by Jaime Lewis
Her lips parted in surprise, and she knew she was smiling as Frost walked toward her. Damn, the man did a number to her libido. He was wearing tan cargo shorts and a black t-shirt with a skeleton of a frog on it. Even dressed down, the man had appeal. His light brown hair was hidden under a black baseball cap.
“What are you guys doing here?” Frost asked as he leaned down and kissed her cheek. His lips lingered a little longer than they should’ve, and it sent her heart into overdrive.
“Frost!” Cody all but shouted before giving him some sort of a fist bump that guys do.
“Hey, Cody. How’s it going?”
“Good! I can’t wait for school to let out for summer break. Only one more week. How’s your leg?”
Frost smiled. “It’s good. A little sore today, but that’s to be expected. Thanks for asking.”
Ace and Alex walked up, and when Frost introduced Alex, Autumn felt her face heat up, remembering the last time she saw Alex in the hospital and basically accused her of trying to get into Frost’s bed. And if that wasn’t bad enough, her fiancé overheard her.
Autumn shook Alex’s hand, and the two of them said hello. Autumn felt the need to apologize for her actions, especially since she didn’t know if Ace had told her what had happened.
“I owe you an apology.”
Alex gave her an odd look, but she saw the smirks on Frost’s and Ace’s faces.
“Why on earth would you owe me an apology?” Alex asked her, looking between Ace and Frost, probably to see if they knew what was going on.
Autumn explained, and by the time she was through, Alex was laughing, and it made her feel a little less of an ass.
“Well, apology accepted, and it’s very nice to meet you, officially that is. Frost speaks highly of both you and your son. And, if I must say, you are beautiful.”
Autumn was shocked at Alex’s words, and she felt a little flush. She glanced up at Frost.
“Alex!” Frost said through his clenched teeth. Ace started laughing and started walking away, pulling Alex with him.
Frost looked back at Autumn, and Autumn noticed Frost’s cheeks were a little pink, which was very unusual for him. She smiled to herself, wondering if Frost was blushing about what Alex said. That left her wondering what exactly he has said about her to his friends.
“Sorry about that. Alex tends to meddle in all of the team’s lives.”
She waved him off. “It’s fine. She seems nice.”
“Hey, Mom, can Frost come with us to lunch?” Cody asked, interrupting them.
She looked at Cody and saw how happy he was. For some strange reason, Frost has become an important person in Cody’s life. She looked at Frost, who was eyeing her cautiously. Hell, if she wanted to get to know him better, now would be a perfect opportunity to start.
“If Frost would like to join us, he is more than welcome to. Plus, I owe him lunch.” She peered up at Frost with a grin and winked. “We were going to head over to that little deli on the corner across the street from the base.”
Frost smiled wide, showing his straight white teeth. God, the man was beautiful.
“I love that place. They have the best Italian cold cuts in town. If you’re sure you don’t mind, I’d love to have lunch with you both.” Autumn couldn’t help but grin like a little schoolgirl. She loved how Frost always made it a point to always include Cody in the conversation. She got a little giddy inside.
“Maybe this would lead to a real date. Oh, Jesus, I haven’t been on a date in…. God, her last date was with her husband, and that was years ago. Whoa,…slow down there, chicky. He might not have those feelings that you’re feeling. He could just be having lunch to be nice to Cody. No, that’s not right either. You know for a fact he has feelings for you. It’s you that is holding back.”
She felt her smile fade, and her stomach felt like it was twisted in a knot. She saw him staring at her with an intense look. He reached his hand out and rubbed her upper arm. His touch sent tingles down her body to places she should not be feeling tingly.
“Is something wrong?” He asked her. His eyebrows were scrunched together, and he looked concerned.
“Please don’t feel obligated to have lunch with us. If you were hanging out with your friends here, I understand. And, I’m sure Cody will understand.” There I go again, pushing him away. Stop it!
