The Second Chance Hero (8 page)

“Sorry,” Owen said. “But I’m not apologizing to Harper. I don’t need her to tell me how to run my life.”

“Does this have to do with Kim being here?”

Owen shrugged. “She’s not interested. I’m giving her space.”

“Space,” Nate said. “You’re giving her space?”

“Yes.”

The dog trotted into his office and sat between the three of them, looking at each one in turn. She picked up a ball of her own from the floor and dropped it at Jason’s feet. “I don’t think it has anything to do with space.” He picked up the ball and with a flick of his wrist, sent it flying into the reception area. Casey tore off, there was a scream from one of the secretaries, something crashed, but Jason kept his focus on Owen.

“You are such a little girl.”

“What?”

“You stand there like you’re such a badass, but you have no idea what to do. You’re interested in Kim, you want to let her know that you are, but you’re too scared to try. Blame Harper if you want, but she cares about you, asshole. Maybe you could return the favor instead of hiding behind your fucking honor.”

“If a woman turns me down, she turns me down. That’s it. It has nothing to do with being scared.”

“Well, if that’s it, then she’ll know for sure you don’t give a shit.” Nate walked to the door. “I’m going to eat and then run the numbers for that sales proposal. Meeting at two?”

Jason nodded and followed him, leaving Owen to process what Nate had said. This thing with Kim should have been easy. Why wasn’t it fucking easy?

Of course he wanted to go to the gym. He wanted to get Kim to go out with him. But he was the only one who’d witnessed what she’d gone through, and no matter how much he wanted to, he’d need something from her. Some kind of signal or sign that he could make a move again.

He gave a shit. He’d been thinking about Kim Torres for a fucking year.

But he also knew what she’d suffered. And that changed the game. He couldn’t tell them what really went on in that hospital—what she lost. Even if it helped them understand where he was coming from.

Kim stretched, still a little sore from her workout, when she heard the familiar sound of the Range Rover pulling in the driveway, and knew it would only be a few minutes before Anna would zero in on Mama’s voice and wake up from her nap.

Kevin had left for his game, and Kim had an hour of blessed, blessed quiet to read. So she took the crime thriller she’d been absorbed in, grabbed herself a cup of coffee, and went out to the deck.

The gardens at the house were really coming together. There was a crew on the western side of the property planting about twenty hydrangea bushes. They were going to look beautiful, but right now there was too much noise to read—which was okay since the scenery was pretty damn nice.

She could look at one of the landscapers all day long. His name was Antonio and he was from . . . she didn’t know. Which was good because then she could make up a fantasy life for him. Let’s see, he was an orphan, but his mother died leaving him with the challenge of getting an education and working to help his eight younger siblings from Costa Marco (a made-up country) get to America to prosper in their own right. Cue patriotic music.

Whatever. He was hot and he looked amazing with his shirt off.

She heard the footsteps on the deck stairs. “I’m loving this view today,” Kim said. “Thank you for these landscapers. Especially the tall guy over there. His name is Antonio, but don’t get your hopes up, we’re destined to be together.”

“That’s too bad for me, then.”
Owen.
She’d know that deep, gorgeous voice anywhere. She’d spent the last three days kicking herself that she hadn’t said yes to his dinner invitation.

“Shit.”

“Hi there.” He came around and parked himself on the other chaise. “May I landscaper watch with you?”

“I can’t imagine that would be much fun for you.”

“I don’t know about that. I get great pleasure knowing women aren’t nearly as evolved as they want us to believe they are. I mean, objectifying the landscapers? I thought better of you.”

“Are you here for a reason, Owen?”

“I came to see Harper. Being able to tease you a little has been an added bonus.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself, but Harper’s not home yet.” Kim picked up her book, pretended to read. It was hard to do with a couple hundred pounds of lethal man less than two feet away. “You can go. Dismissed.”

“
Dismissed
?” He laughed. “I believe I outrank you, Lieutenant Torres.”

Kim’s stomach dropped. How did he know that? “I don’t remember telling you my rank.”

“Oh. I guess someone mentioned it.”

“I guess.” The conversation trailed off.

“So, do you expect Harper home soon?”

“She should be. Why?”

“I . . .” He hesitated. “I have to apologize.”

“Apologize? That would mean you’d have to admit fault.”

“I’m not the asshole you seem to think I am.”

She didn’t think he was an asshole. Not at all. But right now Kim had the upper hand and she was going to take it.

“What did you do?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “I shut her down like she was a green recruit. The woman was not happy.”

“Oh, no. I bet she wasn’t. I’m surprised you lived to tell the tale.”

“I’d like to think I could protect myself against a hundred-and-thirty-pound woman with no special training.”

“Oh, Harper wouldn’t make a frontal assault. She’d get you quietly. No warning.”

