In the Line of Fire (7 page)

“Some woman's going to be pretty lucky one day when she snags you, Major.”

The curve of her back, the indentation of her spine was exquisite. “I'm taking that with a huge grain of salt since you just walked out on a groom you're not currently happy with. I'm sure you thought the same thing about Blanton at one point in time.”

She shook her head, sending another curl to rest against her neck. “No, the truth of the matter is that everyone kept telling me how lucky I was, but I don't think I ever felt that way—I'd just been told I was supposed to.”

“You think you can manage the rest?” Colton said.

Andi reached around behind her. “If you can get one or two more then I can.”

He'd never made such quick work of anything. “Done,” he said. She shifted as he spoke, sending his fingers into intimate proximity with her bare skin.

“Thanks. I've got it from here.”

He'd never be so thankful to get out of a car. Hastily, his hand not nearly as steady as he'd like, he put the sunshade up across the windshield. “That'll give you some privacy and then I'll stand outside looking
the other way and I'll stop anyone who starts to approach the car.” He glanced out the window. “Although we're in good shape now. There's no one back here.” They were back in the south forty of the parking lot behind the store.

“I'll knock on the window when I'm done and then it's your turn.”

He nodded and got out. He was about to slam the door when she said, “I owe you one, Colton. Just let me know if there's anything you need help getting out of.”

He closed the door. The only thing he needed help getting out of was this mess he'd gotten himself into with Andi when he agreed to go with her.

“W
ELL
, I
JUST SPENT
a small fortune,” Andi said as they met back at the car. It was funny how that worked when you walked out of a place with just the clothes, or in her case wedding dress, on your back. She'd had to grab makeup, toiletries, underwear, a couple of outfits, shoes, sleepwear and a small suitcase. But it had really been kind of fun. It did feel as if she was embarking on an adventure.

“You can always get your money back and we can just head home,” Colton said, popping the lid of the trunk open.

“You're out of luck, buddy. You're not getting rid of me that easily,” she said with a smile.

He tossed his stuff into the trunk. “And what makes you think I want to get rid of you?”

“Well, we both know you're here under duress.” Andi was teasing, but only kind of sort of. She realized she wanted, actually
needed
to hear him say he
wanted to be here with her. She laid her suitcase in the trunk and unzipped it.

“Maybe you don't know as much as you think you do,” he said, holding the handle of her cart while she transferred her purchases.

She took the bags out of the buggy, putting them in the open case. She'd de-tag and organize when they got to wherever they wound up staying tonight. And she'd be wearing the sexy little nightie she'd purchased just for the occasion. Andi glanced over her shoulder at him, anticipation dampening her between the thighs with a warm, wet heat. “So, you're saying you're excited to be going on the Grand Adventure with me?”

A hint of a smile played about his lips. “Maybe I am.”

“You need to learn to contain your enthusiasm, Major,” she said, teasing him. It was at least a start and she could feel the sexual energy between them. “It's overwhelming.”

Colton pushed the buggy to the cart return while Andi zipped her suitcase and closed the trunk. When he returned he said, “Logistically, I'm thinking we'll just drive tonight until we decide to stop and then finish the trip tomorrow.”

She nodded. They didn't have any set agenda, simply a destination in mind. That's what made it an adventure. And the main thing was being with him. “That works for me. And I can drive for a while. I
actually like to drive. I find it relaxing. I prefer driving to sitting in the passenger seat.”

“I'm more than happy to turn the wheel over to you.” Colton handed her the keys and rounded the car to the passenger side. He paused, glancing at the rear seat. “Do we need to keep your wedding dress hanging in the back?”

“I'm not really comfortable with putting it in the trunk,” Andi said, getting in the driver's seat. He got in as well, closing the door. They both buckled up. “It's going to need to be cleaned because I was sweating like a pig but trunks can be pretty dirty and I'd rather not get any kind of stain on it that might be questionable coming out.” She started the car and headed back toward the interstate, bringing them that much closer to their first night together. “Not that the trunk looked particularly dirty or anything, but the dress is white and that can be a stain magnet, if you know what I mean.”

“I hear you. It's fine in the back.” He'd neatly folded his dress uniform and it lay on the backseat next to her dress. He'd picked up a pair of jeans and a collared knit shirt in a mocha color that looked great with his tan and his green eyes. She'd meant to tell him so earlier. She fully believed men liked compliments just as much as women did. “By the way, I like that shirt on you. It looks good with your tan and your eyes.”

