered a scar just above his left eyebrow. “That was the night I got this, wasn’t it?”

She nodded and gave him a sad smile. “I sat with you in the ER that night, waiting for you to get stitches. While you were slowly sobering up and so sick, I realized that I couldn’t do it. If I died, no one would be there to help pick you up. You were just as sad as I was. I realized that if I killed myself, there’d be no one around to stop you from doing the same. I couldn’t let that happen.”

“Damn.” Billy squeezed her foot, and tears filled his eyes. “I had no idea that it was so hard for you. I should have been a better friend and realized.”

She shook her head. “No, we were both in a really bad place. But you got me through it. We both made it through, and now we’re almost fully functioning adults.”

He laughed. “Just almost?”

“Well, you’re probably closer than me. I feel like I’m in the middle of a junior high love triangle.”

“Which brings us back to Colonel Sexy. Tell me what happened between you two.”

“The main thing you need to know is that for the almost two years we dated, we never lived in the same town. That was so, so hard. I was going to vet school, and he was establishing himself as a fighter pilot. Neither one of those things were low-stress life choices, but we were doing it. Kind of. I think the longest we got to spend together at a time was a week over spring break one year.”

It had made their time together magical...maybe too magical. She had wondered if it had been so good because they had known they had to appreciate every single moment of it

“As it got closer to the end of my internship, things began to get tense between us. I knew Gage wanted a future with us in the same town, but he never once mentioned getting out of the Air Force. At the same time, Whitney and I were making tentative plans for us to take over Valley View and buy it from Dr. Hernandez so he could retire. I never did work up the courage to tell Gage about that, but he must have known that something was up, because the tension between us had grown tighter and tighter.”

She looked at the pitcher filled with white daisies and pink carnations. He had almost always brought her flowers when he’d come to visit. After the third time he’d brought her roses, she had confessed to him that she preferred daisies and carnations. They lasted longer and had such pretty fragrances to them...and were so much cheaper for a young Air Force officer.

“What happened?” Billy asked.

She tore her gaze from the daisies. “I was supposed to go to Georgia for New Year’s. I had a whole week planned and was supposed to be off, starting on New Year’s Eve. But the night before, the county sheriffs busted a massive puppy and kitten mill. There were hundreds of frozen, dying puppies and kittens to get triaged. Every vet in the county was called in to help, and it was still too much for us all to handle.”

That had been the single worst night of her entire veterinary career. The conditions they found the animals in had been atrocious. So many of them had been too miserable and sick to even cry. They had died by the dozens. It had been horrific.

She shook her head. “It was bad, and I couldn’t just say I had to get on a plane to fly to go see my boyfriend. I called Gage to let him know, and then stayed and worked.”

Billy frowned like he didn’t understand where the issue had come from.

“Gage definitely wasn’t thrilled when I called him, but I had thought he understood. I managed to make it out on a flight despite still needing to be here. Dr. Hernandez was always awesome about stuff like that. He had known how much I hated living so far from Gage, so he made sure I got out on a red-eye so I’d at least be there by New Year’s Day.”

She’d been so exhausted, but somehow that had made the memory imprint on her brain like it had happened yesterday instead of eighteen years ago.

***

18 YEARS AGO

Felicia got out of the taxi and glanced down at her jeans with a grimace. If she’d had more time, she would have planned better so she had a change of clothes in her carry-on. Then she could have shown up in something nicer than jeans, a T-shirt, and a sweatshirt. As it was, she had barely made it to the airport in El Paso in time for her flight. Hopefully, Gage would be so excited that she was here that he wouldn’t even notice what she wore.

She paid the cab driver. This early, the neighborhood filled with 1920s era small bungalows was quiet. The sun had just started peeking over the horizon but was hidden by a light, early-morning winter fog. Her sweatshirt wasn’t warm enough for this cold.

A strange car was parked in front Gage’s rental, but it could belong to one of his pilot buddies or one of the neighbors. With the night before being New Year’s Eve, there was no telling. There were probably strange cars parked all over town as drinkers decided to take a taxi home rather than drive.

She let herself into the house with the key Gage had given her a year ago when he’d moved into the little rental house. When she stepped inside, floral perfume assaulted her senses. Why would Gage have gotten such a floral-scented candle?

Felicia shrugged her shoulders. Maybe his mom had bought it for him for Christmas. She left her bags by the front door and toed off her shoes so she could creep silently down the hall to surprise Gage while he still slept.