Owen smiled, then laughed as he thought about what she said. “I’ll watch my back.”

“You’d better.” Kim reached for her coffee and realized she’d been rude, in more ways than one. Just being around the man made her crazy. “Can I get you anything? Iced tea, water, a beer?”

“Water is good. Thanks.”

“Coming right up.”

She was happy for the chance to slip away for a second. Just being with Owen was messing with her head a little. He was nice. He screwed up and he wanted to fix things. That was a good guy right there.

And the look of him, good Lord. She’d never seen a man wear a suit like that. It was a medium gray, and the pants and jacket were tailored to hug his physique, from his shoulders to his long, powerful thighs. The black shirt he wore with it was well fitted and looked soft and expensive. He was the picture of success right down to the scent of his cologne, which lingered, teased, but didn’t overpower.

Again, she thought about the other night. Why had she told him no? Dumb. So dumb.

She got his glass of water and returned to the deck. He’d removed his jacket and tie, rolled up his sleeves, and gotten comfortable on the other chaise lounge, sitting back and stretching out. He was typing something into his cell, and looked up when she closed the door.

“Thanks.” He took the glass from her and she watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down as he took a long drink. “That’s perfect. Did you find you were really thirsty when you got home? Like you couldn’t drink enough?”

“No. Are you a sugar junkie? Maybe diabetes runs in your family?”

“No. I think I just want water because of the way the moondust settled over everything. I always felt like I was eating it.”

“You probably were.” The moondust he was talking about was the super-fine sand that coated just about everything in Afghanistan, and in some places was inches deep. Tom used to complain about how it could seep into a weapon and cause it to jam if the soldier or marine wasn’t meticulous about keeping his weapons clean.

“It’s probably just a psychological response. Because I’m not screwed up enough.”

Kim reached out and placed a hand on his forearm, feeling the hair brush her palm. “We all come back with demons. As long as nothing is physically wrong, if yours is that you’re thirsty, I think you should take it and keep quiet.”

He nodded, a flash of humor crossing his face. “I guess you’re right.”

“How is it being back at Reliance? I mean other than putting Harper through her paces?”

“It’s . . . relaxed. I think it’s going to be more of an adjustment than I anticipated.”

“You’ve been living in a very rigid environment, that’s understandable.”

“The culture has changed at Reliance. The move out of the city has been good, don’t get me wrong, but it’s become even looser than it was. It’s going great, profits are up, but I don’t know where I fit.”

Was she reading him right? Did Owen need to talk? “You’re the only one who wears the whole suit thing, right?”

“It’s my business. I think I should look like I care.”

“It wasn’t an indictment, just an observation.” She’d been observing a lot at Reliance over the past six months, and compared to Nate and Jason, she could see that Owen was a stiff, just like Harper said. A smart, gorgeous, sweet stiff, but still a stiff. On most days Nate was dressed in khakis and a button-down. Jason went from a suit on meeting days to his SpongeBob pajama pants when he went into flaky geek software designer mode.

“Nate told me to get the stick out from up my ass.”

“Do you have a stick up your ass?”

He looked at her, incredulous. “I’m a marine. I have the mother of all sticks up my ass.”

Shocked at first, it only took a second for Kim to dissolve into laughter at not only the way he said it, but the way he could be so self-depreciating. Owen was laughing, too, and in that one quick moment, Kim felt like she’d actually made a friend. It was nice.

There was a little noise on the baby monitor sitting on the table between them. Their heads turned in unison at the sound. “The princess awakes,” Kim said.

“Hey,” Owen said, rising. “Can I go get her? Will she flip?”

Kim didn’t know. From what she saw at the barbecue a few days ago, Anna loved him to the point of pushing her own mother away in favor of her uncle Owen.

“I’ll go with you. Just in case you’re not her guy anymore.”

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle that. Rejected by two beautiful women in less than a week? It might be more than I can take.”

Oh, now she felt bad. Mostly for herself. “Owen, I’m sorry, but . . .”

He pressed his index finger to her lips and stepped in. “Don’t apologize. I shouldn’t have rushed you.”

“It wasn’t that. I’m a big chicken.”

“A chicken?”

“You’re, um, a little intimidating. And I’m out of practice.”

“I’m intimidating?”

“Yes.”

“Oh. I’ve never been called intimidating by a woman.”

“Don’t get me wrong, there’s this vibe around you, it’s not something I can identify, but remember, I know what you do.”

They were walking inside the house and Owen stopped and turned her to face him. “The last thing I want is for you to feel at all uncomfortable. I’d like to get to know you better, but how about this? If you want to go out with me, just tell me to ‘ask.’ Then I’ll know it’s what you want.”

“I appreciate that, but . . .”

“I’ll grow on you, I promise.”

That wasn’t what she was worried about. If anything, she was worried he already had.

