LITMIR.BIZ

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bar.

      As if her movement triggered a signal, Brody and Leon, the bar owner, stepped out. Leon looked bored, as usual. Brody’s face flashed with surprise, then something that seemed like irritation that went too fast for her to be sure before he gave her a questioning look.

      “Genna? Why are you here?”

      “I was looking for you,” she said, figuring that should be obvious. Her boots sticking to the floor in places, more proof that the chairs on the tables were a fake-out, she made her way across the room.

      With each step, tension drained away, both from discomfort of being alone in such a sleazy setting, and from her worry over where Brody had disappeared to. Leaving plenty of room to wonder about why he’d disappeared to here. She’d think it’d be the last place he’d want to see.

      “I got stuff to run to the bank. You cover for me?” Leon mumbled, tucking a grungy sack into the front of his pants, then buttoning his flannel over it.

      At Brody’s nod, the older man skirted the bar and left, not glancing once toward Genna.

      Even though she was apparently invisible to him, she still waited until the door closed before reaching across the scarred bar to give Brody’s hand a squeeze.

      Before she could say anything, he asked again, “Why are you here?”

      “I told you, I was looking for you.”

      “I’ve got a cell phone.” His words were short, his expression stiff. “Just call. Don’t come looking, especially at a place like this.”

      Since she didn’t like seeing him in a place like this, she couldn’t blame him for feeling the same. But still, why was he here? Given the history, that his father spent most of Brody’s life here drinking himself to death, you’d think he’d want to stay clear of it, too. Her frown deepened and she glanced at the small room behind the bar, then at the hand-lettered bartender-wanted sign on the stool.

      She’d turned her life upside down and quit her job. She’d faced off with her father and offered her mother a silver platter full of health woe excuses. Thanks to Brody, she’d found the nerve to finally move forward with her life.

      Her stomach knotted and bile rose in her throat.

      And what? Thanks to her, he’d moved back?

      She gazed around the dingy bar, the sense of desolation and despair as real as the dust and dirt. Back to this?

      She was pretty sure when Prince Charming had ridden in to save the princess, he hadn’t give up the castle to end up in a hovel.

      As much as she hated to mess with what had this morning been a pretty awesome outlook for her life, they had to talk. She had to know, for sure, that he was going to be happy with his decision.

      Otherwise, she thought as her heart sank into the toes of her sticky-soled boots, there was no hope for them to be happy together.

      * * *

      “BRODY, SERIOUSLY. WHAT are you doing here?”

      Brody scowled. How the hell had she found him? He suddenly felt dirty. As though every nasty memory he’d had of this place was crawling over him. He figured he’d better get used to it, though.

      “Leon had been bugging me to stop by and clear out the old man’s stuff.”

      Genna moved closer, standing on tiptoes and making a show of trying to see over the bar.

      “His stuff is back there?”

      “You heard Leon. He asked me to man the bar for a half hour.”

      Her face as distant as he’d ever seen it, Genna took a deep breath, crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a long look. He damn near shuffled his feet, her eyes were so intense. It was as if she was looking inside him. As if she was checking out all his secrets.

      He hoped she had plenty of time. He had a helluva lot of them.

      “I heard Leon was looking for a new bartender.”

      “So?”

      “So. Did you take the job?”

      Shit.

      Brody had spent most of his life answering to nobody. The last ten years answering to the navy. He’d sorta thought this round he’d answer only to himself.

      He’d sorta thought wrong. At least, he had if he wanted Genna in his life.

      And he did.

      More than anything, more than everything, he wanted Genna. Even if it meant trying to justify his decisions. Even the ones he couldn’t quite come to terms with himself.

      “I’ve gotta work,” he said, irritated that he sounded so defensive. “Look, this is a good thing.”

      Her mouth dropped open and she blinked a couple of times, then shook her head as if clearing a buzz from her ears.

      “A good thing? You, quitting the navy. Giving up being a SEAL. To what? Tend bar in the same sleazy dive you grew up over? Why? You missed all the happy memories?”

      Damn. She had a smart mouth on her when she wanted. And a wicked way of kicking her point home right where it’d hurt most.

      “Well, there’s not a whole lot of jobs in Bedford requiring a sniper.” He shrugged. “I’m trained to fight. To perform covert operations and carry out military strategies. Believe it or not, those skills aren’t big moneymakers in the civilian world.”

      “But they are skills you love. Skills you’re proud of.” She lifted both hands in a classic WTF gesture. “So why are you throwing them away to pour drinks for drunks?”

      Brody ground his teeth together to keep the cusswords from spewing out. Yeah. She was aces when it came to the well-aimed shot. This one didn’t hit his ego, though. It went straight for the gut.

      What a deal. Giving up a life of excitement, adrenaline and power to schlep booze for drunks. Traveling the world to hole up in the town he’d spent most of his life trying to escape. But that was his problem. And he was willing to do it if it meant a life with Genna.

      Why was she pushing this? Most women, outside the frog hogs as the guys called the SEAL groupies, wanted a guy who was around. Who was around for Friday night dates, holidays and more days in the month than he was gone.

      Maybe she just didn’t get it.

      “Look, this is a good thing. You should be happy,” he said, despite the fact that she appeared about as far from that as he’d ever seen her. “This means I’m sticking around. You get that, right? That I’m here, that we can be together. No deployment, no long missions, no part of my life locked up and labeled classified.”

      Her eyes softened and some of the tension left her posture. For a second, he thought he had her. But Brody knew better than to relax.

      “I want to be with you,” she said, her words soft and sweet to match her smile. She stepped forward, taking his hands in hers and lifting one to her cheek.

      Brody wasn’t a mushy kind of guy. But that move, it slayed him. Especially when she was looking up at him as though he was her whole world and she was ready to love every second of it.

      Then, with a quick brush of her lips over his knuckles, she released him and shook her head.

      “You can’t do it, though. You can’t quit being who you are. You won’t be happy.”

      “I’d be with you. That’d make me happy.” Happy enough, he promised himself. The two of them building on what they had. That’d be enough. He’d make it enough.

      Her eyes so bright they lit up even the dim dust of the bar, Genna smiled. But there was a line between her brows that got deeper as her smile faded. Slowly, she shook her head.

      “I want to be with you. So much. I love you,” she finally said. Her words sent a thrill

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