He gave her an intense look. “First off, I know I’m not obligated to do anything I don’t want to do. Well, except when my commander gives an order. And, second, maybe I want to spend more time with you and Cody, so I can get to know you both better. I was getting ready to leave here anyway. Plus, I was beginning to think I wouldn’t hear from you again.”
She swallowed the lump in her throat. Now she felt awful for insulting him. “I’m sorry, Frost. That was wrong of me to say that.” She twisted her fingers together. How does she tell him that it is her own insecurities causing her to pull away? “The reason I didn’t text or call is that I just got a new phone. I’ll explain what happened over lunch. That is if you still want to join us?”
His expression softened, and he stepped closer and whispered in her ear. “I never intended not to show up. Like I said. I want to get to know the real Autumn Kauffman.” His breath was warm against her ear. His lips were just millimeters from her skin, and she was feeling really hot right now. She needed to put a little space between the two of them before she really did something embarrassing. Like turn her head just a fraction and kiss his inviting lips.
She stepped back, and Frost winked.
She swallowed hard. “Let me just pay Alex for this stuff, and I’ll be ready to go. If now is a good time for you.”
He grinned. “Now is perfect, sugar. I’ll go say bye to Ace while you settle with Alex.”
She watched him walk toward Ace, who was talking to Cody. God, hopefully, the boy wasn’t grilling Ace on the SEAL team. Ever since Cody met Frost, he’d had the case of SEAL hero worship. Seeing that Ace was laughing at something Cody said she breathed a sigh of relief. She made her way to Alex and paid for the items while apologizing again. Alex had told her it was fine, and there were no hard feelings. Then she surprised Autumn when she told her that she hoped to see her around. She wasn’t quite sure what to say to that. So instead of giving a direct yes or no answer, she told Alex that it was possible.
She called out to Cody as she was walking to her car. He was still standing with Frost and Ace, talking. She watched and noticed that Cody seemed to fit right in with the two guys. She could so easily see Cody as one of them when he grew up. With that thought, her stomach went into knots. Could she handle her son and only child joining the military and being shipped off to some foreign country to fight the bad guys? Then again, the thoughts crept into her mind, would she be able to handle a relationship with Frost, knowing he was doing the same thing?
She heard Cody call out to her before she could dwell on that question.
“Mom, is it okay if I ride with Frost?”
She smiled again when Cody looked up at Frost. Yep, total case of hero-worship.
“If Frost doesn’t mind, then it’s okay with me.”
She laughed as Cody pumped his fist in the air.
She got into her car, and a nervous feeling hit her. What if something happened to cause an end to her and Frost’s friendship. What would that mean for Cody? God, what has she gotten herself into?
She put the car in gear and headed toward the deli. God help her. The man made her feel things she never felt before, even when she was married.
◆◆◆
Frost pulled his Tahoe into the parking lot at the deli. He couldn’t help but grin as Cody talked. During the ten-minute drive, Frost didn’t think he even got a word in. Cody was an awesome kid, full of life, and very intelligent. He was very mature for his age. Frost believed the maturity stemmed from his father’s death and his need to feel like he had to grow up—as if it became his responsibility to take care of his mom. Hopefully, in the near future, he
could take some of that responsibility off Cody’s shoulders.
After he parked, they got out and decided to wait outside until Autumn got there, but after about five minutes of waiting, Frost frowned. She left about a minute after they did; she should have been here by now.
Several thoughts went through his head, though the logical one was maybe she stopped off somewhere on the way. He looked over at Cody and could tell he was worried by the way he was scanning the roadway and biting his bottom lip. He had to smile, like mother like son. He noticed how Autumn nibbled on her lip when she got nervous.
Cody looked over at Frost and shook his head. “Something’s wrong. She should’ve been here by now.”
Hearing Cody confirm the same thing he was thinking put Frost on alert. But again, they had to be logical. “Do you know if she was planning on going anywhere else today? Maybe she stopped off on the way.”
