Remember the Night: a Heroes of the Night military romance novel (18 page)

Cody heard the knock on the door at exactly five. The fact Evelyn arrived perfectly at the moment she'd been asked to didn't surprise him in the least. He, on the other hand, had been a mess the entire day. Daniel and Melodie hadn't given him too much grief for taking an hour to pack each box he'd been assigned. Melodie had even offered a sympathetic smile when he arrived. They both knew he'd been with Evelyn the night before. Didn't take a rocket scientist to realize things hadn't gone according to plan.

You have to be patient with Ev. She can drive you crazy, but she's one of the best people I've ever known. She just has a different way of showing it.
Melodie's words repeated over and over in his head throughout the afternoon.

Daniel, on the other hand, had slugged him in the shoulder and told him the Alexander women were worth fighting for and to stop being a pussy.

"You brought Mike's?" Melodie smiled as she pulled the party pack out of the Binny's bag.

"Thought it would go better with pizza, right? Speaking of pizza, when will it be here? I'm starving."

Melodie's excitement quickly flashed to concern. "When's the last time you ate?"

Evelyn shrugged, not answering.

Cody would bet a month of paychecks she hadn't eaten since lunch on Friday. He and Daniel watched Melodie look over her sister from head to toe. When her gaze rested on the bruised cheek showing through the fading makeup, she grabbed her sister's arm and pulled her down the hall and into the bedroom.

Cody turned to Daniel, his arms crossed and a look of anger on his face. "What the hell is that about?"

Daniel moved toward him, pushing him in the chest until they hit the wall. "Tell me what or who put that bruise on her cheek!"

His mind raced to find a plausible answer. He'd promised Evelyn he wouldn't say anything. He wouldn't lie either. "I can't."

Cody watched as conflict raged in Daniel's eyes. Did he really think Cody could or would hurt Evelyn? Thankfully, Daniel eventually arrived at the same decision. Damn sure took him long enough. He'd deal with that another day. Not addressing shit led to big problems.

Can lead to death.

"You promised her, didn't you?"

Cody shrugged. "What the lady wants…"

Daniel smiled. "The lady gets."

"Damn straight." Cody moved to the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge. After a couple swigs, he looked at his best friend. "I gotta tell you, man, figuring out what this particular lady wants is giving me a hell of a headache."

"The best ones always do."

Cody looked up as the women came down the hall. "Everything okay?"

Melodie smiled. "Everything's fine. I didn't realize my sister was such a klutz." She turned to Daniel. "She took a digger on the way home yesterday, trying to not miss her train."

Cody flashed a glance from Melodie to Daniel to Evelyn. Unsure if Ev was lying to Mel or Mel to Daniel. Either way, this was a family matter, and since he wasn't part of the family, he'd stand by his promise to keep his mouth shut.

The doorbell rang. "Pizza's here."

Melodie and Daniel left to pay for the pizza, and he took advantage of the opportunity. "Are you really doing okay?"

He studied her closely, the same fading makeup that allowed Melodie to see the bruise allowed him to see the dark circles shadowing her tired eyes. Instinct bonded with desire and demanded he take her hand. "Stupid question. Sorry."

A small smile from her warmed his heart. "Thanks for not saying anything."

He moved a little closer, squeezing her hand tighter. "I'm a stand-up kinda guy."

The moment the palm of her hand touched his cheek, the chill from their last conversation dissipated. "You are. I was way out of line earlier. It's no excuse, but Nathan tends to bring out the worst in me."

"Assholes can do that."

In a surprise move, she shook her head. "He's not an asshole. Some people just aren't good for each other. He and I were just too slow to come to that realization."

This woman would never cease to amaze him. He had to leave teeth marks on his tongue not to ask her if she thought they were good for each other. He knew she was good for him. The question remained, could he be the same for her?

Not wanting to completely ruin the tentative truce she'd offered, he leaned into her touch. "Okay, not an asshole. I know you're going to work tomorrow, but can I take you out for a drink, dinner, coffee, something after you finish? If you need to disguise it as work, we can talk about the case."

She grinned, a sight that made him believe maybe world peace could be achieved someday. Okay, maybe not that far, but pretty damn close. "Play your cards right tonight, Soldier, and maybe we can do all of the above."

He laughed. "I've never been good at cards, but I'm game."

