awakened to find not his loving wife but his base commander standing by his hospital bedside with ashort note from Mallory. She’d explained in only a few words that life as he’d known it was over. That his son would have another father now. That her lawyer would contact him in regard to the dissolution of their marriage and division of property. That he was alone once again.
Mallory had literally run off with a sailor who’d recently been discharged, and she had replaced Adam with him. Adam still wondered if he would have been able to lure her back with a promise that he’d leave the SEALs for her. Leave the Navy altogether. But pride, hurt and anger had stopped him. She clearly didn’t need him. She’d even found a new father for Mark. Rather than retire, Adam had worked toward his physical recovery with single-minded intent and he’d made the SEALs his family, advancing through the ranks to command his own team.
And Mark grew up without you, he berated himself silently. Now, when your kid needs you, he doesn’t even know you and you sure don’t know him.
Of course, part of the problem was that Adam didn’t know who he was himself these days.
“Excuse me,” a soft female voice said, calling him back to the present. Adam blinked, then a disquieting feeling descended as the voice he’d heard penetrated the fog in his brain. He looked up and into the startled eyes of Alexandra Lexington.
Well, there you go. Murphy’s Law strikes again. Mark’s gonna love the kids in the youth group and I’m gonna run the risk of seeing her every single Sunday.
And be annoyed.
He stood to let her by. He didn’t have a choice if he didn’t want her standing there staring down at him like a bug under a microscope. In the instant it took for her perfume to fill his senses, the truth smacked him upside the head. His edgy reaction to her had more to do with attraction than irritation.
He stood transfixed by her startled eyes. Right then they looked more ice-blue than blue-gray. Her gaze, he realized with a second flash of insight, was wary but interested in spite of her anxiety. And with that knowledge came a internal kick to his solar plexis the likes of which he hadn’t experienced during the toughest combat.
Adam was horrified. He prized loyalty over every other virtue. How could he feel this for a Lexington—one of the people who had clearly persecuted his sister for years? And she was the woman luring his son’s affections away from him.
Or was he just jealous that she seemed to like Mark, yet had loathed him on sight?
Xandra swallowed hard and dragged her gaze from Adam Boyer’s vibrant green eyes. “I really must get by,” she told him, scrabbling for composure and losing ground quickly. Why would she notice the verdant color of the man’s eyes, especially when seeing him unexpectedly rattled her so badly? And worse, now she realized that her heart had begun pounding and her pulse throbbed and it was all spawned by his intense stare and sudden nearness.
Then he blinked as if coming out of a trance—or at least a fascinating introspection—and stepped into the aisle to let her pass. “Sorry,” he said, an embarrassed scowl settling on his face. “I was deep in thought,” he continued. “I hadn’t realized it was time to leave.”
Since he’d sat through a rousing hymn following Pastor Jim’s sermon, his thoughts must have been deep indeed. Funny, she’d thought of him as a man of action and certainly not in the least introspective. How else could he continue to misread Mark as he did?
“It’s okay,” she told him, unaccountably touched by his undisguised chagrin. “Pastor Jim’s sermons are supposed to provoke reflection. He stays up front in case anyone wants to talk over their thoughts.”
“I think for myself. I don’t need the good pastor to judge my motives and insights.”
She refused to let him rile her. Or scare her. “When I first came here, I thought faith was a private
Mallory had literally run off with a sailor who’d recently been discharged, and she had replaced Adam with him. Adam still wondered if he would have been able to lure her back with a promise that he’d leave the SEALs for her. Leave the Navy altogether. But pride, hurt and anger had stopped him. She clearly didn’t need him. She’d even found a new father for Mark. Rather than retire, Adam had worked toward his physical recovery with single-minded intent and he’d made the SEALs his family, advancing through the ranks to command his own team.
And Mark grew up without you, he berated himself silently. Now, when your kid needs you, he doesn’t even know you and you sure don’t know him.
Of course, part of the problem was that Adam didn’t know who he was himself these days.
“Excuse me,” a soft female voice said, calling him back to the present. Adam blinked, then a disquieting feeling descended as the voice he’d heard penetrated the fog in his brain. He looked up and into the startled eyes of Alexandra Lexington.
Well, there you go. Murphy’s Law strikes again. Mark’s gonna love the kids in the youth group and I’m gonna run the risk of seeing her every single Sunday.
And be annoyed.
He stood to let her by. He didn’t have a choice if he didn’t want her standing there staring down at him like a bug under a microscope. In the instant it took for her perfume to fill his senses, the truth smacked him upside the head. His edgy reaction to her had more to do with attraction than irritation.
He stood transfixed by her startled eyes. Right then they looked more ice-blue than blue-gray. Her gaze, he realized with a second flash of insight, was wary but interested in spite of her anxiety. And with that knowledge came a internal kick to his solar plexis the likes of which he hadn’t experienced during the toughest combat.
Adam was horrified. He prized loyalty over every other virtue. How could he feel this for a Lexington—one of the people who had clearly persecuted his sister for years? And she was the woman luring his son’s affections away from him.
Or was he just jealous that she seemed to like Mark, yet had loathed him on sight?
Xandra swallowed hard and dragged her gaze from Adam Boyer’s vibrant green eyes. “I really must get by,” she told him, scrabbling for composure and losing ground quickly. Why would she notice the verdant color of the man’s eyes, especially when seeing him unexpectedly rattled her so badly? And worse, now she realized that her heart had begun pounding and her pulse throbbed and it was all spawned by his intense stare and sudden nearness.
Then he blinked as if coming out of a trance—or at least a fascinating introspection—and stepped into the aisle to let her pass. “Sorry,” he said, an embarrassed scowl settling on his face. “I was deep in thought,” he continued. “I hadn’t realized it was time to leave.”
Since he’d sat through a rousing hymn following Pastor Jim’s sermon, his thoughts must have been deep indeed. Funny, she’d thought of him as a man of action and certainly not in the least introspective. How else could he continue to misread Mark as he did?
“It’s okay,” she told him, unaccountably touched by his undisguised chagrin. “Pastor Jim’s sermons are supposed to provoke reflection. He stays up front in case anyone wants to talk over their thoughts.”
“I think for myself. I don’t need the good pastor to judge my motives and insights.”
She refused to let him rile her. Or scare her. “When I first came here, I thought faith was a private
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