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Authors: Marissa Dobson
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it, considering how much you needed him. I thought if I talked to him, maybe he’d see reason, but it only made things worse.” He squeezed her hand. “I tried to tell you earlier but I chickened out.”
“When?”
“When we were talking about the day we first met, and I said there were times when I could see the loneliness in your eyes but he’d never listen. Damn it, Nora, I knew you wanted him out of the Army and I tried to convince him of that. It was the biggest fight we had, and the next day he boarded that flight to Iraq. He was killed and I never got to make things right between us. He was a better man than I could ever be. He fought and died for this country, for all of us, and all I can think is he left you alone. You deserved better than that.”
“I’m not the only war widow. We all deserve to have our husbands come back to us, but some of us aren’t granted that luxury. He died to keep us safe at home. He’s a hero…but you’re right, there are times I hate him for it.” She paused, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. “Could I honestly say we’d still be married if he was here? I don’t know. We were having problems when he left for that last deployment. Maybe some of them were because of the deployment, but the bigger part was that he had changed. He wasn’t the man I married. He was different, the war had altered him.”
He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, as tears streamed down her face. “I know, I saw the changes, too,” he reminded her.
“I never stopped loving him, but I buried him years ago. Maybe it’s time to move on.”
He kissed the top of her head. “I was hoping you’d say something like that, but I needed you to know the real reason I had lost touch. I hated to stand by while the sadness in your eyes grew stronger and there was nothing I could do.”
“I appreciate that you tried to talk to Jim. I tried, but he wouldn’t listen. He said he needed to go and at the time I thought because he wanted to protect us back home. Now I wonder if he didn’t go because he couldn’t live with the man he’d become, the man who’d seen and did what he had to do in that war.” She laid her head against his chest. “It’s something we’ll never know.”
“No matter how it changed him, you have to know he never stopped loving you.” He gently caressed her back.
“I do, and he gave me a beautiful daughter.” She leaned back and looked up at him. “Brian, what’s happening between us? It feels like more than just rekindling a friendship.”
“I’m hoping it’s more than just friendship because what I feel for you is beyond friendly. I want you, Nora.” He lowered his head until his lips hovered just above his. “In every way imaginable and then some.”
He closed the distance and claimed her lips. The spiciness of the wine hit him with full force as he let his tongue slip between her lips and explored the contours of her mouth. He ran the tip of his tongue over the sharpness of her teeth before she returned his kiss, bringing her tongue to meet his. With one final kiss he pulled away to look down at her.
“Come to bed with me.”
She tilted her head, her long hair tickling the backs of his hands where they remained on her back. “That sounded like a bad pick-up line.”
“Not a line at all. Plus, I hope I don’t have to use bad pick-up lines. I think I already have you.”
“Oh, Brian.” She tried to pull back from him but he kept his arms around her waist. “I’m a widow, with a sick daughter, and no job. You deserve someone so much better.”
“You’re the woman I haven’t been able to get out of my thoughts for years. As for the daughter, so what? As you said, I’m good with her, and she seems to like me. Isn’t that what a single mothers wants, for her child to like the new man in her life?”
“It means everything that she likes you, but things aren’t going to be easy with her treatments and everything. This isn’t
“When?”
“When we were talking about the day we first met, and I said there were times when I could see the loneliness in your eyes but he’d never listen. Damn it, Nora, I knew you wanted him out of the Army and I tried to convince him of that. It was the biggest fight we had, and the next day he boarded that flight to Iraq. He was killed and I never got to make things right between us. He was a better man than I could ever be. He fought and died for this country, for all of us, and all I can think is he left you alone. You deserved better than that.”
“I’m not the only war widow. We all deserve to have our husbands come back to us, but some of us aren’t granted that luxury. He died to keep us safe at home. He’s a hero…but you’re right, there are times I hate him for it.” She paused, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. “Could I honestly say we’d still be married if he was here? I don’t know. We were having problems when he left for that last deployment. Maybe some of them were because of the deployment, but the bigger part was that he had changed. He wasn’t the man I married. He was different, the war had altered him.”
He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, as tears streamed down her face. “I know, I saw the changes, too,” he reminded her.
“I never stopped loving him, but I buried him years ago. Maybe it’s time to move on.”
He kissed the top of her head. “I was hoping you’d say something like that, but I needed you to know the real reason I had lost touch. I hated to stand by while the sadness in your eyes grew stronger and there was nothing I could do.”
“I appreciate that you tried to talk to Jim. I tried, but he wouldn’t listen. He said he needed to go and at the time I thought because he wanted to protect us back home. Now I wonder if he didn’t go because he couldn’t live with the man he’d become, the man who’d seen and did what he had to do in that war.” She laid her head against his chest. “It’s something we’ll never know.”
“No matter how it changed him, you have to know he never stopped loving you.” He gently caressed her back.
“I do, and he gave me a beautiful daughter.” She leaned back and looked up at him. “Brian, what’s happening between us? It feels like more than just rekindling a friendship.”
“I’m hoping it’s more than just friendship because what I feel for you is beyond friendly. I want you, Nora.” He lowered his head until his lips hovered just above his. “In every way imaginable and then some.”
He closed the distance and claimed her lips. The spiciness of the wine hit him with full force as he let his tongue slip between her lips and explored the contours of her mouth. He ran the tip of his tongue over the sharpness of her teeth before she returned his kiss, bringing her tongue to meet his. With one final kiss he pulled away to look down at her.
“Come to bed with me.”
She tilted her head, her long hair tickling the backs of his hands where they remained on her back. “That sounded like a bad pick-up line.”
“Not a line at all. Plus, I hope I don’t have to use bad pick-up lines. I think I already have you.”
“Oh, Brian.” She tried to pull back from him but he kept his arms around her waist. “I’m a widow, with a sick daughter, and no job. You deserve someone so much better.”
“You’re the woman I haven’t been able to get out of my thoughts for years. As for the daughter, so what? As you said, I’m good with her, and she seems to like me. Isn’t that what a single mothers wants, for her child to like the new man in her life?”
“It means everything that she likes you, but things aren’t going to be easy with her treatments and everything. This isn’t
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