“I hear Darci is playing matchmaker again.”

  Grey popped the cap off his beer. “Yeah, I’m this month’s target.”

  “She’s pretty. Educated. Not much there not to like. Looks like the two of you are getting along all right.”

  Better than his buddy knew.

  Donovan clapped him on the shoulder. “Let it play out. See where it goes. You really do need to get out more.”

  “Darci put you up to that?”

  Deuce grinned. “My lips are sealed.”

  As Grey walked back to where Reganne sat, legs crossed, face lifted to the warm breeze, he wondered if Deuce was right. Maybe he needed to get out more. Date instead of having one night stands, which lately had been few and far between.

  Reganne was the type of woman you dated. Took to fancy restaurants and operas. A shudder worked its way through him. Opera. Damn. For her, he’d suffer it.

  What the hell was happening to him?

  Chapter Two

  As Grey walked back toward Reganne, he saw her go rigid in her chair. He followed her gaze to the beach but saw nothing except beachgoers. Nothing out of the unusual. Something spooked her, though, because the color had drained from her face.

  She stood as he approached. “I have to go. I’m sorry.”

  Setting the drinks down on the ground, he touched her arm, causing her to jump. He immediately dropped his hand. “What’s wrong?”

  She shook her head, wrapping her arms around her waist. “Nothing. I’m just tired. Too many long hours at the office. I think I’ll say my goodbyes.”

  Her forced smile didn’t convince him one iota. “Let me walk you home.”

  “No. Thank you. I’m only a few doors down.” Her gaze strayed once again to the beach.

  “I insist. Come on. I’ll say your goodbyes for you later.”

  After a moment’s hesitation she nodded. “Thank you.”

  “My pleasure.”

  “I’m this way.” She began walking toward the less populated area of the beach.

  Grey checked his stride to match hers. Tension radiated off her in waves. What the hell had she seen on the beach?

  They walked in silence about a half-mile until they reached a stilted beach house. Beige with white trim. Small, elegant, with an ornate white staircase leading to a covered porch with matching railings. It suited Reganne.

  “This is me.” She stopped at the bottom step, her hand on the railing. “Thanks for walking me home. Sorry I cut out on the party.”

  “I was heading out soon anyway.”

  She nodded, still not quite her friendly, open self she’d been at the party. What had caused the change?

  “Well, I’ll let you get back to your friends.”

  Dismissed. Something made him want to hang around and not leave quite yet. Despite her change in attitude he still wanted to spend time with her. He liked talking to her. Enjoyed her company. Wanted to know more about her.

  “What kind of gentleman would I be if I didn’t walk you all the way to your door?”

  At her surprised look, he nudged her up the steps, doing his best to keep his eyes off her perfect backside.

  Reganne opened the door, quickly putting the code into the security system. Something flitted across her face as she made a fast scan of the room.

  “Something wrong?”

  Her lips pursed. “No. Just a feeling.” She turned to him with a smile that didn’t convince him she was fine. “Thanks again for walking me home.”

  She started to close the door, but he stopped it with his hand and saw panic flash in her eyes. What the hell? He dropped his hand.

  “What kind of feeling did you have?” He’d learned to always trust his instincts. They rarely steered him wrong. Had saved his life a time or two in the field.

  “It’s nothing.”

  Not a very good liar. “How about I come in and take a look around?”

  “There’s no need for that. I’m sure it’s nothing.”

  He waited.

  “That’s very kind of you, but I’m fine. Everything’s good here.”

  Smart and stubborn. “How about this. I give you my number so you can call me if anything changes. Day or night.”

  Some of the tension eased from her delicate features. “You aren’t going to leave until I agree, are you?”

  “Nope.”

  “Wait here.”

  She disappeared inside the house only to return seconds later to thrust a pen and pad of paper at him. He wrote down his number and handed it back.

  “Call anytime.” He gave her a two-finger salute and turned to leave.

  He cast a glance over his shoulder when he reached the bottom step to see Reganne watching him, the paper clutched to her chest. Busted, she ducked inside the house and closed the door. Grey whistled on his way back to the party.

  ****

  Reganne locked the door and set the security alarm. Heart fluttering, she stared down at the bold script written on the girly pink stationary. It had been a long time since a man had given her his number. Even longer since she’d wanted one to. Especially a tall, gorgeous Navy SEAL with eyes the color of clouds after a thunderstorm. The most unusual grey she’d ever seen. So intense. As if she was the only one at the party. He hadn’t even noticed the blond bombshells walking on the beach.

  The last man to give her that kind of attention…

  No. Not going there. She’d left that life behind ten months ago when she moved here. All the precautions she’d been instructed by the police department had been taken. She changed her number to an unlisted one, deleted her social media sites and cancelled her credit cards. Changing her name hadn’t been an option due to her profession, but she kept her practice low-key, disguising herself in an office with two other doctors.

  Leaving her friends and patients had been the hardest thing she’d ever done. Harder than coming out of a coma to find the man that put her there standing over her bed.

  A shudder worked its way down her spine despite the warm temperature inside the house. She rarely used the air conditioning, preferring to open the windows and let the salty ocean air soothe her.