Cody shook his head. “No, she never mentioned anything, and she would have texted or called me. Plus, her car has been acting up the past couple of days, but she was waiting until she got paid next week to have it checked out.” Cody pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Let me try calling her.”
Frost didn’t like hearing her car wasn’t running right. Her drive to and from work every day wasn’t short, especially during rush hour.
Cody put his phone back in his pocket. “She’s not answering.”
He squeezed Cody’s shoulder. “Let’s give her a few more minutes; then we will backtrack and look for her, okay, buddy?” Cody nodded his head, but Frost could tell the kid was worried. Hell, he was starting to worry.
About two minutes had passed when he saw Autumn’s car. She pulled into the parking lot, but the squealing noise coming from her vehicle caused him to frown. He immediately thought about his teammate, Diego. He knew a lot about cars; maybe he’d give him a call and see if he could take a look at it.
He started to walk over to where Autumn had parked next to his Tahoe, and he could see through the windshield that she did not look happy.
◆◆◆
Autumn banged her hand against the steering wheel in frustration. Dammit, she was hoping the car would last until she got paid next week. She didn’t have the funds right at this moment to have a mechanic look at it. Plus, she needed to make plans for transportation to and from work while her car was in the shop.
She saw Frost and Cody approaching, so she got out to meet them.
“That doesn’t sound healthy,” Frost said, making a face at her car.
She shut the door and looked at the car herself. She knew her car was a piece of shit, but she wasn’t in any position financially to look for another car.
“No, it doesn’t, and it stalled at the light about a mile from here. That’s why it took me a few extra minutes to get here. I honestly didn’t think it was going to start. It’s been acting up for a couple of weeks now, in addition to the back-right tire going flat. I was hoping it would make it to next Friday.”
Cody wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her. “We were getting worried about you.”
She squeezed him back and leaned down and kissed the top of his head. “I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to worry you.” She looked at Frost, who was watching her. He had his hands in his shorts pockets. She mouthed the word ‘sorry’ to him, and he gave her a soft smile.
He motioned to the car. “I can call my teammate Diego and see if he could take a look under the hood. He loves tinkering with cars in his spare time. I’m not sure what his schedule is, but I’ll ask.”
“Do you know how much he’d charge? I don’t know exactly what’s wrong with it, so I don’t have any sort of estimate or anything.”
“There wouldn’t be a charge.”
She felt a little relief. At least if someone Frost knew looked over the car, she knew she wouldn’t get scammed.
“Thank you,” she replied, looking up at his handsome face, and he smiled. “No thanks needed. I told you when we had coffee the other day; I’m here for both you and Cody.”
◆◆◆
Autumn and Frost sat in a booth near the back of the deli. They were both finishing up their Italian cold cuts. Cody had spotted a friend of his and was sitting with him while he ate. So that left Autumn and Frost all alone to talk.
Frost set his sandwich down and wiped his hands and mouth with his napkin. He held out his hand. “Hand me your phone.”
She was caught off guard by his abrupt request. “What? Why?” She asked, setting her sandwich down.
He wiggled his fingers. “Just give it to me…please.”
She took her phone out of her purse and laid it in his waiting hand. She watched as he typed something in it. When he finished, he handed it back to her.
“There, my number is programmed in your new phone now. Use it. The only time I won’t answer is if I’m in a team meeting or deployed or training and not reachable. If I’m deployed or training, you’ll know. Just not where we are. Most of the time, I’ll be unreachable. But leave a message. If we get a chance and have access to a line, we can sometimes make a quick call home.
“I also put Alex’s number in there as well. Not only is Alex Ace’s fiancé, but she is also my commander’s daughter. If, for any reason, you need anything and can’t get hold of me, call her, okay?”
She stared at him.
“Promise me.” He raised an eyebrow at her trying to look intimidating, but then he grinned, and his adorable dimple was on display, and it made it difficult for her to concentrate on what he was saying.