“Thanks,” he said. “It's nice to wear something other than army-issue for a change. That yellow looks
good on you with your hair.” The look in his eyes more than echoed his words.

“That's sweet of you to say.” She glanced at herself in the rearview mirror. “This updo's a little formal for the dress but I don't dare try to take it down until I've got a shower at my disposal.” She laughed. “I'm not even sure it would come down. I believe she used about a gallon of hair spray to shellac it in place. I could probably go through a wind tunnel and it wouldn't move.”

Colton laughed. “It looked good for your big day…well, your almost big day. So what happens now?”

“What happens now what?”

“Your future. Your plans changed just a little bit this afternoon. You said you'd moved back home until the wedding but you're obviously not moving in with Blanton now.”

“Ah, you mean the logistics of an aborted wedding.” Andi shook her head. She'd never even entertained what happened when you ditched at the last minute. “I have no clue. I guess the presents go back and I've got some decisions to make as to where I'm going to live. I can assure you, I'll be moving back out right away. Ms. Daisy's not going to be a happy camper.”

“I thought you said she was kind of okay when you talked to her earlier.”

“That was because she'd had some wine. Once it wears off she'll be unhinged again. That's part of my
plan on my big adventure, to decide what I'm going to do next. Sometimes stepping away from a situation for a couple of days is the best way to handle that.” She didn't say it to Colton but she felt as if she was at an important juncture. Going back to what she'd had before, what she'd been, suddenly seemed as impossible as marrying Blanton.

“What will you do with the dress?” Colton was so practical. That was the kind of thing he'd think of. “My mother had her wedding dress altered for Mattie even though she thought Mattie was making a big mistake, which it turned out she was. Are you going to hold on to it for another time?”

Andi laughed. “Heck no, I'm not holding on to it. It's got bad juju for me now.” She'd figured this out earlier when they were in the store. “I'll sell it online. And since I've already embarrassed myself and the whole family, I'll probably list that it never actually made it through the ceremony. It'll go like a hotcake. I'll probably get close to what I paid for it since it comes with a story.”

Colton shook his head laughing. “Not to stereotype but sometimes you women aren't the most rational creatures.”

“It's just a different rationale,” Andi said. She didn't expect him to understand because it was a totally different way of thinking than he employed. “You wanna find a radio station? I'm good with pretty much any
thing except classical music, heavy metal and hardcore rap.”

Colton reached over and turned on the radio with a smile. “No problem because I can't say that I'm a fan of any of that either.” He scanned through a couple until he found a country station. “You like this?”

“Yep. The lyrics tell a story. Well, I guess with most songs the lyrics tell a story but I usually prefer the stories they tell in country music.”

“Well, it's always nice to be able to understand them.” She could feel him looking at her. “So, back to your story, you said you couldn't marry Blanton because you didn't love him and he was boring. Did you figure that out by comparison?”

He'd lost her. “By comparison? Do you mean like seeing my girlfriends in relationships?”

“Is there someone else you're interested in? Someone you realized you're in love with and that's why you couldn't follow through with marrying Blanton?”

She could see his logic, his reasoning, and she could feel the heat of a blush climbing her neck and face. She should've known he was far too rational not to reach that conclusion. She hedged because she wasn't ready to tell him how she felt about him—quite frankly she didn't know whether what she felt would be substantiated by her time with him or whether it would prove antidotal. The next couple of days with Colton would either sink her or free her, and he most certainly didn't need to know that. “I think it's plenty
that I figured out I didn't love him, and if I don't love him, I shouldn't marry him. Isn't that logical?”

She looked away from the road just long enough to glance at him. “Absolutely logical,” he said, his expression inscrutable.

“I'm glad I'm not here with anyone else,” she said. “I'm glad it's you.”

“Why?”

“Do you realize you and I have never spent time alone together?”

“Maybe that's a good thing.”

“No, I don't think it's a good thing at all. I think this is all working out swimmingly.” She hesitated for a moment, the full impact of what he'd said hitting her. “Why would it be a good thing you and I were never alone together?”

“What purpose would it have served?”

“Does everything have to serve a purpose?”

“Pretty much, yes.”