  Until today, she hadn’t had a reason to keep the windows closed. It had been so long since she’d been able to keep them open she couldn’t bear to be closed in again.

  Carsen’s face flitted across her vision. Reganne squeezed her eyes closed. Opened them. Looked around the empty room.

  He wasn’t here. She’d taken precautions to make sure he didn’t find her. The man she’d seen on the beach couldn’t possibly have been him. No matter how much he resembled her former fiancé.

  Tears sprung to her eyes. Damn it. The past few months had been so good. She’d actually stopped looking over her shoulder and allowed herself to make friends. No dates, but after meeting Grey she wanted to.

  He may be a little intense, but she didn’t get a negative vibe from him. Then again, she hadn’t with Carsen either. Well, not in the beginning. Hindsight being twenty/twenty, she realized now the signs had been there and she’d ignored them. Or, made excuses for them. Writing them off as something else she could wrap her head around.

  God, was she fool enough to risk another relationship? Because going through that again made her want to run far, far away.

  Honestly, what were the chances of Carsen finding her? Would he even want to after what she’d done?

  No, probably not.

  Feeling a little calmer, Reganne walked into the kitchen and hung Grey’s phone number on the fridge using a magnet that looked like a flip-flop. As with every other day since she’d been here, she fought the urge to close and lock all the windows. As a precaution, she’d had motion detectors put outside the windows that would set off the alarm if someone approached. That helped her feel safe in this beautiful place.

  Reminding herself she had no reason to do so, she headed upstairs for a shower. She didn’t live like that anymore. Not even after the scare she’d had today. Which was simply her mind playing tricks on her as it had hundreds of times in the past.

  Carsen didn’t know where she was. She would hold onto that with all she had. Because going back was not an option.

  As she stepped onto the landing the hairs on the back of her neck bristled. Much as they had when she first got here. She recognized the feeling.

  Someone had been in her house.

  Pulse racing, she walked down the open hallway to her bedroom. Even before she went in she knew someone had indeed been there.

  Her gaze scanned the room, stopping on the bed. She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. There, on the white coverlet lay a pink piece of stationary. Just like the one Grey had written his number on.

  Feet heavy, she moved closer to the bed. With a shaky hand she reached out and picked up the paper decorated with sea shells along the bottom. She read the neatly printed message. A poem. Three short lines.

  The room began to swim. Reganne opened her hand and the note drifted to the floor, sliding across the hardwood floor.

  Before her legs gave out she dropped down on the bed. It couldn’t be. She’d done everything she was supposed to do. Moved half-way across the country. Followed all the protocols. Didn’t go out. Didn’t date. Never gave her phone number out. Stayed off the internet. Dammit, she’d even gotten rid of her Kindle and read paperbacks now.

  Numb, she stared at the stationary lying so peacefully at her bare feet. Except it wasn’t tranquility she felt.

  It was terror.

  ****

  Grey knocked on Reganne’s door. This was probably the worst move he’d ever made, but life didn’t often give second chances and he wanted to see Reganne again. At least take the plunge and ask her out for dinner or coffee.

  His pulse actually sped up at the thought of seeing her again. That had never happened before.

  Damn.

  Raking a hand through his hair, he waited. As seconds ticked by he began to regret his decision. What if she didn’t want to see him?

  Or maybe something had happened. She’d been spooked earlier, although she covered it up pretty damn good.

  His regret morphed into concern as seconds turned into a minute. He knocked again. The sun had just begun to set so she couldn’t be in bed yet.

  Just as he reached for the handle, the door cracked open. Reganne’s lovely green eyes stared back at him.

  “Hey.” He shuffled his feet on the deck, attempting to steel his SEAL nerves.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I came back to ask you to dinner. Or coffee.”

  The door opened farther. At least she didn’t slam it in his face.

  “You came back to ask me out?”

  God, he sucked at this. Precisely why he didn’t do the whole dating thing. So much easier to go to a bar and let the women come to him.

  “I did.” Maybe he shouldn’t have. Her body language wasn’t encouraging. More defensive. With a hint of something in her eyes he couldn’t decipher. “Is everything all right?”

  She didn’t answer right away, setting off alarms in his gut. They’d gotten along great at the party. Until something happened to make her want to leave suddenly. That something hadn’t gone away.

  Her phone rang from inside the house. “Hold on one sec. That could be the hospital. I’m not on call, but it might be one of my patients.”

  She disappeared. Grey waited, hearing the murmur of her voice as she answered. Then silence. Seconds later he heard her cell phone hit the floor.

  Pushing through the door he saw Reganne standing by the sofa, face pale.

  “Reganne?”

  She jumped, turned wide, startled eyes to him.

  He approached her slowly. “What happened? Who was on the phone?”

  Her gaze dropped to the floor where her cell had landed. “No one.” She knelt down and picked up the phone with a shaky hand. “No one was there. Must have been a wrong number.”

  Definitely not a good liar. That call had shaken her up and he’d be damned if he left before he found out why.

  He crouched down beside her, placing his hand over hers. “You can trust me.”

