yet remained a mystery on many levels, which only made him more attractive.
My stomach knotted tighter as I glanced down at my ensemble. I wore thin, stretchy, light- wash skinny jeans, neon coral sandals with touches of yellow gold that buckled around my puffy ankles, a white tank top, simple yellow gold stud earrings, a delicate necklace and a light-handed brush of make-up to even out my skin tone. I’d considered getting a prescription for contacts this past month, the length of time I’d known about this trip, but decided against it. This was me. I had unruly dark brown hair, extra curvy curves, nerdy glasses, a penchant for book boyfriends, and now, a penchant for a certain military man. Taylor brightened my days. He meant more to me than I ever anticipated. And that drove my nerves sky-high.
I blew out a steady breath , clutching tightly to my oversized purse as I stepped into line with the other passengers, steadily strolling down the exit ramp. The moment I crossed the threshold into the airport, my heart rate doubled.
Conversations blurred together; no one color, no one vendor and no one passenger stood out in the crowd. They weren’t who I’d waited months to see. They weren’t the one I’d anxiously waited to hear had returned home safely. Every time he went out on a mission, every time he didn’t write to me for a few days, I worried; my body clammed up in fear, like it was doing now.
He’d already seen me. He knew I had plenty of excess sexiness, he knew I wore glasses, and he knew I had quirks; he knew everything I might have been embarrassed by, yet it didn’t matter. I was still shaking. My heart was still thundering in my chest, banging against my rib cage and knoc king every breath I took short.
Because he knew all of thos e things and wanted me anyways.
Because I hoped I still w anted him too after seeing him.
Chemistry is a funny thing. Connections don’t always carry over.
And I wanted it to. I wanted to want him. I prayed my heart felt the same. I longed to melt into him and have my body resonate his arms as its new home.
I blew out a shuddering breath and trudged forward, moving with the crowd towards the baggage claim, where I would meet my soldier for the very first time.
Chapter Sixteen
Taylor
I glared at my younger brother. He was twenty-two years of annoying as he stood beside me, hands shoved casually into his jean pockets. “You really didn’t need to tag along, Tater Tot .” I couldn’t resist the jab.
Tate rolled his eyes at my childish tease. “I’m here as a favor to mom. I told her I’d check this girl out; you know, make sure she’s not a psycho before you bring her into our home.”
I glowered at him, getting little more than a chuckle in response from him.
“Ten years into adulthood and she still treats you like an irresponsible teenager.” He was enjoying this.
It did me no good to argue with him. Every soldier knew when to pull back.
“Be glad there’s only one of her,” he continued.
I grunted, but , again, said nothing.
I folded my arms over my chest, fighting the urge to pace. Tate’s presence was only adding to my nerves. This meeting was months in the making. I’d e-mailed Maddie every chance I got while overseas. Once, I’d even walked two hours to another camp to access the Internet. She was an addiction. There was something in her tone, something in the way she wrote to me that was alluring and comforting, in the best and in the worst of my time away.
She - her e-mails - kept me hanging on. I fought to stay alive to read another one, and to write another one. There was something about the woman herself that drew me in and had me obsessing like an idiot over what I’d written, especially when she didn’t respond quickly. No other woman had that affect on me. Only her.
I checked my watch again. Her flight had landed fourteen minutes ago.
Tate snickered. “Damn, bro. It’s that serious?” He threw his hands up in surrender when I
My stomach knotted tighter as I glanced down at my ensemble. I wore thin, stretchy, light- wash skinny jeans, neon coral sandals with touches of yellow gold that buckled around my puffy ankles, a white tank top, simple yellow gold stud earrings, a delicate necklace and a light-handed brush of make-up to even out my skin tone. I’d considered getting a prescription for contacts this past month, the length of time I’d known about this trip, but decided against it. This was me. I had unruly dark brown hair, extra curvy curves, nerdy glasses, a penchant for book boyfriends, and now, a penchant for a certain military man. Taylor brightened my days. He meant more to me than I ever anticipated. And that drove my nerves sky-high.
I blew out a steady breath , clutching tightly to my oversized purse as I stepped into line with the other passengers, steadily strolling down the exit ramp. The moment I crossed the threshold into the airport, my heart rate doubled.
Conversations blurred together; no one color, no one vendor and no one passenger stood out in the crowd. They weren’t who I’d waited months to see. They weren’t the one I’d anxiously waited to hear had returned home safely. Every time he went out on a mission, every time he didn’t write to me for a few days, I worried; my body clammed up in fear, like it was doing now.
He’d already seen me. He knew I had plenty of excess sexiness, he knew I wore glasses, and he knew I had quirks; he knew everything I might have been embarrassed by, yet it didn’t matter. I was still shaking. My heart was still thundering in my chest, banging against my rib cage and knoc king every breath I took short.
Because he knew all of thos e things and wanted me anyways.
Because I hoped I still w anted him too after seeing him.
Chemistry is a funny thing. Connections don’t always carry over.
And I wanted it to. I wanted to want him. I prayed my heart felt the same. I longed to melt into him and have my body resonate his arms as its new home.
I blew out a shuddering breath and trudged forward, moving with the crowd towards the baggage claim, where I would meet my soldier for the very first time.
Chapter Sixteen
Taylor
I glared at my younger brother. He was twenty-two years of annoying as he stood beside me, hands shoved casually into his jean pockets. “You really didn’t need to tag along, Tater Tot .” I couldn’t resist the jab.
Tate rolled his eyes at my childish tease. “I’m here as a favor to mom. I told her I’d check this girl out; you know, make sure she’s not a psycho before you bring her into our home.”
I glowered at him, getting little more than a chuckle in response from him.
“Ten years into adulthood and she still treats you like an irresponsible teenager.” He was enjoying this.
It did me no good to argue with him. Every soldier knew when to pull back.
“Be glad there’s only one of her,” he continued.
I grunted, but , again, said nothing.
I folded my arms over my chest, fighting the urge to pace. Tate’s presence was only adding to my nerves. This meeting was months in the making. I’d e-mailed Maddie every chance I got while overseas. Once, I’d even walked two hours to another camp to access the Internet. She was an addiction. There was something in her tone, something in the way she wrote to me that was alluring and comforting, in the best and in the worst of my time away.
She - her e-mails - kept me hanging on. I fought to stay alive to read another one, and to write another one. There was something about the woman herself that drew me in and had me obsessing like an idiot over what I’d written, especially when she didn’t respond quickly. No other woman had that affect on me. Only her.
I checked my watch again. Her flight had landed fourteen minutes ago.
Tate snickered. “Damn, bro. It’s that serious?” He threw his hands up in surrender when I
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