"Game for what?" Melodie set the pizza box on the table while Daniel grabbed paper plates from the cabinet.

"Eating more than my fair share of the pizza before Daniel can stop me."

"You wish!" To prove his point, Daniel grabbed the first steaming slice and took a big bite.

"Oh, it's on." Cody grabbed a slice and followed suit.

Melodie laughed. "You better grab some, Sis, or we're going to be eating pretzels and drinking all of the Mike's."

Cody felt a small pang of relief when Evelyn grabbed a slice and took a hearty bite. He surveyed the options in the Mike's party pack and selected the blood orange flavor. He lifted it toward Evelyn in suggestion. She smiled around the bite of crust and melted cheese, nodding her head.

Executing a few slick moves he'd learned from a bartender in Wisconsin, he made a show of removing the top from the bottle. Bowing before her, he lifted the beverage. "Your drink, ma'am."

Laughter from everyone filled the condo. She relieved him of the drink, lifted it to her mouth, and surrounded the opening with her pink lips. Shit! The simple action fired his blood and sent it on vacation below his belt. Images of those pink lips… He selected a Hard Lemonade, opened it, and quickly downed half in one long swig.

"Darn, Babyface. Thirsty?" Melodie laughed.

"That was nothing. This man can down a beer faster than anyone I've ever seen. He claims it's in his DNA being born in Wisconsin and all, but I think it's more a practice makes perfect kind of deal," Daniel added his thoughts into the discussion.

Cody punched him good-naturedly. "Most of my practice was with you. Always wanting to go out and party. Remember what you said right before a night of partying?"

Daniel blushed and Cody laughed. Maybe his old friend had grown up some. "Yeah, I remember. Who wants to get drunk…"

"…and do something stupid?"

Evelyn looked between the two men. "Seriously?"

Daniel leveled a wannabe serious look at her. "You've never gotten drunk, have you?"

The sparkling blue of her eyes disappeared as long lashes lowered to cover them. "No."

Cody moved to stand next to her and bumped her gently with his hip, jostling her in the chair. "There's always a first time. If you ever decide you want to, I want to be there. Deal?"

"Don't hold your breath. Ev appreciates control too much to get drunk. Right?" Melodie nodded in the direction of her sister.

Evelyn dabbed the corners of her mouth with a napkin. "I don't see the allure. Not being in control of my actions or what I say? Not fun."

"She's right," Cody interjected and then winked. "Besides, there are far more fun ways to lose control that don't involve a hangover in the morning."

"I think I'll forego any of those details, eat my pizza, and drink my beer. My beautiful wife has given me a deadline for packing, and I don't want to disappoint her."

Leave it to Daniel to ruin Cody's Hallmark moment with Evelyn. Time for a little payback. Cody teased "She's already got you whipped, I see."

Daniel grabbed Melodie and pulled her into an embrace, kissing and nuzzling her neck. Finally, he responded. "There are worse things than being whipped by a beautiful woman." His gaze diverted to Evelyn. "Course, you already know that."

At his remark, Evelyn blushed, took another bite of pizza, and grabbed another drink from the box. "On that note, I'm taking my pizza and drink into the living room. It will take me the rest of the night to box up all those books. I hope you have plenty of shelves in the new place."

"Daniel and I are buying some from Ikea and building them to go in the living room."

Cody laughed. "Daniel with bookshelves in his house. Miracles never cease." He managed a quick glance at Evelyn's backside as she left the room. The slight sway of those hips could bring him to his knees. He stuffed another bite of pizza into his mouth. Getting that woman to fall in love with him—now
that
would be a miracle.

Evelyn looked up from the piles of books and albums surrounding her when Cody walked into the room. She recognized the faint scent of his cologne. Did that make her attentive or pathetic?
Four days to find a date…

He handed her another drink. Though she wasn't drunk, Melodie had informed her with a wicked grin that she had a good buzz going on. Whatever that meant.

"Hey. Thanks for the drink."

"No problem. I think Daniel and Mel are getting ready to go to bed. You wanna call it a night?"

She looked at her watch. Ten fifteen. Where had the time gone? She looked at the five boxes she'd been responsible for packing and smiled. "Not my most productive packing experience."

He pointed to the photo albums lying around her. "Looks like you got sidetracked."

