careful about how he was around Delia in front of others.
“I can tell by the look on your face, I’m not crazy then.”
“Damn, Marley. How about you give me a sec?” He knew his tone sounded slightly annoyed. He wasn’t annoyed with her, but himself. He’d never been anything other than cool and slightly distant when it came to women. His life didn’t leave much room for emotional entanglements, so he kept his relationships casual. They were more like business transactions. He had dates for premier work functions and not much else. He left women satisfied and made expectations very clear—there weren’t to be any. He was so thrown off guard with Delia, he was fending off questions about what was going on with them when he didn’t even know the answer himself.
He caught Marley’s concerned gaze. “I didn’t mean to push too far. It’s just I noticed you go into her office the other day and saw her right after. She looked a little,” Marley flushed and scrunched her nose. “Um, well, she looked like you’d just kissed her.” She paused and looked at him carefully. “Delia’s a good friend. I grew up with her, and her family was always close to mine. I know you don’t know me that well, so I don’t mean to be too pushy. It’s just I don’t want to see her get hurt.”
Garrett nodded. “If I seemed annoyed, it wasn’t with you. I, uh… Aw, hell, I don’t know what to say. Look, I don’t know what Gage has told you about me, but I work like crazy and relationships aren’t really my thing. I’m not an asshole, but I get why you might be worried about Delia. I’d prefer if you didn’t give Gage all the details because I don’t want to piss him off, but the thing is I like Delia. I didn’t plan on it. Just happened. So when you ask what’s up with me and Delia, that’s about all I can say.”
“Okay.” Marley eyed him for a long moment. “Seems like maybe I need to be worried about you too,” she said softly.
Garrett’s throat tightened, emotion washing through him. He forcibly cleared his throat. “Maybe so,” he said with a soft chuckle.
Marley nodded and turned away to add some garlic, spices and sauce to the pan. She gracefully gave him a moment of space and quiet before she spoke again. “Do you want to talk about it? Gage has been worried about you, you know?”
Garrett nodded. “I know. He doesn’t say much about it, but I can tell.” He tried to think of a way to make sense of what was going on with him, but nothing did. He took a swallow of beer. “I’d love to talk about it if I thought I could make sense of what’s going on with me.”
Marley kept stirring and nodded as if she expected him to continue. So he did. “All I know is one day I couldn’t even look at the woman who lost her lawsuit against the insurance company I was representing. That’s the day I canceled everything and flew up here. My office assistant called today, and I can’t even tell her when I’m going back because every time I try to think about it, I start to get a headache. Gage thinks I’m upset about that case because it hit too close to home.”
She nodded. “He mentioned that to me.”
He took a breath. “Right, so you know the details then. Maybe he has a point. I don’t know. All I know is I don’t even know if I want to go back anymore, and that makes me feel half crazy. I worked my ass off since the day I graduated from law school to get my practice where it is in Seattle. I make tons of money and have my pick of cases. It’s what I thought I wanted and now I’m tired of it. Makes me fuckin’ crazy.”
Marley turned the burner off and took a sip of wine. “The details were different, but I went through something similar.”
“The robbery?” he asked, referring to Marley’s abrupt move back to Diamond Creek from Seattle after she’d been robbed and assaulted. With the help of a friend and former SEAL team member, Gage had been instrumental in finding justice for
“I can tell by the look on your face, I’m not crazy then.”
“Damn, Marley. How about you give me a sec?” He knew his tone sounded slightly annoyed. He wasn’t annoyed with her, but himself. He’d never been anything other than cool and slightly distant when it came to women. His life didn’t leave much room for emotional entanglements, so he kept his relationships casual. They were more like business transactions. He had dates for premier work functions and not much else. He left women satisfied and made expectations very clear—there weren’t to be any. He was so thrown off guard with Delia, he was fending off questions about what was going on with them when he didn’t even know the answer himself.
He caught Marley’s concerned gaze. “I didn’t mean to push too far. It’s just I noticed you go into her office the other day and saw her right after. She looked a little,” Marley flushed and scrunched her nose. “Um, well, she looked like you’d just kissed her.” She paused and looked at him carefully. “Delia’s a good friend. I grew up with her, and her family was always close to mine. I know you don’t know me that well, so I don’t mean to be too pushy. It’s just I don’t want to see her get hurt.”
Garrett nodded. “If I seemed annoyed, it wasn’t with you. I, uh… Aw, hell, I don’t know what to say. Look, I don’t know what Gage has told you about me, but I work like crazy and relationships aren’t really my thing. I’m not an asshole, but I get why you might be worried about Delia. I’d prefer if you didn’t give Gage all the details because I don’t want to piss him off, but the thing is I like Delia. I didn’t plan on it. Just happened. So when you ask what’s up with me and Delia, that’s about all I can say.”
“Okay.” Marley eyed him for a long moment. “Seems like maybe I need to be worried about you too,” she said softly.
Garrett’s throat tightened, emotion washing through him. He forcibly cleared his throat. “Maybe so,” he said with a soft chuckle.
Marley nodded and turned away to add some garlic, spices and sauce to the pan. She gracefully gave him a moment of space and quiet before she spoke again. “Do you want to talk about it? Gage has been worried about you, you know?”
Garrett nodded. “I know. He doesn’t say much about it, but I can tell.” He tried to think of a way to make sense of what was going on with him, but nothing did. He took a swallow of beer. “I’d love to talk about it if I thought I could make sense of what’s going on with me.”
Marley kept stirring and nodded as if she expected him to continue. So he did. “All I know is one day I couldn’t even look at the woman who lost her lawsuit against the insurance company I was representing. That’s the day I canceled everything and flew up here. My office assistant called today, and I can’t even tell her when I’m going back because every time I try to think about it, I start to get a headache. Gage thinks I’m upset about that case because it hit too close to home.”
She nodded. “He mentioned that to me.”
He took a breath. “Right, so you know the details then. Maybe he has a point. I don’t know. All I know is I don’t even know if I want to go back anymore, and that makes me feel half crazy. I worked my ass off since the day I graduated from law school to get my practice where it is in Seattle. I make tons of money and have my pick of cases. It’s what I thought I wanted and now I’m tired of it. Makes me fuckin’ crazy.”
Marley turned the burner off and took a sip of wine. “The details were different, but I went through something similar.”
“The robbery?” he asked, referring to Marley’s abrupt move back to Diamond Creek from Seattle after she’d been robbed and assaulted. With the help of a friend and former SEAL team member, Gage had been instrumental in finding justice for
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