They reached the home office where Anna was standing in her portable crib, bouncing up and down at her knees. When the baby saw Owen, she let loose with squeals the likes of which Kim had never heard.

“Is that my best girl?” he asked before scooping her into his arms. Anna hugged his head and giggled when he rubbed his stubble gently on her palm. He locked eyes with the child and Kim could see he was totally in love.

If that didn’t just do her in, she didn’t know what else would. Bottom line, she would totally have his babies. Like tomorrow. Forget Antonio.

“She really does love you.” Kim ran her hand over the baby’s back and loved the way she nuzzled into Owen, rubbing her face against his neck.

“I never thought about kids. Now I do.” He kissed the top of Anna’s head and rested his cheek on her hair, all while Kim’s reproductive radar lit up like a beacon.

“You know that’s from the war, right?”

“What, the baby?” Now he looked very confused. It was cute.

“Paying attention to kids. Wanting kids of our own. I became a nanny to get away from the war.”

“Has it helped?”

She tilted her head back and forth, indicating it could have gone either way. “Yes and no. I know I’ve been running, like you said the other day. I will have to stop, eventually. But still, I wonder if I’ll ever have a family.” Her voice caught and broke a little, warning Kim the conversation was venturing too close to the heart. “I wonder if I’ll ever have the nerve.”

“You will.” His eyes were full of sweetness and understanding, urging her not to give up hope.

“I hope you’re right.” He smiled down at her, still holding Anna close and looking like an ad for Daddies-R-Us. His body was so close to hers she could imagine what it would be like to touch him, to be consumed by him. The attraction was more intense than she ever could have imagined. Owen leaned in and for a second, she thought he might kiss her.

“Kim . . .”

“Well, isn’t this cute.” Harper’s voice cut through the soundtrack that had begun playing in her head. The “walking down the aisle” soundtrack that took her to a place she never thought she’d want to go to again. Owen was starting to look like he could be part of that fantasy, if she let her guard down long enough for it to happen.

“Here, let me take her so you two can talk.” Kim went to take Anna from Owen, but Harper stepped in.

“Talk?” Harper said. “We don’t need to talk. I have nothing to say to Major Asshole here. Now give me my baby.”

She pulled Anna from Owen and the little girl objected loudly, reaching for her new favorite uncle. “Ahh. Mama. Ahh.”

“Kim, please show Owen out. I have to calm her down.”

“Okay.” Kim stepped back, not quite sure what to make of her friend’s demeanor. “I’ll start dinner.”

“No, that’s all right. I’ll fix myself something. You can go.”

Kim started at Harper’s response. She’d never been sent away. Ever. “All right, then. See you tomorrow.” Kim looked at Owen, who shrugged, and followed her to the kitchen.

“Thanks for putting up with me. I don’t know how this is going to go with Harper.”

“You’re staying?” He was brave. “Good luck.”

“It’ll be okay. She’ll rip into me, but we’ll sort it out.” For a long moment, Owen looked at her, then he leaned in and kissed her cheek. It was soft, innocent—nothing more than a peck—but Kim’s heart knew it could mean more.

She had to get out of there. On one hand, he was absolutely gorgeous and so very appealing and she’d love to give him some moral support, but on the other, she knew he could wreck her heart without even trying. No. Owen was a bad idea. Even though he was a really good one.

“Maybe I’ll talk to you,” he said, hopeful.

“Yeah, maybe.”

“You’re around Reliance a lot, right?” He was fishing for information and Kim was flattered, to be sure. Seeing Owen was no hardship, but it was dangerous, especially after that kiss.

“Occasionally.”
Like three times a week.
She was so getting caught in that lie
.
He was close and he smelled so damn good. Lord, the man was addicting.
Get out. Get out of there before you kiss him for real.
“I have to go.”

“Right, but . . .”

She grabbed her backpack and smiled. “Bye, Owen. See ya.”

And there she was . . . running again.

***

He lifted a hand as she went out the doors to the deck and down the steps to the stone path that led to her cottage. It was a good distance from the house, but not so far that he couldn’t watch her make the walk. He was supposed to have a date that night with a woman he’d been seeing before he’d left for Afghanistan. She’d heard he was home and called. They were going to go to dinner.

He’d canceled before he left the office. He didn’t want to date. He didn’t want to go out and pretend to have a good time wining and dining other women when the one woman he was interested in didn’t want him.

Or so he thought.

Owen watched Kim enter the cottage and thought about her reaction to him, and he smiled. She was flustered, nervous. Maybe there was hope.

“Oh, my God. Are you still here?” Harper walked right past him onto the deck and plopped her little pink bundle in a saucer exercise thingy. Anna immediately started to squeal with joy. Not one to give up until his objective had been reached, he followed her onto the deck.