Her face heated. "Guilty as charged. I can't remember the last time I looked at old photos. Brought back a lot of memories."

"Good or bad?"

"Mostly good. The only bad ones were pics of outings we went on as kids. I'd forgotten how many of those outings she missed. I know I regret missing some of Michael's things early in his life. Since Jason came along, I've tried to do better in that regard."

"You think she has regrets?"

"My mother?"

"Yeah?"

She shook her head and smiled. "Have you met my mother?"

He shrugged. "Everyone keeps asking me that. She must be a real piece of work. Other than seeing her briefly at Mel's wedding, I haven't had the pleasure."

Window of opportunity.
"Would you like to meet her?"

His nervous laugh brought a smile to her face. "The way everyone talks about her, I'd be a fool to miss an opportunity to meet the illustrious Marie Alexander. Did you have a particular opportunity in mind?"

No guts, no glory.
"I know I said some things earlier today…"

He busied himself with boxing some of the photo albums, apparently unable to look her directly in the face for this conversation. Not good. "I've never seen you like that before."

Not looking at each other for this conversation might be the best approach—at least it made saying what needed to be said a little easier. She lowered her head. "Work is very stressful right now, more so than ever before. I lashed out at the person closest." She lifted her head to stare at the strong line of his jaw, the desire to let her fingertips graze the dark stubble proved formidable and hard to resist. "I misjudged you and the situation. I apologize."

Her words turned his attention and those dark, mesmerizing eyes in her direction. Years of practice reading people wasn't necessary to see the bewilderment clearly etched on his features. "By leaving, I disappointed you? You wanted me to stay and fight for what I wanted?"

This time she closed her eyes. "My emotions have been getting the best of me. I promise I'm working on it. God knows I prefer logic and control to the chaos. Other than wanting to regain some semblance of control, I don't know what I want anymore."

His caress, soft and tender, brushed over her cheek, lifting her chin until she met his gaze once again. The dark brown orbs were surrounded by tiny crinkles of amusement. Trying to understand why this man continued to show her an amazing measure of patience and understanding tested every ounce of logic she possessed. Either he was the best guy around or the stupidest. "You want me to meet your mom if I read your last signal correctly."

Instead of a smile, the corners of her mouth headed southward. This time when she looked at him, she knew, without a doubt, her face resonated with guilt. She'd seen it enough times in the mirror to know when she wore that particular mask. Maybe that was one of the things she liked…loved most about Cody. With him, no masks were needed. She could be herself. Unfortunately, she wasn't confident who that was anymore. "That's not entirely true. You deserve the truth."

"I'm almost afraid to ask what you're going to say next." He slid his thumb across her drying lips, weakening her resolve.

Summoning what little remained of her internal fortitude, she forged ahead. "My mother invited Nathan to the party on Wednesday for Mel. She wanted me to accompany him, but I told her I already had a date."

"You're seeing someone?"

The hint of jealousy in his tone warmed her all the way to her core. The beginnings of a crooked smile replaced a small portion of the guilt mask. "Seriously?"

He returned the smile. "Stupid question. Sorry. I get it now. You lied to your mother instead of telling her the truth about the situation between you and the ex."

She raised an eyebrow. "Technically, it's only a lie if I don't have a date by the party."

"You legal types." He winked. "You really want me to be your date?"

Time to close the deal. She moved from her seated position on the floor, rose to her knees, and kissed him on the cheek. "I do."

The clenching of his jaw kept her from placing this debate in the
W
column for a win. The momentary levity of the conversation disappeared. "Forget baseball references. Being around you reminds me of a Ping-Pong game. I'm having a tough time keeping up with the emotional swings back and forth."

He was right.

"Curves and edges. That's what you said at the reception that night. With everyone else, I've been consistent and predictable. You take every preconceived notion I have about myself and turn them upside down. You make me second guess myself and do things I'd never considered doing before. You are a bad influence, Soldier." Why was she telling him this? Damn alcohol buzz. Had to be the explanation. Might as well finish strong. "You drive me crazy. Either you want to go with me or not. Just tell me. I will respect whatever decision you make. For the love of God, stop tormenting me, though, and decide."

