Falling for Her Soldier by Ophelia London Page A

of what got me into the volunteering thing in the first place. She mentioned she was going to do it, and kind of halfheartedly, I said I should do something like that, too. Next thing I knew, I was signing up.”
    “But you like her?” Jack said. “You’re into her, not just as your next score?”
    Charlie hated hearing Jack say that. When had his reputation gotten so out of control? Had his mother known before they moved?
    “Yes, I like her,” Charlie admitted. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t care if she hated me.” He leaned back and crossed his arms. “But now, I don’t know what to do. I’m basically lying to the girl. I’ve never done that. Even if it’s just a lie of omission.”
    “You know she’ll find out eventually,” Jack said. “You should tell her before anything remotely serious happens.”
    Charlie crossed his arms tighter. “I know,” he said under his breath. He’d spent most of their lunch together so grateful that she didn’t know the truth yet. But admitting he was interested now, he knew he had to come clean, or he really would be living up to his Hunter reputation.
    “It’s tricky, though,” he continued. “We had a connection online, and for a little while today, I felt like we were connecting again. When I tell her the truth, what if all those good feelings she had toward me shoot to hell?”
    “That’s a possibility,” Jack agreed. “Take it slow. Have you ever actually gotten to know a woman?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I was joking earlier about not e-mailing Tess before we got serious. We had a history; we were friends before anything happened. We worked together at the high school and saw each other every day. I knew her and she knew me. We trusted each other. You need to take your time, build a friendship, if you’re genuinely interested in this woman. That’s my advice.”
    Charlie knew it was good advice, although he didn’t know what to do with it.
    “What about the brother?” Jack asked. “Is he an ally?”
    Sammy . Charlie felt his posture slump as he blew out a long exhale. How had he forgotten? No matter how slow he took it with Ellie, no matter how good his intentions or how much she trusted him…Sam was not going to allow it.
    “No.” Charlie rubbed his forehead. “He’s not on board at all.”
    Jack pushed back his plate. “Because of the rep?” he asked. Charlie nodded. “Sorry, man, but I get that. I have a daughter, and if I knew she was interested in a guy whose nickname was Big Game Hunter, I’d lock her away.”
    Charlie didn’t know how it was possible, but now he felt even worse.

Chapter Five
    Ellie checked in with Jane before leaving for the morning, just to make sure she wasn’t needed at the dance studio before her eleven o’clock class. Some of the groups had a recital coming up; things were always stressful around that time. But Jane reported that everything was fine at the moment, so Ellie headed to the WS.
    When she’d been getting dressed that morning, at first she chose a little black top with a scooping neckline, the one that showed her collarbones and maybe just a little bit more. But then she grabbed one of Sam’s old USO T-shirts she’d borrowed a million years ago and pulled it on, not bothering to tuck it in. She did not need to worry about her outfit today.
    Playboy Hunter isn’t going to show up, anyway , she thought as she drove through town. All that talk yesterday about volunteering was probably just him trying to get some play, impress her into tearing off her clothes. Huh. Fat chance .
    Even if he did bother to show, he’d probably just hang around some buff female soldier—all flat abs, zero body fat, and can do fifty chin-ups—and not want to actually work at the WS.
    As she pulled into a spot, Ellie looked for Sam’s car in the parking lot but didn’t see it. She wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. Her brother might be relying on the WS too much these days, but when he was there, at least he