The perfume grew stronger the closer she got to Gage’s bedroom, and a low, sick feeling began to swirl in the bottom of her stomach.

For a moment, she stopped in the hall just outside his bedroom and considered turning right back around and calling him from outside, but she had to know. Then she heard a low grunt that sounded like Gage.

She stepped over the threshold and gasped. Gage lay flat on his bed, completely naked, his hands buried in a blonde woman’s hair. He thrust into her mouth from where she lay in between his spread thighs. She was also naked and obviously not worried about the fact. All the sheets and bedding had been ripped off the bed and scattered over the floor.

Neither of them realized she was there.

His back arched as Gage yelled, “Doc!”

Then he yanked the girl up, quickly rolled her onto her back, and plunged deep inside her pussy. Gage’s back was covered with scores of nail scratches, proving what he’d been up to all night.

Felicia must have made a sound, because he glanced at the door. For a split second, their eyes met, his widening in shock.

A tortured yell ripped out of Gage, and she turned and ran.

Behind her, a woman squealed, and Gage yelled, “Felicia!” Feet pounded after her as she sprinted down the hall to his living room.

Her socks slid on the wood floors. She reached and grabbed her shoes and her suitcases just as Gage reached her and grabbed her by the arm.

His eyes were wild, and his hair had a well-fucked, screwed up look about it. The line of hickeys from his neck down his chest made her stomach heave.

“How could you?” she cried as she swung wildly at him, trying to get him to let loose of her arm. “You bastard. Oh, god.” She sobbed. “Let. Me. Go.” She had to get out of there before she crumpled into a humiliating little ball of pain on the floor.

“Felicia. No.” His voice sounded wrecked. Broken. “It’s not what it looks like.”

At that obvious lie, she stilled with a bark of horrible laughter. She let her eyes drop to his cock, still half-hard and wet...from being inside her. Oh, god, he’d been fucking another woman.

“You had your dick inside another woman. I saw you,” she growled through clenched teeth. “There’s no other way to explain that.”

He let go of her arm and mumbled, “I don’t understand.” He clutched at his head. “I don’t remember.”

It felt like her heart was trying to claw its way out of her chest with barbed wire. She shook her head as the tears began again. “I loved you.”

His eyes held so much pain that it hurt to look at him.

She hurt. The tearing pain inside her was so bad she thought it might rip her in half. In the past two years, he’d been the one to comfort those hurts. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to bury herself into his strong arms for the comfort he could give, which was so fucked up.

She realized that as the skank that had been in his bed slunk past the two of them in a tiny, sparkling-silver club dress, carrying her shoes, and looking pretty well-fucked, too.

That was it. Felicia had to get out of there. She followed the girl out the door. Gage trailed behind, pleading with her and completely ignoring that he was still naked. “Felicia, please, let me explain.”

She shook her head. “Absolutely not. I never want to see you again.” She stormed down the steps and stopped. She had no way to leave. Her taxi was long gone.

The girl who’d been in Gage’s bed had just started up her car, looked at the two of them for a moment, and then rolled down her window. “Do you need a ride?”

This was absolutely the worst moment in her life, so she could only nod as she climbed into the passenger seat. Her last image of Gage was as he dove into the bushes to puke as they drove away.

The stranger quietly asked where she needed to go. Not knowing what else to do, Felicia told her the airport.

The drive to the airport was completely silent. What could she say to the girl who had just fucked the love of her life? Felicia wanted to hate her, but she doubted Gage had told her that he had a girlfriend. That’s not the way guys worked. Felicia knew it from watching way too many of her girlfriends’ hearts get crushed. Now, it was her turn.

She swallowed the sob that tried to well up her throat. She never thought she’d be the girl who got duped, but that didn’t mean she had to like the girl who’d aided in the duping.

“Thank you,” Felicia muttered when they pulled up to the drop-off zone of the airport.

The girl placed a hand on Felicia’s arm, stopping her from getting out of the car. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t know he had a girlfriend.”

Just as Felicia had guessed.

“I know it doesn’t make a difference when it all comes down to it,” the girl said, “but he was really drunk last night. I’m assuming you’re ‘Doc’?”

Felicia nodded, not able to talk around the lump in her throat.

The girl looked miserable. “He called me that several times.” She shook her head with a bitter laugh. “I should have known that a guy like that had a girlfriend.”

