Here And Now (American Valor 2) by Cheryl Etchison Page B

a man. And at the moment, she found herself a little breathless. And light-headed. She needed to sit down before she fell down, because that was not the kind of impression she wanted to make.
    So she scuttled into the living room, taking a seat on the brown leather sofa. The front room was like the rest of the house: neat, clean, and very masculine, decorated in brown and beige. A brown leather recliner to match the couch. A dark wood coffee table. Only blinds on the windows, no curtains. No pillows. On the fireplace mantel there were several more frames filled with photos of Lucky, mostly with his father. The only other decor was a wall-mounted television currently tuned to ESPN.
    Several minutes later, a door opened once again, followed by footsteps on the linoleum floor. The refrigerator opened and closed before the footsteps came closer. Now dressed in basketball shorts and a plain gray T-shirt, Lucky dropped into the recliner and placed an unopened bottle of water on the coffee table in front of her. “Just in case,” he said.
    He cracked open his bottle, tilted his head back, and drank down half in just a few swallows. Entranced by the sight of his Adam’s apple working in his throat, she suddenly found herself a little . . . parched.
    She reached for the bottle of water he’d brought her. “So you didn’t say if Brittany was upset.”
    “Far from it,” he scoffed. “In fact, I think she’s regarding you as a challenge. She was also quick to inform me she’s not looking for anything long term and only wanting a ‘taste,’ ” he said, adding the air quotes. “ ‘A little fun on the side.’ Something ‘no one will ever have to know about.’ ”
    “She did not.”
    “What am I gonna do about this girl?” He held his hands up in surrender and all she could focus on was the snug fit of his T-shirt that was dampened in interesting places and highlighted the flex of his biceps. “She’s coming at me with the full court press.”
    Rachel attempted to smother her laugh, but Lucky wasn’t having any of it. He pointed directly at her. “It’s not funny.”
    “It is. Kind of.”
    “I don’t get it. Why is she chasing after me? Why do her little friends giggle every time I walk past?” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Explain it to me, please.”
    This poor guy. He really didn’t have the slightest idea as to why these girls were following him around. “You’re a unicorn.”
    He scowled, a little crease appearing between his brows. “What the hell does that mean?”
    She couldn’t help but laugh at him. “First off, you’ve got this whole mysterious vibe going. The dark hair. The beard. Then there’s the fact you were in the military. And it’s not like you were a file clerk or something. You were doing the kind of stuff they make movies about. You’ve traveled the world and haven’t spent your entire life in this Podunk town.”
    “And that makes me a unicorn?”
    A timer buzzed in the kitchen, signaling dinner was ready and ending their discussion.
    In sharp contrast to her life with Curtis, and every other man she’d ever lived with, Lucky wouldn’t let her help make the salad or garlic bread, saying she was a guest in his house and her only job was to eat. After badgering him for fifteen minutes, he finally relented and let her set the table. While she stood there, placing knives and forks on napkins, her phone chimed again with a text message. And again. And then a third time.
    Even though leaving Curtis was the right decision, she couldn’t stop that niggling of guilt for sneaking out like a thief in the night. Until she officially informed Curtis she was ending things between them, she was no better than him. She was a cheater.
    For the fifth time since she’d arrived, her cell phone chimed. Rachel pulled her phone from her pocket and quickly scrolled through the messages. Out of habit she nearly sent a reply, but caught herself in time, choosing instead to