That didn't just sting, it hurt. She knew she was skating close to the edge. She hadn't slept well in weeks. She'd been majorly stressed managing the wedding and her mother. She'd run the emotional gamut of realizing she loved Colton, running away from her own wedding to finally having some time with him only to have him make some thoughtless remark. She knew she was past herself, past her coping limit, but she didn't quite know what to do about it. “So, you don't think there's any merit in getting
to know me better? I think you're about to hurt my feelings up one side and down the other.” She forced a laugh. She would not cry. Granted she was emotional because it had been an emotional day. She'd made a huge decision about her future, pissed off a ton of people, rediscovered the feelings she had for the man next to her were very real and very intense. She'd thought she'd detected an equal attraction on his part, but apparently she was mistaken. Apparently she was forever destined to be the little sister and she knew with blinding clarity that's what she'd been dancing around with Colton all afternoon.

She wanted the man he'd become to see the woman she'd become. She wanted it in the worst way. She wanted
him
in the worst way. And he'd just told her point blank he wasn't interested in getting to know her better. Nope, she wouldn't cry…at least not now…but it stung like the dickens. “Actually, I think you just did hurt my feelings up one side and down the other.”

He rubbed his hand over his cropped hair. “Dammit, Andi, I didn't mean to.”

“It's okay. I know you didn't.” Crap. Her voice was thick with unshed tears.

“Are you crying?”

“No. I am not crying.” Close, but no cigar. She put on her blinker and moved into the right lane. There was an exit in one mile. She'd get off there.

“Andi—”

“Just do us both a favor and don't say anything else, Colton.”

Mercifully, the mile passed quickly and the radio helped fill the terse silence stretching between the two of them. She slowed and took the exit ramp.

“What are you doing?” he said.

“You know you have the most annoying habit of questioning the obvious.” It was easy to let anger fill the space created by hurt. “I'm climbing out of a window at my wedding and you want to know what I'm doing. I'm getting off on an exit ramp and you want to know what I'm doing.”

“Okay,
why
are we getting off of the exit ramp?”

“Because I'm taking you back to Savannah.” She wanted him and she wanted this time with him but not under these circumstances. She thought they'd reached a different agreement and apparently she'd been wrong.

“Don't you mean us?”

“No. You. I'm going to go by Blanton's house and get my car. He and Patrice should be gone by now—”

“Can you just pull over for a minute?”

She pulled the sedan into a gas station and put the car in Park. “Happy?”

“As a lark. Now, who the hell is Patrice and where are she and Blanton going?”

“Patrice is…was my maid of honor. They're going
to Sea Island, which is where he and I were going for our honeymoon.”

“And now Patrice is going with him? How do you feel about that?”

He'd just stomped on her heart and he wanted to know how she felt about Blanton going to Sea Island with Patrice? She wanted to shake him. “I'm fine with it. I'd thought for some time Patrice had a thing for him. So, they should've already taken off for Sea Island and even if they haven't, they can't stop me from getting my car. Once I have my car, you can go wherever you please, with whomever you please and I will be on my merry way, alone.”

“And what happened to me going with you?”

“No thanks.”

“And you changed your mind why?”

“You said you didn't want to get to know me better, which leaves one other possibility. Colton who always does the right thing is going to babysit the runaway bride on his leave because it's the right thing to do.” She was so disappointed and frustrated she could scream. She'd dared to hope, to think that he was interested, that there was something between them.

“You don't know what you're talking about, Andi.”

“Of course I don't. I'm just little Andi Mitchell and—”

He closed the space between them, his hand cupping her head. “Does this feel like I'm doing the right
thing?” he said seconds before his mouth claimed hers in a startlingly honest, hungry kiss. Long before she was ready for him to, he tore his mouth from hers. “See, Andi, I don't always do the right thing.”

Her lips tingled and her heart soared with renewed hope. Fireworks—it had been like the sparkling finale.

She curved her hand around the nape of his neck and leaned in until her lips were nearly grazing his, until his warm breath mingled intoxicatingly with her own. Unchecked hunger glimmered in his eyes and pulsed between them. “That's where you're wrong, Major, because nothing has ever felt more right.”

She took up the kiss where he'd ended it.

 

H
E'D DONE WHAT HE'D SWORN
he'd never do. Colton had crossed the line with Andi. Unfortunately, he now knew without a shadow of a doubt just how incredible her kiss could be. She tasted like a spicy-sweet forbidden fruit. Her answering hunger and passion, the way her lips felt beneath his—those would forever be imprinted in his memory bank, in his senses. Reluctantly, he ended their kiss again.