“Yeah,” Felicia finally managed to get words out. “A girlfriend that he screwed over last night. We’re obviously both better off without him.”

She left the girl in the fancy Mercedes and went to change her flight home.

***

PRESENT DAY

Billy’s jaw clenched in anger. “And you never saw him again?”

Felicia shook her head as she willed the tears not to come. She had cried over Gage enough to last a lifetime. She wasn’t going there again. Not for him.

“He called for a few weeks, but I just couldn’t talk to him. I couldn’t get past what he’d done. Then the calls stopped. A week later, Whitney died, and you know the rest of it.”

Billy pulled her into his lap and tucked her under his chin. “I’ve changed my mind. That man may be pretty but obviously just on the surface. You’re much better off with Steven. He’s gorgeous, and that’s a man who knows how to treat his woman.”

Sure, that sounded easy.

But until that New Year’s Day long ago, she’d thought Gage was one of those good guys, too.

***

THE NEXT DAY, FELICIA was feeling much better physically. Her side still hurt, but it wasn’t the throbbing pain she’d had the day before. It would probably feel even better if she’d managed to get any sleep the night before. But after her talk with Billy, her dreams had been filled with haunting images of her time with Gage combined with nightmares of the other women he’d loved over the years.

She shrugged on her lab coat before heading out of her house. She needed the distraction of work today. She refused to get sucked down the rabbit hole of obsessing about where Gage’s life had taken him after the two of them had broken up.

But as she exited her house, she ran smack dab into Steven.

“Whoa.” He grabbed her by her upper arms to keep her from bouncing off his broad chest. “What’s the rush?”

“Steven, what are you doing here?” It was before six o’clock in the morning.

He kissed her on her nose. “And good morning to you, too. I couldn’t sleep after the debacle yesterday, and I’m also not exactly comfortable with your security here. So, I came to do something about it.”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “The debacle or the security?”

“Both.”

He pulled her into his arms, which felt so strong and sure around her. It was nice.

He kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry I acted like a testosterone-laden jackass yesterday. I love you, Felicia. It kills me that he has this deep history with you.”

His hazel eyes turned golden as he gazed so earnestly at her in the morning light. She cupped his blond, stubble-covered cheek. He hadn’t even taken the time to shave this morning before he’d come over. That was very unlike him.

“But that’s the key, Steven. It’s history. He hurt me deeply.” Telling the story to Billy last night had brought back just how profoundly Gage’s betrayal had devastated her. “I would be stupid to ever trust him again. Believe me, there’s no competition here.”

Steven blew out a deep breath. “Thank you. I needed to hear that.”

She hated that she’d done anything to make him doubt the depth of her feelings for him. No, they didn’t have the great sexual passion that she’d shared with Gage, but that passion had burned her in the end. Destroyed her. And she was older now, it only made sense that things weren’t quite so hot and emotionally charged all the time. That’s what came with maturity, right?

Things with Steven felt stable. She knew he would never hurt her.

She linked her hand with his. “Walk with me over to the clinic, and you can tell me what you were talking about with the security. I really can’t afford to upgrade right now.” She’d needed to upgrade her system ever since she bought the clinic. She’d known that, but in a private practice like this, there was always a more urgent expense that came up and took priority. She could raise her clinic rates, but that could make the difference between some of her patients getting care and some of their owners not being able to afford their needed care and medicine. She hadn’t been willing to do that to them.

Steven shook his head. “The upgrade isn’t negotiable. I won’t lose you to some drugged-up thief. I’ll pay for the system if that’s what it takes.” He brushed his hand lightly and carefully over the side where she’d been stabbed. “Your life isn’t worth the cost of the few dollars it will take to keep you safe. I’m willing to pay for that.”

Felicia really wasn’t comfortable with this. The clinic got by financially, but there just wasn’t enough money for all the extras she needed to invest in. But to let Steven pay for it didn’t seem right.

“Please, let me.” He pulled her to a stop just outside the clinic door to gaze earnestly into her eyes. “It’s either this or you can move in with me on base so I can sleep at night.”

She gave him a soft smile with a tiny shake of her head. “I don’t deserve you, but okay. I’ll agree to this, but only if we consider it a loan. I can probably pay for half the system now.” She’d just put off buying tires for her truck for another couple of months and pray that one wouldn’t blow out when she was towing the horse trailer. “And you can pay for the other half, but it will be a loan that I will pay back with interest.” She’d just turn off her cable. It’s not like she had time to watch TV anyway. And in her downtime, she could read more.

