Still, he wouldn’t trade his time in Special Forces for anything. He’d done a lot of good, served his country in a way that made his chest swell with pride.
At least until that last mission. Couldn’t say he was proud of how that went down. Shoving away the memory, he drove along Main Street, his gaze snagging on the brick building that housed the Lockhart law firm. Tanner Lockhart still worked out of the Paradise office, but both his children practiced in Denver, at the firm’s headquarters. Paradise citizens didn’t have much need for lawyers, save for estate and property work, but apparently the Denver location was booming. He remembered Bree telling him over dinner that the firm employed over a hundred people, including Bree and her brother, Gabe.
Yeah, didn’t surprise him that Bree was a big-city lawyer now. He’d always known she’d build a successful life for herself. She was smart, driven, possessed a solid work ethic. Well, except for those three months they’d spent together—back then, she’d blown off school more times than he could count. She’d even missed her SATs to spend a few more hours in bed with him.
The memory brought a twinge of guilt. Fuck, he should’ve tried harder to make sure she took that damn test, but he’d been just as obsessed with Bree as she’d been with him. Still, he’d always known she’d make something of herself. That’s why he’d broken up with her when she tried to push for something more. He’d been set on enlisting, and he hadn’t wanted to hold her back. Knowing Bree, she would’ve waited as long as it took for them to be together, so he’d severed the tie, knowing they had separate paths to walk.
Only his path had led to a dead end.
And figuring out his new path was proving to be really damn hard.
When he reached his brother’s big, rustic cabin, he parked the pickup on the dusty driveway and climbed the porch. He’d left the door unlocked—nobody around these parts locked their doors—but the second he stepped into the front hall, he sensed the presence of an intruder.
Muffled sounds came from the kitchen, followed by a feminine curse that had his shoulders relaxing.
Bree.
A grin stretched his mouth. He’d known she wouldn’t be able to stay away.
His cock was already hardening as he hurried to the kitchen, but the semi-erection went limp when he laid eyes on the visitor. Not Bree, but Lexie Price, who was opening and closing cupboard cabinets like she owned the place.
Jake cleared his throat in irritation.
The blonde let out a startled cry, nearly dropping the canister of sugar she held in her manicured hands. “Fucking hell, Jake!” she yelled when she spotted him. “You scared the crap out of me!”
“Says the burglar who’s ransacking my cabinets,” he replied dryly.
“Nate’s cabinets.” She frowned. “And before you ask, I have a key. Nate and Charlotte recruit me to pick up their mail when Charlotte is on tour.”
“Doesn’t look like you’re here for mail.” He strode to the fridge and yanked open the door, pulling out a bottle of Bud. “So what’s the deal?”
“Borrowing some sugar,” she said, reaching into another cupboard for a small container of Tupperware. She dumped some sugar from the canister into the plastic box, then sealed it shut. “I need sugar for my coffee.”
Jake narrowed his eyes. “How’d you get here? Your car’s not out front.”
The blonde faltered. And for the first time since she’d surprised him, he realized she wasn’t wearing her usual ice-princess getup. No skirt and blazer, no pantyhose, no heels, just faded blue jeans and a lacy camisole the same shade as her glacier-blue eyes. He was surprised by how pretty she looked in the casual garb. It made her seem much more approachable, as did the blush that splotched her flawless cheeks.
“I walked,” she said carelessly.
“All the way from your place? That’s like twenty miles from here.” His suspicions intensified. “The diner is halfway between our houses. Why didn’t you stop for sugar there?”
“I wasn’t at my house,” she admitted. “I was visiting a friend, okay?”
His brows furrowed. “What friend?”
“I do have friends, you know.”
He faltered, averting his eyes as he fumbled to unscrew the cap of his beer bottle. Damn, she looked wounded, as if he’d actually hurt her by insinuating she didn’t have friends, which hadn’t been his intention at all.
“I mean who do you know that lives around here,” he clarified. “Nate’s closest neighbor is old Britt Jansen, and she whips out her shotgun if anyone so much as steps onto her property. Unless you’ve been hanging with Cooper Grady—he lives half a mile east of here, so—” He halted when Lexie’s cheeks turned redder.
Unable to stop himself, Jake laughed. “No fucking way. You and Cooper? That’s…”
Lexie’s lips tightened. “It’s none of your business, that’s what.”
He sipped his beer, then set down the bottle, unable to contain his amusement. “You and Coop, huh? Whatcha doing, slumming it? Taking a walk on the wild side?”