Three Little Words (Fool's Gold #12)

Isabel knew that Denise had been seeing Max for a few years, but so far they hadn’t decided to marry. He was a great guy, very calm and centered.

The Hendrix family had produced a lot of kids, Isabel thought, feeling a twinge of longing. She and Eric hadn’t discussed having children very often. She’d thought they had plenty of time and he... Well, she didn’t know what he’d been thinking. Either way, it was good they hadn’t started a family, what with the divorce and all. But she’d always seen herself as a mother. Being single was going to complicate that situation.

More food was passed around the table. Isabel watched Ford take small portions of everything, but he didn’t seem to be eating. She put her hand on his thigh and felt the tension in his muscles.

He looked as though he was having a good time, but she could tell the evening was wearing on him.

“How are things going at work?” Denise asked him.

Isabel squeezed her fingers against his thigh. “He’s so busy,” she said with a smile. “Have you seen the facility? It’s amazing. Angel’s building an outdoor course that is incredibly challenging.” Information Consuelo had told her. “I couldn’t do it, but those of you who are more athletic should try it.”

“That would be fun,” Montana said. “Not that I’d go. I’m not very coordinated. Max, do you think we should have an obstacle course to train the dogs?”

And just like that, the attention was off Ford.

He put his hand on top of hers and then smiled at her. She smiled back.

Ford was always so funny and charming, she thought. Joking with everyone and acting as if he was just one of the guys. It was easy to forget that he’d been gone so long, serving his country in difficult and dangerous places.

He wasn’t the kind of man to brood, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have ghosts of his own. She ate her dinner and talked to people, but stayed alert to any conversation shift that might upset him.

Later, when they were driving home, she wondered if she should say anything. Or ask questions. In the end, she decided to let him speak or not.

When they arrived back at their place, she climbed out of his Jeep and started for the house. Ford stopped her and pulled her into his arms. He didn’t kiss her; instead he held on tight.

She rested her head on his shoulder and breathed in the quiet of the night.

She wondered what had happened. Was it his family? The close quarters? The questions? Just that some days he had to deal with his past and some days he didn’t?

But she didn’t ask and he didn’t offer. Instead he shifted so his arm was around her and led her toward the house.

“I’m thinking ice cream and then sex,” he said as she pulled her keys out of her purse. “What about you?”

She fumbled with the key and he took it from her. As he opened the door, she knew that she wanted this. What they had together. The fun and the conversation. The sex and the friendship. She wanted to be his buffer and have him take care of the yard and be manly with the barbecue. She liked the rhythm of their life together.

It wasn’t love, she told herself firmly. But it was still special and something she wanted to hang on to for as long as she could.

“Ice cream and sex sound great,” she told him.

He grinned. “You’re the best girlfriend ever.”

“I bet you say that to all your women.”

“Maybe,” he admitted. “But this time I mean it.”

* * *

“YOU READY FOR THIS?” Consuelo asked.

“Sure,” Kent said, even though he wasn’t.

Somehow he’d agreed to work out with her. It wasn’t his idea of a date, so he wasn’t sure how it had happened, but here he was, in the CDS gym. Any confidence he’d arrived with had been destroyed by the sight of Ford helping his friend Leonard to his car. Leonard had been shuffling, as if his legs hurt too much to walk regularly, and he’d held an ice pack to one shoulder.

Ford’s comment “Not a good place for civilians” hadn’t helped.

Now he faced a petite fireball who was very likely going to kick his ass. To make matters worse, she was dressed in formfitting workout clothes that left nothing to the imagination. He was in baggy sweats and a T-shirt, but even so, if he got an erection, the world was going to know.

Basically, he had a three-part plan. Don’t get injured, don’t make a fool of himself and keep his eyes off Consuelo’s ass.

“What do you want to do?” she asked, tilting her head so her ponytail swung toward the ground.

“You tell me.” Which was a better answer than the real one, which went along the lines of “I want to have sex with you. Anywhere, anytime, again and again.” He had a feeling she wouldn’t respond well to that line of conversation and that if he pursued it, he would end up with something broken.

“We have a basic workout we give recruits to assess them,” she told him. “How about that?”

“You don’t have a basic math-teacher assessment instead? Because I’d be good at that one.”

“You can take pi to eight digits?” she asked, her voice teasing.