He kissed her softly on her forehead. “Thank you. I’d rather just pay for it all myself, but if this is what it takes to get you to agree, then I can compromise.”

An old car that looked like it ran on rust and leaded fuel instead of unleaded pulled into the parking lot. “Who’s that I wonder?” she mused.

“I think that’s probably Geoff. He’s a security expert I know from the base. He’s here to help me figure out how to shore up your system.”

The guy who stepped out of the junky old car had to be half the age of his vehicle. He looked barely legal, much less like someone who could be considered an expert on anything, except maybe which bars would serve underage. He wore holey jeans and a short-sleeved, white T-shirt that did nothing to hide the plethora of tattoos covering almost every inch of his exposed skin. His long, dark hair dusted over the tops of his shoulders, and he wore a trucker cap turned backward.

“He works out at the base?” she asked, not even trying to hide her incredulity.

Steven laughed. “Yeah, he’s a contractor. Don’t let his appearance fool you. He’s damn smart—brilliant even—and he will be able to spot the holes in both your building and computer security. Trust me. He’s good.” He squeezed her hand. “And don’t worry...he’s older than he looks, too. He plays up his young appearance because it helps him get overlooked, which is very useful when searching for weaknesses in security.”

She nodded. That made sense.

The kid walked over to them. He sent a nod to Steven but focused on Felicia. “Hi, you must be Dr. Parks.” He reached out to shake her hand. “Major Hardesty mentioned that you had a break-in the other night.”

She nodded as she shook his surprisingly calloused hand. This was a guy who worked with his hands a lot.

Geoff glanced around the parking lot and the surrounding buildings. Felicia got the idea that he probably didn’t miss much. He pointed to her home. “Who lives in the house?”

“I do. It helps to be close to the clinic when we have more critical patients.”

He nodded. “So, you come and go between the two buildings at all times.”

“Yes.” She fought the urge to defend her ability to do that. “I have to admit, I’m not sure what’s planned here.” She sent Steven a desperate look. “How does this work?”

Geoff nodded and straightened his shoulders.

Suddenly she could see what Steven had been saying. When Geoff walked up, he’d been slouched and had a certain, devil-may-care posture about him, but now, he was all business. He was older than she had thought...probably in his late twenties. The transformation was remarkable.

“What I’ll do is take a look at your system, which include things like your parking lot lighting.” He nodded at the lone light pole between her house and the clinic. “But this is a full security consult, so I’ll go as deep as your computer systems and see where there are holes in your processes. That includes your personnel, building security, computer security...everything.”

With every word, her stomach sank more and more. “That sounds expensive.”

“The consultation is free, and I’ll outline several plans and options. If there’s something that’s beyond your price range, but we both you agree you need, we can work out an upgrade step system. We’ll integrate the most vital pieces at first and then add more a bit at a time as you can afford it. I’m not here to fleece you or make a fortune off selling you upgrades you don’t need. I’ve worked with the major on other projects. This is a favor to him.”

“And I really appreciate you coming out to do it, Geoff,” Steven said.

Geoff quirked a half-smile. “No worries. You know I’ll call in the marker eventually. Shall we head inside and get to work?”

“Um, sure.” Felicia led them over to the back door of the clinic and unlocked the door. She stepped back to let them enter the clinic before her, but Steven stayed outside.

“I have to get back to the base,” he said. “Are you going to be okay here?”

“Oh, yeah, of course.” She hadn’t even been thinking, she’d been so surprised when Steven showed up. It was a weekday. Of course, he had to go to work. “Thank you so much for setting this up, Steven.” She leaned up to brush a kiss across his lips. “Go to work. I’ll be fine.”

She hadn’t mentioned it, but coming into the clinic yesterday had been scarier and harder to do than it should have been...and it had been the middle of the day. Never before had she feared walking into her own clinic. That wasn’t something that would work, not when she had to come into the building in the middle of the night all the time.

Hopefully, whatever Geoff presented would be affordable and fix her mild case of PTSD.

Later after Steven had gone and Felicia had settled into the clinic routine while trying to ignore Geoff prowling around the property, she realized she still didn’t know exactly how the break-in tied into the base. She had to find out what the connection was.