Debbie Macomber Navy Series Box Set. Debbie Macomber
it.
Her sense of timing couldn’t have been more perfect some time later when they met again in the kitchen. He grumbled something that sounded faintly like a plea for coffee. He had just gotten down a mug and started to pour himself a cup when she switched on the blender full blast. Hot coffee splattered over the counter and Rush jumped back, cursing savagely.
He whirled around to face her and once more Lindy gave him her brightest smile. She finished her task and asked, “Would you like some orange juice?”
“No,” he grumbled.
She swallowed a laugh and with a good deal of ceremony, poured herself a glass.
Rush was studying her with a tight frown. “Now I know what they mean when they say ‘hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”’
Lindy gave him a vague look. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”
“Like hell,” he exploded. “Exactly how long is it going to take you to properly mete out justice?”
“Rush, I think you got out of the wrong side of bed this morning. You seem to be imagining all sorts of things. What could I possibly be angry about?” Already she was feeling better. Okay, so maybe her revenge was a tad childish, but Rush deserved everything he got—in triplicate.
“Damn it, Lindy. You’ve got the wrong idea here.”
“Wrong idea about what?” She batted her thick lashes a couple of times for effect and had the satisfaction of seeing him clench his jaw. From experience Lindy knew mornings had never been Rush’s favorite time of day. He looked disoriented, out of sorts and more than a little lost in knowing how to deal with her. As far as Lindy was concerned, Rush’s confusion was poetic justice.
“While I’m still alive and breathing,” he managed, “I think you’d better know there’s been a minor misunderstanding here.”
“I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about,” she returned, her look as earnest as she could make it and still hold back her amusement.
His hand slammed against the counter. “And I’m sure you know exactly what I’m talking about,” he countered, unable to restrain his fury. “You’ve tried and convicted me without knowing the details.”
The particulars were the last thing Lindy wanted to hear.
“Spare me, please,” she told him, the amusement of her game vanishing. “You can sleep with a harem for all I care.” It astonished her how easily the lie slipped from her lips. Rarely had she been more bitterly disappointed in anyone than she had been in Rush.
“Lindy…”
She cut him off with a quick shake of her head. “I wish I had more time to sort this out,” she lied again, but not as smoothly this time. “But in case you’ve forgotten, I’ve got a job to go to.”
She walked away from him and was already in the living room when she paused to add, “You were right about one thing, though. I’m not ready for another relationship.” She turned to face him then. “You don’t need to worry about trying to clear the air. I understand, Rush, far better than you know.”
His eyes held hers and a strong current of energy passed between them. As always she could read little in his impassive expression. But he must have agreed with her because he said nothing, and she hurriedly walked away, eager to escape.
It was while she was brushing her teeth that a sheen of tears brightened her eyes. After everything that had happened to her, it was a surprise. She’d assumed she had more control of her emotions than this; she blamed the tears on lack of sleep.
With her purse in her hand she headed for the front door. She’d learned several lessons in the past few months, but they didn’t seem to be getting any easier.
Walking down the hallway, she was forced to pass Rush, who was sitting on the sofa in the living room. She forced a smile and squared her shoulders, prepared to move past him with her head high.
Just as she reached him, Rush’s arm reached out, grabbed her hand and stopped her cold. His eyes held her more tightly than any vise.
“I won’t have you face your first day on the job with doubts. There was no one last night, Lindy. No one but you.”
She blinked back the surprise and uncertainty, not sure what to believe. The evidence had reeked from him.
Rush tugged at her arm, bringing her closer. When she was within easy reach, he wrapped his arm around her waist and brought her down onto his lap. She landed there with a plop. His hands found their way to her face and he turned her head so her unwilling gaze was forced to meet his.
“I can’t let you go on thinking I could’ve touched another woman after kissing you.” His eyes filled with an emotion so powerful that Lindy couldn’t speak. Gone was the mask—lowered or destroyed, she didn’t know which—and what she saw in his wonderful eyes gave flight to her heart. His look was innocent, youthful almost. Seeking. He needed her to believe him, was pleading with her in a way she knew was foreign to this proud man.
Tears pooled in her eyes, and she nodded, silently telling him that she trusted his word.
The pad of his thumb wiped the moisture from the high arch of her cheek.
“Damn it, Lindy. We’re in one fine mess here,” he said, his voice gruff with emotion. “I want you like hell. What are we going to do?” His warm mouth, only inches from hers, brushed lightly over her parted lips.
Lindy just managed to stifle a groan and kissed him back softly, her mouth lingering over his own, needing his warmth.
By this time he’d wrapped her in his embrace. As though they had all the time in the world, Rush brought her lips down to his own with an agonizing slowness. The kiss was filled with such aching tenderness, such sweet torment that the fresh tears rolled unheeded down the side of her face.
“I should have trusted you,” she told him brokenly. “I should have known.”
“Lindy…don’t cry, please. It’s all right. It doesn’t matter.” He pulled her more completely into his embrace and held her tightly.
The memory of his look when he’d stumbled into the bathroom caused her to laugh and cry at the same time.
“Honey…please. I can’t bear the thought that I’ve made you cry. You are crying, aren’t you?”
Lindy laughed aloud, then sobbed. She reached for his hand to kiss his knuckles. “Did you burn yourself when you spilled the coffee?”
He looked at her as though they should give serious consideration to having her committed to a mental facility. “No,” he said tightly.
“I’m so sorry,” she told him, spreading kisses over the edge of his jaw. “Oh, Rush, I thought horrible things of you. I thought—”
“I can guess,” he muttered, cutting her off.
“But you’re good and honorable and I was so wrong.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “If you had a hint of what I was thinking of doing right now, you’d amend the honorable portion.”
It was difficult to read his expression, but what she saw there caused her to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him with a hunger that left them both shaking.
“Shall I tell you what I’m thinking, Rush Callaghan?”
“Rush, guess what?” Breathless with excitement, Lindy let herself into the apartment and stopped abruptly, swallowing the remainder of her good news. Another man was standing next to Rush, and it looked as though the two had been arguing, or at least heatedly discussing something.
For