Tempted by the Soldier

Chapter Nineteen


Lilly was so screwed.

She was in love.

With a man she’d been avoiding for nearly two weeks since the wedding.

A man who was probably already on his way overseas with the Marines. She buried her face in her hands and a sob ripped out of her before she could stop it, echoing off the walls of her apartment bathroom. Normally she avoided tears at all costs, but these couldn’t be contained. She had wanted so badly to answer the phone when he’d called, but why would she? She couldn’t trust a word he said. Not anymore. Nor could she bear to hear him reject her all over again. There was no way she would ever tell him how she felt. Not when he was hell-bent on putting an ocean between himself and his life back here—including her. He’d resent her for telling him. For ruining his plan to escape with no strings attached.

She felt so inconceivably foolish that she had fallen for his shit all over again.

“Lilly.” Paige’s voice sounded from outside the bathroom door. When she didn’t answer, she heard Paige sigh. “Okay, if you don’t answer, I’m going to call your brother and tell him to come bust you out.”

With a silent groan, Lilly flipped open the lock on the door and sank back against the wall. There was no point in arguing. Her twin brother was an overprotective, overbearing ass. If he heard about her crying, she had no doubt he’d be over there with his police cruiser lights blazing, to save the day. Hell, he’d probably bust the hinges to get in. And she didn’t doubt for a second Paige would call him. If nothing else, it would give her friend one more chance to ogle him in his cop uniform before moving out.

Paige peeked through the doorway, and stilled when she saw her.

“Lilly…” She sank down in front of her and grabbed her hands. “Come on, honey. You need Ben and Jerry, stat.”


“Aren’t you supposed to be at work?” Lilly asked. “Your grand opening is tomorrow.”

“Probably.” She smiled and wiped the tears from Lilly’s cheeks. “But this is more important. Now, talk to me.”

Lilly thought back to the anguish in Nate’s pleading voice as he’d begged her to answer the phone. Then the door. To let him explain.

Didn’t he understand? There was no fixing their relationship. Every time things got serious, he pulled away. How could they ever have a future when he allowed his life to be completely dictated by his past? She believed he wanted her, but she also knew he’d always choose the seven men he’d lost over her. And she couldn’t live like that. She couldn’t live the way her mother had, existing only for the brief moments that he’d deign to pop into her life for a damn booty call.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” she told her soon to be ex-roommate.

She pushed herself up and peered at herself in the mirror to dab away the mascara smudges from under her eyes.

“I don’t want to be like my mother,” Lilly choked out. “I refuse.”

Paige frowned and pulled her into her arms. “You will never be like her. Do you hear me?”

Lilly nodded, hating that Paige was seeing her cry. That anyone was.

“In case you’ve forgotten, I knew your mom,” Paige said, reminding Lilly of a time when Paige had been her and her twin brother’s only saving grace when they were kids. “You are so much more than she ever was,” she said gently. “You’re not weak. You’re not cold. You are one of the strongest and kindest people I’ve ever known. If your brother heard you talking like that he’d kick your ass.”

Lilly glared at her. “Don’t you dare tell him you saw me cry.”

“What?” Paige batted her eyelashes innocently. “And throw away the first piece of blackmail you’ve given me in years? Never.”

Lilly let Paige pull her to her feet and they wandered into the living room, where she collapsed onto the couch. Paige went to the kitchen and came back with Lilly’s emergency pint of chocolate ice cream and handed it to her with a spoon.

She took it with a sigh. “I should throw this right in the trash because it’s so damn cliché.” She popped open the lid and her stomach growled.

Paige snorted. “But you won’t.”

“I thought yoga instructors were all about healthy living. I’m surprised you didn’t throw it out while I was gone.”

Paige joined her on the couch and tucked her knees up to her chest. “I had a feeling you might need it after that truck ride.”

She stabbed her spoon into the ice cream, her appetite dwindling. She stared at the answering machine on the table. How many missed calls were there from Nate? How many messages? She was afraid to look.

“Can I give you a little advice without you getting pissed?” Paige asked.

Lilly sighed. “Since when has me being pissed ever stopped you from giving me your opinion?”

“I think you should give him a chance to explain,” she said. “The guy I saw on the other side of that door…he wasn’t a guy who wanted to use you. He was a guy dying inside over the thought that he’d hurt you. He loves you, sweetie. Anyone with eyes can see that.”

Lilly wrapped her arms around her middle to hold herself together. She could feel her insides cracking, splitting, aching. She wanted that to be true so much.

But she knew better.

“He doesn’t want me, Paige.” She bit her bottom lip to replace the pain inside with another. “If he really cared about me, he wouldn’t have lied. He wouldn’t have led me on, all the while knowing he was leaving any minute.”

Paige grabbed a piece of paper from the coffee table and handed it to her.

Lilly glanced over what was written on the paper. A time, date, and address. “What’s this?”

“Well, if you’re not to going to listen to me, maybe work can take your mind off the man,” Paige said. “Some people called needing engagement photos done tomorrow. I told them you’d try to fit them in, but I couldn’t find your schedule book to be sure.”

Yes. This was exactly what she needed. Work. A distraction. Her camera in her hands.

And Nate Jennings as far from her thoughts as possible.