Loving Lena Read Free

here.” Her voice turned hesitant again.
    Layers upon layers . He wondered if he was up to peeling them away. Did he really want to go through mental gymnastics just to spend time with her? It was something to consider.
    The vibes flowing from her screamed monogamy; he turned a deaf ear. He wanted a friend with benefits-type of thing. As pretty as she was, and with the military base nearby, there would be men after her in droves. Was he down with tending the flower to get the nectar, or would he let another handle the role of gardener? “What's stopping you?”
    She shrugged and glanced out the window. “Actually, I have two job offers. Originally, I came up to see my girl. Then I decided to hang around, check out the area. It helps that Faye, my friend, lives here, so I'll know someone.” He took her hand, rubbed her palm with his finger.
    “I want you to move here. But I'd like to see you again no matter where you live.” His eyes captured hers.
    “Well.” She coughed, removed her hand, and lowered her eyes. “I'll, uh, certainly keep that in mind.”
    “I hope I haven't messed things up by being honest.” His determined eyes searched her face, took note of her folded arms; the closed body language spoke of her discomfort.
    She shook her head. “I'm going through a divorce right now and it has the potential to get ugly fast. I'm confused about a lot of things; this probably isn't the best time to make new friends.”
    His lips pursed. He planned to be more than friends. “How long were you married?”
    “Five years. I was young and silly and thought I was doing the right thing.”
    “Any children?” She was still young, early twenties to his early thirties, too young to give up on relationships. He'd make sure she understood not all men were jerks.
    “No,” she said wistfully, grabbing his attention. Her face tightened in pain. He hoped she hadn't been violated to the point she couldn’t have children.
    “It was never the right time, except now, of course.” Her lips curled ruefully at the corners.
    “Huh?”
    “He's offered to have a family if I return.” Her voice lowered.
    “Are you considering— ” The thought of her leaving sent an unexpected jolt of panic through him.
    “Hell, no.” She scowled. “Not in a hundred years, plus some.” Her horrified expression appeared sincere, and he released the breath he'd held...wondering why it mattered so much that she would not be returning to her ex.
    “I'm divorced.” Her head whipped around. He nodded. “It was final two years ago. We weren't married as long as you were, but we'd dated off and on all through high school and college. After college, I hit the rodeo circuit for a while, saved up some money and we got married. Funny thing, once we were married it didn't take long to discover we didn't love each other like that. I wanted to end it right then, but she wanted to try to make it work. We had a lot of history, she was comfortable, so it drug out another two years. I discovered she just wanted the time to shop for another husband. Once she hooked him, she granted me the divorce.” He shrugged at her shocked expression.
    “That's awful. Why would anyone treat someone like that?” Her hands balled into fists, she exhaled before releasing them.
    “No, Lena.” He stared into her eyes to impart this truth. “That's real life. She didn't love me. I didn't love her. Sometimes people make mistakes. Painful mistakes. But life continues.”
    “How long did it take you to reach this point?” She stared at him, a frown marred her brow.
    “What point?” He answered, pleased with her sign of interest in him.
    She waved her arm in his direction. “This point of not caring, being rational, over the hurt. I mean it still bothers me, a lot. I don’t know if I could be so, so, blasé about it any time soon.”
    “My pride took most of the beating.” He chuckled, pulling his ear in remembrance. “Once I realized I was more embarrassed that