A moment later, he crushed her mouth with his, silencing any further remarks she might make. The pads of his fingers held her face captive in the kiss while the rest of her insides started the slow melt of desire his touch had created. If he said no and went back to Wisconsin, where in the hell would that leave her?
Lost and alone and kicking myself for screwing up something so very good.
If he said yes, would it be because he really wanted to be her date or just to help her save face with her mother? Ugh! Her head hurt.

Further thought vanished when he slid his tongue across her mouth, prompting her lips to part in response. The stubble on his chin faintly registered against her cheek. Forget alcohol, his touch proved stronger and far more intoxicating.

Breathless, he broke the kiss. "Now that I have your full attention. If I agree to come as your date, we must agree on terms."

She blinked several times to bring the rapid-firing neurons in her brain back into alignment. She fought to keep doubt from creeping into the hazy glow from the kiss. Maybe he was doing this only to help her save face. Dread settled low in her stomach, but the faint smile on his well-kissed lips kept her from losing all hope. "Who's playing lawyer now?"

"Learned from the best."

Her back straightened, a little more focused. "I'm listening. State your terms."

*   *   *

Evelyn's sexy attorney mode kicked into high gear. Maybe she was right, and he should've stood up to her this morning. Had Nathan simply stood by and let her have all the control in the relationship? Maybe he hadn't been man enough to be what she truly needed—someone who understood her yet helped her realize she could be so much more.

Kissing her had been totally impulsive, but she had a knack for bringing out his spontaneous side. Besides, he never wanted to miss an opportunity to kiss those sinfully sweet lips. Backing away enough to have a somewhat rational conversation, he captured her gaze and lifted his index finger. "First, I will pick you up and drive you to the party. No meeting there. A date means the guy picks up the girl. End of story."

"Sounds like someone is still living in the fifties, but I'll agree to the term."

One down, two to go. His middle finger joined the index finger. "Second, if anyone asks, including your mother, you introduce me as your date."

"Any particular way you'd like me to address you?" She quirked her lips into a half grin, and he could tell a bubble of laughter threatened to break through the surface.

"If it will make you feel better, rather than saying, 'this is my red hot, sexy lover, Cody,' you can instead introduce me as private, first class Cody Jenkins."

A full-on smile now adorned her beautiful face. "Private, first class Jenkins it is. Your final term?"

This would be the tough one. Lifting his ring finger to indicate number three, he took the plunge. "If the evening goes well, you, me, and the boys do a joint activity on Saturday. My choice."

"Cody…" The smile disappeared, and a look of worry creased her face.

He shook his head. "All the terms, Counselor, or no deal. I'm tired of playing pretend with you. Either you give serious consideration to me being a part of your life or we move on. I'm tired of being jerked around. As much as I care about you and think we're good together, I deserve to be more than someone you use on an as-needed basis. I'm not asking to move in. I'm not even asking for you to tell the boys how important we are to each other. I'm simply asking to spend time with you and the kids in a fun setting. If we are able to make a go of this, it will help them accept me if we've had a chance to bond."

"And if we aren't able to make a go of this, what then? You're just going to disappear from their lives and break their hearts."

He noticed she didn't add a "too" on the end of her statement. Didn't even phase him. He'd learned she wasn't good with sharing her feelings. Remembering her outburst from earlier, he amended the thought. Not good at sharing her feelings unless she had a slight buzz going on. Just because the words weren't said didn't mean they weren't true.

"Then occasionally, as my schedule allows, I will call you and see if I can take the boys out for some fun with Uncle Cody. They're cool dudes, and I like hanging out with them. This isn't high school, and I'm not an asshole. I wouldn't do that to them." He left out what he wanted to add…
or you.

After several long, painful seconds of silence, she finally answered. "I agree to your terms."

"All of them?"

She nodded. "All of them."

He wasn't going to waste a victory. "Good. So, can we have brunch tomorrow? After you finish work."

"Dinner, my place. I'll cook. You'll need to leave by eight, though. The boys are due home then, and while a playdate with all of us might be fun, I'm not going to explain a romantic dinner in the house to them."

His ears perked up at her choice of words—romantic dinner. He had no idea how far this positive swing in her mood would take him, but he intended to enjoy every second. "Five?"

"Six."

Two hours didn't give him much time to eat and then seduce her, but he'd work on his game plan and be ready. Thinking of the fun they had feeding each other while they were in Mexico, he smiled. "I'll be responsible for dessert."