She shook her head. “I have to ask, why are you doing this? We barely know each other.”
“Which I am trying to change. Autumn, I’m normally a very hard man. I don’t have or show a lot of emotions. I’ve been trained to be that way. It’s a part of me. I don’t do relationships. I never have since I joined the Navy.”
Hearing his last statement about relationships made her heart drop, and it must have shown on her face as well because he was quick to follow-up on his statement.
“Shit, I’m fucking this up.” He took a deep breath. “What I’m trying to say is that I like you, Autumn. I like you a lot, and I’d like to get to know you better. And that includes Cody as well. I want to spend more time with both of you. You have gotten so far under my skin that I don’t even know how to act. I get so freaking nervous when I’m around you.” He smiled at her.
Her heart was saying yes, but her brain was telling her no. She didn’t want to go down that path again. Falling in love with someone who put their life on the line every day. Could she handle it if something went wrong?
“I don’t know, Frost.” She nibbled her bottom lip and looked over where Cody was talking to his friend.
“Just give it some time, okay. Like I told you over coffee, friends first. How about I take you and Cody out for dinner Friday night, and we can spend some more time getting to know each other? What does he like?”
He wasn’t really giving her an out here, but at the same time, she couldn’t deny her attraction to him. Deep down, she wanted what he wanted. What would it hurt to have dinner? As friends. For now, at least.
She surrendered and gave her shoulders a shrug, giving him a faint smile. “What does any kid crave, pizza.”
“Then, pizza it is. I know a great place. It’s not far from here. I didn’t ask where do you live? I can pick you guys up.”
“No, that’s not necessary,” she said a little too quickly, and she knew he picked up on her quick answer by the way he squinted his eyes as he looked at her. She didn’t want him to know where she lived. She was embarrassed at her current living arrangements, but it was the only place she could afford at the moment. “I work until 6:00 pm on Friday. How about if Cody and I just meet you there. We live not far from the base. Say around 7:00 pm? Or is that too late?”
Frost eyed her for a second, but then he nodded his head. “Seven is good. Will Cody be at the hospital after school?”
“Yeah. Most days,
he’s there unless he has an afterschool activity. One of the nurses at the hospital, her son goes to the same school, and she normally picks Cody up for me and drops him off at the hospital on her way home since she has to drive past the hospital.”
“What school does he attend?”
“St. Joseph’s Academy. I was hoping he could attend the public school by our house, but with me working at the hospital in Norfolk and the schedule I have, there was no way I could coordinate getting him home from school, plus I don’t have anyone to watch him.”
Frost nodded, knowing the school since he grew up around here. He also knew the cost of tuition at the private school was astronomical though she most likely received a life insurance payout left by her late husband and probably could afford it. But that wasn’t any of his business.
“What time does he get out of school?”
“Around 2:00 pm. Why?” She took a sip of her iced tea and eyed him cautiously over the rim of her glass.
“Well, I was thinking, I have therapy on Friday and then a meeting with the team in the afternoon, but we should be finished up by 1:00 pm. Why don’t I swing by his school and pick him up and take him over to the base? I can show him around. You know, some of the areas where we train, like our obstacle course, things like that. Then afterward, he and I can meet you at the restaurant. If that’s okay with you.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
He reached across the table and put his hand over hers. Just a gentle touch to let her know he cares. “Are we going to do this again?” He asked, smiling. “I know I don’t have to, but I want to.” When she didn’t pull away, he smiled inside and knew he was headed in the right direction. Baby steps, he thought to himself.
“I’ll talk to him tonight and let you know, okay?” Frost wondered who she was trying to kid. Cody will be ecstatic to tour the SEAL base with him.
They spent another thirty minutes just talking. Frost told her a little about his family. His mom, Marie, his dad Hal, a former SEAL, and his brother, Trey. Trey is three years older than Frost and married with two kids. A one-year-old little girl named Gracie and a four-year-old boy named Cortland. He showed her pictures of them.