  She refused to meet his gaze. “Would you like a cup of coffee?”

  Not what he’d expected her to say, but he’d take it. “I’d love one.”

  That seemed to reset her. With a deep breath and a nod she slipped her hand out of his and stood. He rose to his feet.

  “Take a seat,” she offered. “I’ll make a pot.”

  Grey moved to the facing sofas divided by a coffee table and sat down. Reganne set her cell phone on the island dividing the living room and kitchen before starting the coffee. As he looked around the open, breezy house he wondered where all the personal touches were. No photos of family on the walls, no paintings or art of any kind. No plants. There were some medical books on the bookshelf but other than that, nothing to let him know who Reganne McCain was.

  “Nice place.” The coffee pot started to splutter.

  Reganne opened a cupboard and pulled out two mugs. “Thanks. Do you take cream or sugar?”

  “Black. Been here long?”

  “Eight months.” She handed him one of the mugs before sitting on the opposite sofa. “I’m hardly ever here.”

  “Busy schedule. I get that.” His own house mostly sat empty. With his career he didn’t spend much time at home. There was no one to come home to and no one to keep plants alive during his deployments so he didn’t have any, either. He supposed a doctor’s schedule resembled a SEAL’s; she just didn’t leave the country.

  “You’re probably not home much either.” She tucked a bare foot beneath her, holding the cup with both hands.

  “Nope.” He sipped his coffee. Good blend. Strong and smooth. “Wanna tell me what has you so shaken up?”

  “Not really.”

  He let out a short burst of laughter. “Not what I expected you to say, but okay.”

  She smiled over the rim of her cup. “What did you expect me to say?”

  Her smile, although not a full one, lit up her face. He wanted to see her smile more. “I guess I thought you’d confide in me.”

  “But you’re a stranger.” Her tone had turned teasing.

  “Do you always invite strangers in for coffee?”

  “Touché.”

  He took another drink. She seemed a bit more at ease than before. Good. He didn’t like seeing her upset.

  “So how about now?”

  That made her laugh. A light, airy, musical sound that made his chest lurch.

  “Points for persistence,” she said. “But, really, I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me.”

  “What if I want to worry about you?”

  Slowly, her gaze lifted. “You do?”

  He set his cup on the table and leaned forward. “Yes.”

  Chapter Three

  The way Grey stared at her, direct and honest, with those intriguing eyes of his, made Reganne’s stomach flutter. She had no doubt he meant what he said. That made the moment even more intense. Could she confide in him? Tell him everything?

  And risk his life, too?

  Not happening. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy. Not to mention attractive with eyes and a body to die for. She refused to drag him into this. Somehow, she would handle it. Hopefully with her life intact.

  Anger coursed through her. It wasn’t fair. She deserved a normal life. One where she didn’t have to look over her shoulder or lock her doors every night. One where she didn’t wake up from a nightmare seeing Carsen’s face.

  Dammit, she wanted to date. Be free. She wanted to go out to dinner with this handsome man. Maybe even spend the night with him. Just because she could.

  After the note and the phone call she knew that wasn’t going to happen.

  “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  Startled out of her thoughts by Grey’s voice, Reganne gripped her cup. “You didn’t.” God, he must think her a nutcase by now.

  “Who did?”

  He read her like a book. And she’d thought herself good at hiding her emotions. To escape his keen gaze, she pushed to her feet. “Would you like a refill?”

  “No, I’m good.” He rose to his feet. “I have to get on the road.”

  “Oh. Do you live far away?”

  He carried his cup to the sink. “No. I’m only a few blocks from here. I’m heading up to my grandparents’ cabin for the weekend.”

  Disappointment stabbed through her. Did he have someone waiting for him there? Just because he asked her out didn’t mean they were exclusive.

  She followed him into the kitchen and put her cup in the sink next to his, then walked him to the door. He paused. Her breath caught. Had a man ever smelled so good? Like the beach and the ocean mixed with pure, raw male.

  “How about dinner on Saturday night? I know this perfect little Italian restaurant downtown.”

  “Demarco’s,” she guessed, remembering meeting Cloe earlier that evening, who was married to the dashing SEAL named Donovan.

  “You’ve been there?”

  She shook her head. “No. But, if their food is as good as what they brought to the party then I’d be a fool to say no.”

  Had she just agreed to a date?

  “So it’s a date then. I’ll pick you up Saturday at seven.”

  Guess that meant he wasn’t spending the weekend with someone. Her heart did a slow roll in her chest. “I thought you were going away for the weekend.”

  “Toliver is only forty-five minutes away.”

  She’d heard of the small, mountain town. Popular for fishing tournaments and kayaking. The parent of one of her patients lived there and always bragged about the fishing.

  “I don’t want to interrupt your weekend.”

  Grey stepped onto the porch. “Too late. You already agreed to dinner. I won’t take no for an answer now.”

  She didn’t want him to. Even though she knew this was a bad idea. “Then I guess I’ll see you Saturday at seven.” With a smile she waved him off, watching his strong, agile stride as he walked down the beach toward the Taggarts’ cute little gingerbread house.

 

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