LITMIR.BIZ

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around the pier below. He’d waited to disembark in the hope of avoiding the worst of the scene. Most of his buddies were hooking up within an hour of arriving back home, the sprint to their women almost laughable if it wasn’t so damn relatable. Imposed celibacy was a drag, but right now Danny told himself he was most interested in sleeping for seventy-two hours straight. His family knew he liked a few days to himself to acclimate to life on land before he had to be social, and for the first time in his naval career they’d respected his wish.

      Of course, half the reason they’d been so accommodating was because they were busy getting ready for a Murphy-family wedding back home in Cape Cod. In the last year, his brothers had all found true love. He wasn’t looking forward to treading through their happy world as a single guy. A single guy still messed in the head thanks to …

       Stephanie?

      He nearly tripped, ass over fancy white cap, at the sight of the hot brunette at the ramp’s end. A woman who’d materialized the instant he’d thought of her. It was the woman he’d been fantasizing about. Right here in Norfolk.

      She looked so good, he figured she must be a mirage. She wore a sexy black-and-white polka-dot dress that showed off her tiny waist. Wide shoulder straps and a modestly low neckline framed a heart-shaped locket more than her cleavage, but then again, her curves weren’t exactly disguised. She’d pinned a big red flower in her hair, the bloom tucked behind one ear so that a petal brushed her forehead.

      “Hi, Danny.” The vision spoke as he got closer, making him certain she wasn’t a mirage.

      All vestiges of tiredness fell away.

      He reached the end of the ramp and couldn’t go a step farther unless he wanted to wind up in her arms. Which he did. But he would not allow that to happen no matter how good she looked right now.

      “Stephanie.” He’d dreamed about holding her again. Mostly, he’d just dreamed about seeing her again.

      She’d gone to Iraq with his cousin, a reporter, to film a series for an online news magazine. But she’d been kidnapped and held captive for six weeks.

      Sometimes he still woke up thinking she was still over there and he had no way to find her. His legs would be tangled in his sheets and he’d be sweating like a son of a bitch. Memories of her, and leftover guilt that he hadn’t been able to help, had sabotaged every relationship he’d had since.

      Even now, he wasn’t sure if he trusted that she was here. He sure as hell didn’t trust his knees to keep him on his feet.

      “I … um.” She backed up a step. “I hope it’s okay I came to meet the ship. I know it’s been a long time.”

      “Yeah.” He couldn’t think of a damn thing to say to her, but he didn’t want to scare her off, either. “It’s fine. I mean, of course. It’s good to see you.”

      Eloquent as a damn elephant, that was him. He tried to shake off the shock of her appearing out of the blue.

      “You, too.” She smiled and five years fell away.

      It was almost like meeting her for the first time, back before the nightmare of her abduction started. That is, until a new fear clocked him between the eyes.

      “Are you, er, looking for someone?” He glanced around the pier, wondering if she was seeing a guy who had served on the USS Brady with him. What if she was meeting someone else?

      “I was looking for you.” She bit her lip and now she was the one whose gaze darted around the people nearby. “Unless you’re meeting someone? I don’t mean to get in the way of anything.”

      “No. God, no.” He shook his head, relieved that she was here for him. But damn. Why would she seek him out now, after all this time? “I’m just surprised you’d be in Virginia. Last I knew, you were living in Long Island.”

      He’d been to her town house there, in fact. After they’d met at a friend’s house party in Brooklyn, Danny had gone home with her and spent the next four days at her place. They hadn’t been apart for more than five minutes at a stretch during that crazy, awesome time together. They might have had a future if she hadn’t been headed overseas for an extended assignment. Instead, they’d just parted ways, wishing each other well, never realizing how her life was about to implode.

      “I moved to D.C. a couple of years ago, so I’m not all that far from here. I started a new pet-photography business out of my home. I just … really wanted a fresh start.”

      She didn’t need to say why. The memory of seeing her face on the news a couple of months after she’d gone to Iraq on assignment was burned into his brain. It had taken every ounce of self-restraint he could manage to join the service instead of trying to board a plane with a weapon and hunt down her captors himself.

      For a moment, the old fire raged inside him, the fury and resentment that had driven him long after she’d been released. But he wrestled that into submission for her sake, since she was right here in the flesh and talking to him. He knew she’d volunteered at a counseling center for a while afterward, but he hadn’t known about the new photography business.

      “I have a car close by,” she was saying now, pointing behind them. A few trinkets jingled on her bracelet and he realized they were all silver charms of different dog breeds, no doubt inspired by her work. “I heard that returning sailors like to eat good food as soon as they return home, so I …” She cleared her throat and tucked her hair behind the ear without the flower. “I wondered if you’d like to have lunch with me and catch up.”

      Around them, a military band played, volunteers handed out balloons to kids, and families wept and hugged. Danny was aware of his surroundings, but didn’t really hear anything, the rest of the world operating like a silent film in the backdrop of the main attraction. Stephanie Rosen. Returned stateside four and a half years ago.

      Returned to him … just now.

      He wanted to wrap her in his arms, to see if she smelled the same, felt the same. But he knew he’d never be able to let go if he touched her now. Instead, he’d play it safe until he found out what she wanted.

      “Sounds good,” he managed to say, dropping his bag onto the pier. He couldn’t imagine why she’d seek him out after all this time. He’d tried to get in touch with her once, but his efforts had been met with radio silence on her end. “My car is probably closer, though. I had a buddy park it nearby last night. I know all the shortcuts out of here to beat the traffic.”

      “Sure.” She nodded as she accepted a blue balloon from a clown whose white makeup ran in streaks down the side of his face where he was sweating. “No problem. But first …” She opened her arms wide. “Welcome home, Danny Murphy.”

      The simple gesture humbled him so fast his throat burned with old emotion. Christ, he should have found a way to be there when she came home so he could have welcomed her. But he’d already been in the service, property of the U.S. military and unable to leave his duty station, determined to make sure no one else suffered the way she had.

      It took all the strength and discipline he possessed to rein in his feelings now and give her a hug without crushing her. Folding her carefully in his arms, he buried his face in her hair, breathing in the clean scent. She squeezed back with surprising strength. Her body was so delicate, tall but slender. It was easy to forget it since her personality was big enough to fill a room.

      Or at least it had been. Most people who went through that kind of ordeal were changed by it. Who wouldn’t be?

      And with that ice-cold reminder, he found the courage to release her.

      “Thank you.” His gaze locked with hers for a moment, the scent of her still in his nose.

      “My pleasure.” She smiled up at him, holding her balloon. “You look kind of dashing in white.” She smoothed a hand over his chest, skimming his ribbons and kicking up his temperature. “And not at all like the laid-back rock ‘n’ roll dude I met five years ago.”

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